James Francis Dorsey was born on February 29, 1904, and died on June 12, 1957. He was an American musician who played the clarinet and saxophone, wrote music, and led a big band. He created the jazz and pop songs "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" and "It's the Dreamer in Me." Other important songs he recorded include "Tailspin," "John Silver," "So Many Times," "Amapola," "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)," "Pennies from Heaven" with Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Frances Langford, "Grand Central Getaway," and "So Rare." He played clarinet on the important jazz songs "Singin' the Blues" from 1927 and the original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind." These songs were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Early life

Jimmy Dorsey was born on Leap Day, February 29, 1904, in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the first son of Theresa Langton Dorsey and Thomas Francis Dorsey. His father, Thomas, began his career as a coal miner but later became a music teacher and a marching-band director. Both Jimmy and his younger brother, Tommy Dorsey, were involved in music during their childhoods. By the age of seven, Jimmy was already playing with his father’s band. He made his first public performance at the age of nine while playing trumpet with J. Carson McGee’s King Trumpeters in New York in 1913. In 1915, he switched to playing the alto saxophone and later learned to play the clarinet. Jimmy Dorsey played a clarinet that used the Albert system of fingering, which was different from the more common Boehm system used by many of his contemporaries, including Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.

With his brother Tommy playing trombone, they formed a group called Dorsey’s Novelty Six, which later became known as Dorsey’s Wild Canaries. This group was one of the first jazz bands to broadcast music on the radio. In 1924, Jimmy joined the California Ramblers, a band based in New York City. Throughout the 1920s, he worked on many radio and recording projects. The brothers also played on numerous jazz recordings as session musicians. In 1930, Jimmy joined Ted Lewis’s band and toured Europe with them. That same year, he played clarinet on the famous jazz song “Georgia on My Mind” with Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra, which included Bix Beiderbecke on cornet. Jimmy married Jane Porter in 1928, and they had one daughter, Julia. Jane Porter and Jimmy divorced in 1949.

Career

Jimmy Dorsey began his music career by playing with many different groups and musicians, such as the Scranton Sirens, The California Ramblers, Red Nichols, Jean Goldkette, Frankie Trumbauer, Ben Pollack, and Paul Whiteman. He played the clarinet solo on the famous 1927 jazz song "Singin' the Blues" with the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra, which included Bix Beiderbecke. This song was later added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. After returning to the United States from a European tour, Jimmy briefly worked with Rudy Vallee and other bandleaders, including his brother Tommy, with whom he started their famous band. He appeared on at least seventy-five radio shows, many with his brother. He was also part of Nathaniel Shilkret’s orchestra, which performed on programs like "The Music That Satisfies" starting in 1937. Glenn Miller arranged and played trombone on early recordings made by Jimmy and Tommy for OKeh Records, including songs like "The Spell of the Blues," "Let's Do It," and "My Kinda Love," which featured Bing Crosby on vocals.

In 1927, Jimmy and Tommy created the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and signed with Okeh Records. Glenn Miller sometimes joined them as a trombonist, arranger, and composer, writing songs like "Annie's Cousin Fanny," "Tomorrow's Another Day," "Harlem Chapel Chimes," and "Dese Dem Dose." Their first song to chart was "Coquette" with vocals by Bill Dutton in June 1928. Their song "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" with Bing Crosby reached the top ten charts. However, Jimmy and Tommy often had disagreements about managing the band. These conflicts led to Tommy leaving the group in May 1935 after an onstage argument. Jimmy continued the band under the name "Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra" and signed with Decca Records. His first song with the new band, "You Let Me Down," reached the charts in December 1935. For the next two years, Jimmy’s orchestra accompanied Bing Crosby on his Kraft Music Hall radio show, appearing on 73 programs between December 1935 and July 1937. They also supported Crosby’s recordings during this time. In 1936, Crosby released "Pennies from Heaven" with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra on Decca Records. Jimmy’s early band was more jazz-focused than Tommy’s, so they recorded instrumental swing songs like "Dorsey Stomp," "Tap Dancer’s Nightmare," "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps," "John Silver," and "Dusk in Upper Sandusky." The band included musicians such as Bobby Byrne, Ray McKinley, Donald Matteson, and Skeets Herfurt, as well as vocalists Bob Eberly and Kay Weber.

In 1937, Jimmy left Bing Crosby to focus on his own career. He had commercial success but was overshadowed by Benny Goodman, whose big band became popular in the 1930s. Jimmy’s main vocalist was Bob Eberly, considered one of the best singers in the music industry. In 1939, Helen O’Connell joined the band, and their duets became very popular. Their performances had a "boy and girl next door" charm, and they created many of the band’s biggest hits. Many of their recordings used a special 3-part format: Bob Eberly sang the first minute as a slow ballad, the second minute featured the band and Jimmy’s saxophone, and the third minute had Helen O’Connell singing in a faster style, sometimes with Spanish lyrics. Most of their recordings from 1939 to 1943 were hits, especially songs like "Amapola," "Maria Elena," and "Green Eyes," which topped the charts in 1941. Helen and Bob continued singing with the band for future records and movie appearances. After Helen left in 1942, Kitty Kallen joined the orchestra. Jerry Lewis’s first wife, Patti Palmer, also sang with the band for a short time in 1944. Despite changes in the band, Jimmy remained a top big band leader after World War II and into the 1950s, updating his band’s sound as the big band industry declined. In 1939, Jimmy hired Joe Lipman, a pianist and arranger who had previously worked with Bunny Berigan. Joe helped shape the band’s music and recordings for the next three years.

Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey reunited on March 15, 1945, to record a V-Disc at Liederkranz Hall in New York City. The V-Disc, released in June 1945, included the song "More Than You Know" with "Brotherly Jump" on the back. The recording combined the orchestras of both brothers. In 1947, Jimmy signed with MGM Records, and the brothers set aside their differences to film The Fabulous Dorseys. The movie showed their lives from childhood to becoming famous musicians, and they played themselves in the film. It also highlighted their challenges as leaders of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and their experiences on the road. Despite working together for the movie, Jimmy continued leading his own band until the early 1950s. In 1950, Jimmy moved to Columbia Records, and Tommy offered him a position in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

In 1953, Tommy and Jimmy renamed their band the "Dorsey Brothers Orchestra." Tommy was the leader, and Jimmy became a co-leader and featured soloist. On December 26, 1953, the brothers and their orchestra appeared on Jackie Gleason’s CBS television show. The success of this appearance led Gleason to create a weekly variety program, Stage Show, hosted by the brothers from 1954 to 1956. The show gave other big band leaders hope during a time when the industry was declining. In January 1956, Stage Show made history by featuring Elvis Presley’s network television debut. Presley promoted his early RCA Victor recordings and made six guest appearances. However, competition from NBC’s Perry Como Show led to the early cancellation of Stage Show.

In 1956, Tommy Dorsey died from choking in his sleep. Around the same time, Jimmy was diagnosed with throat cancer. He died on June 12, 1957, at age 53 in New York City. Broadcasts of Jimmy Dorsey and The Fabulous Dorsey Orchestra on NBC Bandstand

Movie appearances and filmography

Jimmy Dorsey appeared in many Hollywood movies, including That Girl From Paris, Shall We Dance, The Fleet's In, Lost in a Harem with Abbott and Costello, I Dood It, and a biographical film about him and his brother Tommy, called The Fabulous Dorseys, in 1947.

In 1938, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra performed in a movie short, playing songs such as "It's the Dreamer in Me," "I Love You in Technicolor," and "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps."

Films in which Dorsey appeared:
• Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (1938 short)
• Birth of the Blues (1941)
• The Fleet's In (1942)
• I Dood It (1943)
• Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
• Lost in a Harem (1944)
• Hollywood Canteen (1944)
• The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
• Music Man (1948)
• Make Believe Ballroom (1949)

Compositions

• "Dixieland Band From Santa Claus Land"
• "Mood Hollywood"
• "Shim Sham Shimmy"
• "So Many Times" – which reached number 20 in 1939 on Billboard, remaining on the charts for one week, was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, as well as Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra.
• "Beebe"
• "Oodles of Noodles"
• "John Silver" with Ray Krise, which reached number 13 on Billboard in 1938, remaining on the charts for two weeks
• "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps"
• "Dusk in Upper Sandusky" with Larry Clinton
• "Shoot the Meatballs to Me Dominick Boy" with Toots Camarata
• "A Man and His Drums"
• "Mutiny in the Brass Section"
• "Praying the Blues"
• "Contrasts," his theme song
• "Major and Minor Stomp"
• "Hep-Tee Hootie (Juke Box Jive)" with Fud Livingston and Jack Palmer
• "I Bought a Wooden Whistle"
• "Tailspin" with Frankie Trumbauer, the classic jazz standard
• "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)"
• "Clarinet Polka"
• "I Love You in Technicolor"
• "All The Things You Ain't" with Babe Russin
• "Hollywood Pastime"; re-released in 1951 with lyrics by Al Stillman as "Baby-O, Baby-O (Do That To Me)"
• "Waddlin' at the Waldorf"
• "JD's Boogie Woogie"
• "Jumpin' Jehosaphat"
• "I'll Do Anything For You"
• "Any Time at All"
• "Two Again"
• "It's Anybody's Moon"
• "Dixieland Detour"
• "Shades of Twilight"
• "Dorsey Stomp"
• "Grand Central Getaway" with Dizzy Gillespie
• "Sunset Strip" and "The Champ" with Sonny Burke
• "Town Hall Tonight"
• "Outer Drive" with Herb Ellis
• the jazz standard "It's the Dreamer in Me" with Jimmy Van Heusen – recorded by Duke Ellington and others.

Dorsey helped write the jazz and pop song "(In This World of Ordinary People) I'm Glad There Is You" with Paul Madeira, also known as Paul Mertz, in 1941. Mertz had been a pianist with the Jean Goldkette orchestra in the 1920s and had worked in Hollywood. Sung by Dorsey vocalist Bob Eberly, it was released by Decca as 4197B in 1942. It was also released by Decca 18799A with Dee Parker in 1946.

Number-one hits

Jimmy Dorsey had eleven songs that reached number one on the charts with his orchestra during the 1930s and 1940s. These songs include:

• "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?"
• "Change Partners"
• "The Breeze and I"
• "Amapola"
• "My Sister and I"
• "Maria Elena"
• "Green Eyes"
• "Blue Champagne"
• "Tangerine"
• "Bésame Mucho"
• "Pennies from Heaven" with Bing Crosby.

Another song, "So Rare," reached the No. 2 position in 1957 and remained on the record charts for 38 weeks.

In 1935, he had two additional number one songs as part of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra: "Lullaby of Broadway" and "Chasing Shadows." His most successful hit was "Amapola," which was number one for ten weeks in 1941 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

Honors

In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service released a special stamp to honor Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey.

In 2009, the Recording Academy included the 1942 recording of "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)" by Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

V-Disc Recordings

Dorsey and his band recorded several V-Discs during the program's operation.

• Julia, No. 117A, 1940
• John Silver, No. 117B, 1940
• The Breeze (Bob Eberly, vocal)/You, You Darlin' (Helen O'Connell, vocal), No. 217B, 1940
• The Great Lie, No. 283A; Navy 63A, 1944
• Sunset Strip, No. 326A; Navy 106A, 1944
• Contrasts/Oh! What A Beautiful Mornin', No. 314A; Navy 94A, 1944
• Grand Central Getaway/All the Things You Ain't, No. 391B, 1944
• Long John Silver, No. 409B; Navy 189B, 1944
• Jumpin' Jehosaphat, No. 470B; Navy 189B, 1944
• Together, No. 514A; Navy 274A

Grammy Hall of Fame

Jimmy Dorsey's recordings were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame after he died. The Grammy Hall of Fame is a special award created in 1973 to recognize recordings that are at least 25 years old and have "qualitative or historical significance."