House That Swing Built

"There was a time, from 1935-1946, when teenagers and young adults danced to jazz-orientated bands. When jazz orchestras dominated pop charts and when influential clarinettists were household names. This was the swing era."- Scott Yanow Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Swing music reflected the popular culture of the 1930s and much of the 1940's. Like many of the culture shifts in American society and in particular music, swing was a creation via the Jazz era by African American musicians. However swing genre that did cross over ethnic and racial lines, white musicians borrowed constantly from Black and Latin musicians and composers. Swing music was played continuously on records and on radio, and performed in all cities right throughout the US and several parts of the western world. The swing era was not just a musical genre but also defining era in American culture. Within the culture of swing era was it distinctive dance style, clothing designs, and most particularly, its language or slang. By the 1940s there were a number "dictionaries of jive" offered to explain this special language of swing. This language, dance and clothing style is still as prevalent today as it was 70 years ago. Swing has often gone through revivals and it continues to be played, performed and danced too right throughout the world. This collection of artist and tunes document the biggest and most influential tracks and artist of the swing era.