[78-L] Your Mother's Son-In-Law - BG and Billie Holiday on Columbia Blue Shellac

[Jeff Sultanof]

I'm glad you pointed this out, Taylor. While it is most certainly true that
Benny had the guts to feature black performers with a touring big band, he
was not the first to do it; Barnet did it also, and there were one or two
others as I recall.

Benny said many times over the years that he didn't want to be a pioneer,
that even integrated studio dates were taboo in those days. It was Hammond
all along. Hammond was the one who pressed Goodman to form a white 'swing'
orchestra; he knew that for such an orchestra to be successful, it needed a
virtuosic leader who would command attention. Hammond also wanted to strike
a blow for integration by featuring Holiday with Goodman's band. Benny liked
her singing, and apparently they had a torrid affair to hear her tell it,
but he wasn't about to have her as a full-time member that early in the
game. It was also Hammond who 'told' Benny to hire Benny Carter to write for
his band when they became a full-time unit.

Hammond was a pain in the butt, and he didn't always get what he wanted.
Benny Carter told him to go shove it when he was 'ordering' Carter what to
record and whom to have in his band. Carter, in fact was one of the few
black musicians who sent Hammond packing, one of the reasons why John rarely
had good things to say about him later. Benny was quiet, but you didn't push
him unless you wanted to be pushed back hard.

Jeff Sultanof




I'm not sure about this,  Mark.    The Goodman/Holiday sides were by a
> studio band,  and I recall that it was John Hammond who picked Billie to
> sing,  not Goodman.
>
> If I'm not mistaken,  Goodman didn't hire Teddy Wilson to play with the
> trio/quartet until the band had already clicked on Let's Dance and been
> signed to a very attractive contract with Victor Records.
>
> This is not to underestimate the pioneering efforts of BG to have an
> integrated band,  but more to put the various events into the right
> historical perspective.
>
> Taylor B.
>
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