Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way--A Biography - Hardcover

Levinson, Peter J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306811111 ISBN 13: 9780306811111

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2005

Synopsis

Swing has never gone out of style. It was the music the Greatest Generation danced to-and went to war to. And no musician evokes the Big Band era more strikingly than Tommy Dorsey, whose soaring trombone play and hit tunes influenced popular music for a generation. Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956) led a rich and complex life. Beginning with his childhood in the coal mining towns of Pennsylvania, we follow the young trombonist's journey to fame and fortune during the jazz age. Tommy, with his brother Jimmy, created one of the most popular bands of the era and played with such giants as Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller. They also launched the career of a skinny young singer named Frank Sinatra. But Tommy's volcanic personality eventually split the band and Tommy went off on his own. Drawing on exhaustive new research and scores of interviews with the musicians who knew him best, Levinson delves into Dorsey's famously eccentric lifestyle and his oversize appetite for drink, women, and perfection. The first biography on Dorsey in more than thirty years, Tommy Dorsey is a dazzling portrait of the Big Band era's brightest star-his tumultuous life, his turbulent times, and the unforgettable music that made him a legend.

About this title

About the Author

Peter J. Levinson is the author of Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James and September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle . He has worked for four decades in the entertainment business as a publicist, freelance writer, booking agent, and personal manager. He lives in California.

Review

"A well-researched and engaging biography." -- Books & Culture, July/August 2006

"Best biography of a big-band leader I have read in years...sums up neatly the man and his music." -- Crescendo & Jazz Music Magazine, 12/01/05

"Chronicles the life and times of one of music's most controversial masters...A world of insight into Dorsey's legendary perfectionism." -- Malibu Times 11/3/2005

"Levinson has done his subject proud with this fact-filled, fast-reading biography...He brings the Big Band era back to life." -- January Magazine, December 2005

"Levinson pulls no punches in this truly warts-and-all account of a larger-than-life individual." -- Jazz Notes, December 2005

"Peter Levinson...has done a masterful job of laying bare the real man behind the trombone." -- Swingin' Down the Lane November 2005

"Riveting...An important book about a major artist whose significance has been slighted in recent decades." -- Goldmine, 12/23/05

"The definitive biography of the legendary jazz giant." -- In Tune International, January 2006

"[A] thoroughly enlightening and entertaining biography...Levinson paints a marvelous portrait of both man and era." -- Jazz Times, February 2006

"[An] excellent new biography...Well-researched...An absolute treat for big band and Sinatra fans...A fascinating portrait." -- Los Angeles Times, 12/25/05

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0306811111
• ISBN 13: 9780306811111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384