Thursday, December 20, 2018

Happy Feet Friday

Composer and arranger (and trumpet man) Sy Oliver played a big role in the success of Jimmy Lunceford's band in the 1930's. He was largely responsible for the bouncy, easy-to-dance-to swing of Lunceford's organization, which was, by design, primarily a dance band. Here's a good example called "Tain't What You Do" (Trummy Young handles the singing).




Bonus tune! In 1939, Tommy Dorsey lured Sy Oliver away from Jimmy Lunceford, and he began putting together a string of hits for Dorsey, including the spiritual-influenced "Yes, Indeed!" (Sy Oliver and Jo Stafford share the vocals).

1 comment:

bruce said...

Really enjoyed the bonus tune. Love Dorsey's trombone sound, band's brilliant, fan of Jo Stafford and Oliver's laid back voice goes very nicely in the mix. Yes indeed! Also like Gospel music. Alleluia!