Tommy Dorsey

At 15, he became the second highest paid child entertainer behind Jackie Coogan during the 1930s.

He began playing jazz in 1937, first with clarinetist Joe Marsala, on with such acts as Buddy Barrigan, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James.

Following a brief stint in the Marines, he led his own name orchestra starting 1945.

On TV, he was a frequent guest of Steve Allen and lifelong friend Johnny Carson, himself a drum enthusiast.

Personality-wise, Rich was notoriously short-tempered.

Dusty Springfield slapped him after several days of putting up with Rich's insults and showbiz sabotage.

He had a rivalry with Frank Sinatra, which sometimes ended in brawls when both were members of Tommy Dorsey's band.

Nevertheless, they remained lifelong friends.

Everything happens to me.

At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me That love would turn the trick to end despair But now I just can't fool this head that thinks for me I've mortgaged all my castles in the air I've telegraphed and phoned sent an airmail special too your answer was goodbye there was even postage due fell in love just once and then it had to be with you everything happens This is one of an elite group of songs that Sinatra recorded over and over as a kid with Tommy Dorsey, in the 50s with Nelson Riddle, and then in the 80s, these additional lyrics were written specially for him.

I've mortgaged all my castles in the air now in the school of life.

Well, I was lucky.

There was a time in jazz history when the trombone was front and center.

And you had folks like Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, two of the biggest names in American musical history.

not just in jazz, that played trombone.

And there are other examples, going back to the New Orleans jazz days with Kid Ori.

This is my 18th album as a leader.

But it might be the best example of me going in that direction.

But then on the polar opposite side, you've got someone like Tommy Dorsey or Irby Green who can play the sweetest ballads with the sweetest tone and the most romantic, expressive qualities.

And on the completely other end, quiet and lyrical and subtlety abound, you know, and then everything in between.

Um, but we saw one of these historical markers, and it had a name on it instead of, like, a battle name, and the name, of course, said Thomas A. Dorsey on it.

And I, at that point, was kind of getting into American roots music and discovering, uh, this kind of pre-rock and roll era of music for myself, and one of the artists that I had been enjoying through my big band music kick was Tommy Dorsey, who is the famous, uh, big band, uh, leader that Frank Sinatra sang with in his early years.

And so when I saw the name Thomas Dorsey, I was thinking to myself, "Is Tommy Dorsey from, [laughs] you know, Georgia?" Like, w- w- what is this?

[laughs]

Thomas Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey.

You know, like, like I, I'm thinking it's gotta be the big band guy, right? So I, uh, I, I immediately asked my parents to swerve over so I could try to see what the plaque said.

And, uh, when I walked up to it, I found something far more interesting than T- Tommy Dorsey being from Georgia and read basically a great synopsis on this historical marker about who Thomas A. Dorsey was and that, you know, he is the man generally credited with popularizing or possibly inventing gospel music, that he was the man who wrote Peace in the Valley, Take My Hand, Precious Lord, uh, that his music has been recorded by hundreds of people, from Elvis to Mahalia Jackson.

And, uh, I was completely floored because, I mean, I did have...

Yeah.

You see frequent spins of Tommy Dorsey's Boogie Woogie, Count Basie's One O'Clock Jump, and Sister Rosetta Tharp's Trouble in Mind.

Think about the sensory contrast there for a second.

Oh, man.

You are shivering in a monsoon downpour, surrounded by mud and the literal threat of sniper fire.

And suddenly, the brass section of Tommy Dorsey's orchestra comes blasting out of a tinny, canvas-covered speaker.

The juxtaposition had to be entirely surreal.

It was designed to be a sonic bridge back home, but honestly, it almost sounds disorienting.