Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz musician who played the trombone, wrote music, conducted bands, and led ensembles during the big band era. He was called the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth trombone playing. His theme song was "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." His skill on the trombone made him well-known among other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey had a disagreement with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led a very successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for songs such as "Opus One," "This Love of Mine" (no. 3 in 1941) with Frank Sinatra singing, "Song of India," "Marie," "On Treasure Island," and his most famous hit, "I'll Never Smile Again" (no. 1 for 12 weeks in 1940).

Early life

Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was born in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania. He was the second of four children. His father, Thomas Francis Dorsey Sr., was a bandleader, and his mother was Theresa (née Langton) Dorsey. Tommy and his older brother, Jimmy, who was about two years older, became known as the Dorsey Brothers. Their younger siblings were Mary and Edward, who passed away when they were young. Tommy learned to play the trumpet from his father but later switched to playing the trombone.

At age 15, Jimmy suggested Tommy take the place of Russ Morgan in the Scranton Sirens, a band that performed in specific areas during the 1920s. Tommy and Jimmy worked with bands led by Tal Henry, Rudy Vallee, Vincent Lopez, and Nathaniel Shilkret. In 1923, Tommy joined his brother in Detroit to play in Jean Goldkette’s band. He returned to New York in 1925 to perform with the California Ramblers. In 1927, he became part of Paul Whiteman’s band. In 1929, the Dorsey Brothers had their first popular song, "Coquette," recorded for OKeh Records.

In 1934, the Dorsey Brothers band signed with Decca Records and had a hit with "I Believe in Miracles." Glenn Miller was a member of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1934 and 1935. During this time, he composed several songs, including "Annie's Cousin Fanny," "Tomorrow's Another Day," "Harlem Chapel Chimes," and "Dese Dem Dose," which were recorded for Decca. Disagreements between Tommy and Jimmy led Tommy to leave the orchestra in 1935 while it was having a hit with "Every Little Moment." Tommy formed his own band, which was known for playing slow songs at faster dance speeds, often featuring singers like Jack Leonard and Frank Sinatra.

On August 21, 1949, Tommy, along with trumpeter Charlie Shavers and singer Red Wooten, survived a plane crash without injuries. The plane, which had taken off from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, crash-landed in a cornfield after the engine failed shortly after takeoff, according to the pilot.

Band

In 2009, Buddy De Franco remembered recording "Opus One" with Dorsey in the 1940s. He said Dorsey wanted to be very precise and exact. Peter Levinson, a writer, added that Dorsey wanted things done his way.

The band became popular soon after signing with RCA Victor for "On Treasure Island," which was the first of four hits in 1935. However, after this recording, Dorsey's manager stopped using the "hot jazz" style that Dorsey had combined with his own lyrical style. Instead, the manager had Dorsey play pop and vocal songs. Dorsey kept his Clambake Seven as a Dixieland group that performed during shows. He later became a co-host of The Raleigh-Kool Program on the radio with comedian Jack Pearl, and later became the sole host.

By 1939, Dorsey noticed that people criticized his band for lacking a jazz feel. He hired Sy Oliver, an arranger who had worked with the Jimmie Lunceford band. Sy Oliver arranged songs like "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie." He also wrote two signature instrumentals for the band, "Well, Git It" and "Opus One." In 1940, Dorsey hired singer Frank Sinatra from bandleader Harry James. Sinatra recorded eighty songs with the Dorsey band from 1940 to 1942, including "In the Blue of Evening" and "This Love of Mine." Sinatra said he learned breath control by watching Dorsey play the trombone. Later, Sy Oliver and Sinatra created a tribute album to Dorsey called I Remember Tommy, which was released in 1961. Dorsey said his trombone style was heavily influenced by Jack Teagarden.

Among Dorsey's arrangers was Axel Stordahl, who later worked with Sinatra during his time at Columbia and Capitol Records. Another member of the Dorsey band was trombonist Nelson Riddle, who later partnered with Sinatra as an arranger and conductor in the 1950s. Paul Weston, another noted arranger, married and worked professionally with Dorsey veteran Jo Stafford in the 1950s. Bill Finegan, an arranger who left Glenn Miller's civilian band, arranged for the Tommy Dorsey band from 1942 to 1950.

The band included many talented musicians and arrangers in the 1930s and 1940s, such as trumpeters Zeke Zarchy, Bunny Berigan, Ziggy Elman, Doc Severinsen, and Charlie Shavers; pianists Milt Raskin and Jess Stacy; clarinetists Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Mince, and Peanuts Hucko; drummers Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, and Dave Tough; saxophonist Tommy Reed; and singers Frank Sinatra, Ken Curtis, Jack Leonard, Edythe Wright, Jo Stafford with the Pied Pipers, Dick Haymes, and Connie Haines.

In 1944, Dorsey hired a vocal group called the Sentimentalists, asking them to hide their identity by using the name "The Clark Sisters." They replaced the Pied Pipers. Dorsey also performed with singer Connee Boswell. He hired drummer Gene Krupa after Krupa was arrested for marijuana possession in 1943. In 1942, after Artie Shaw ended his band, Dorsey hired Shaw's string section. At the time, George T. Simon of Metronome magazine wrote that the strings were used for vocal effects and to support Dorsey's trombone.

Dorsey made business decisions in the music industry. He loaned money to Glenn Miller to help him start his band in 1938, expecting a share of Miller's income. When Miller refused, Dorsey retaliated by supporting a new band led by Bob Chester and hiring arrangers who copied Miller's style. In the mid-1940s, Dorsey owned two music publishing companies, Sun and Embassy. After performing at the Hollywood Palladium, Dorsey had a conflict with the ballroom and opened a competing venue, the Casino Gardens, around 1944. He also briefly owned a trade magazine called The Bandstand.

Tommy Dorsey ended his orchestra in late 1946. Although many big bands disbanded after World War II due to changes in music economics, Dorsey's 1947 RCA Victor album All Time Hits reached the top ten in February 1947. Additionally, his single "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" became a top-ten hit in March 1947. These successes allowed Dorsey to reorganize a big band in early 1947. The Dorsey brothers also reconciled. A biographical film called The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) described their early careers, including their work with Paul Whiteman before forming The Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra in 1935.

In the early 1950s, Tommy Dorsey returned to Decca Records after previously working with RCA Victor. He was promised $2,000 for switching labels but reportedly received $2,500 instead.

Jimmy Dorsey ended his big band in 1953. Tommy invited him to join as a special guest. In 1953, the Dorseys focused on television. On December 26, 1953, the brothers appeared with their orchestra on Jackie Gleason's CBS show, which was preserved on kinescope and later released on home video. They later toured and hosted their own television show, Stage Show, from 1954 to 1956. In January 1956, the Dorseys made rock music history by introducing Elvis Presley on his national television debut. At the time, Presley was a regional country singer and promoted his first RCA Victor releases on Stage Show before appearing on other variety programs.

Personal life

Dorsey was married three times. His first wife was Mildred "Toots" Kraft, who was 16 years old when they married in 1922. Dorsey was 17 at the time. The couple had two children: Patricia and Thomas F. Dorsey III, who was called "Skipper." In 1935, they moved to "Tall Oaks," a 21-acre estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey. They divorced in 1943 after Dorsey had a relationship outside of marriage with his former singer, Edythe Wright.

Dorsey's second wife was Patricia Dane, a film actress. They married in 1943 and divorced in 1947. Before their divorce, Dorsey made headlines when he struck actor Jon Hall after Hall hugged Patricia Dane. In 1948, Dorsey married Jane Carl New in Atlanta, Georgia. Jane had been a dancer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City. Dorsey and Jane had two children: Catherine Susan and Steve.

Dorsey died on November 26, 1956, at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, one week after his 51st birthday. At that time, he had been taking sleeping pills regularly, which made him very sleepy. He choked to death in his sleep after eating a large meal. His brother, Jimmy Dorsey, led his band until Jimmy died from throat cancer the following year. After Jimmy's death, trombonist Warren Covington became the band's leader with Jane Dorsey's permission, as she owned the rights to her husband's band and name. The band was billed as the "Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Starring Warren Covington" and reached number seven on the Billboard chart. In 1958, the band earned a gold record for their hit song "Tea for Two Cha-Cha." Later, Urbie Green also led the band after Dorsey's death.

After Warren Covington left the band in 1961, tenor saxophonist Sam Donahue became the leader and remained until 1966. In 1963, Frank Sinatra Jr. made his professional singing debut with the band at Dallas Memorial Theater in Texas. Later, trombonist and bandleader Buddy Morrow led the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from 1977 until his death on September 27, 2010. Jane Dorsey died of natural causes in 2003 at the age of 79 in Miami, Florida. Tommy and Jane Dorsey are buried together in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

Number-one hits

Tommy Dorsey had a total of 286 Billboard chart songs. His band, the Dorsey orchestra, had seventeen number-one songs in the 1930s and 1940s. These included "On Treasure Island," "The Music Goes 'Round and Around," "You," "Marie" (written by Irving Berlin), "Satan Takes a Holiday," "The Big Apple," "Once in a While," "The Dipsy Doodle," "Our Love," "All the Things You Are," "Indian Summer," and "Dolores." In 1935, while part of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, he had two more number-one songs: "Lullaby of Broadway" (written by Harry Warren), which was number one for two weeks, and "Chasing Shadows," which was number one for three weeks. His most famous song was "I'll Never Smile Again," which featured Frank Sinatra singing and was number one for twelve weeks on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1940. RCA Victor released "There Are Such Things," which included Sinatra singing, and it reached number one in January 1943. Another song, "In the Blue of the Evening," also with Sinatra, reached number one in August 1943. A third song, "It's Always You," reached the Top Five later that year, and a fourth, "I'll Be Seeing You," reached the Top Ten in 1944. These songs were older recordings that were released again because a musicians' strike from 1942 to 1944 prevented Sinatra from making new recordings. The website "Tommy Dorsey A Songwriter's Friend" states that the orchestra had over 200 top twenty recordings, including the number-one hits "The Music Goes Round and Round" (1935), "Alone" (1936), "You" (1936), "Marie" (1937), "Satan Takes a Holiday" (1937), "The Big Apple" (1937), "Once in a While" (1937), "The Dipsy Doodle" (1937), "Music, Maestro, Please" (1938), "Our Love" (1939), "Indian Summer" (1939), "All the Things You Are" (1939), "I'll Never Smile Again" (1940), "Dolores" (1941), "There Are Such Things" (1942), and "In the Blue of the Evening" (1943).

Songs written by Tommy Dorsey

• 1929: "You Can't Cheat a Cheater" with Phil Napoleon and Frank Signorelli
• 1932: "Three Moods"; Note that Dorsey recorded two versions of this song for OKeh Records on August 6, 1932, in New York City.
• 1937: "The Morning After"
• 1938: "Chris and His Gang" with Fletcher and Horace Henderson
• 1938: Tommy Dorsey composed the song "Peckin' With Penguins" for a 1938 cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, titled "Porky's Spring Planting," produced by Warner Bros.
• 1939: "To You"
• 1939: "This Is No Dream"
• 1939: "You Taught Me to Love Again"
• 1939: "In the Middle of a Dream"
• 1939: "Night in Sudan"
• 1939: "Dark Laughter" with Juan Tizol
• 1945: "Fluid Jive"
• 1946: "Nip and Tuck"
• 1947: "Trombonology"

Written with Fred Norman:
• "Bunch of Beats"
• "Mid Riff"
• "Candied Yams"

Awards and honors

In 1982, the 1940 Victor recording "I'll Never Smile Again" became the first of three Tommy Dorsey recordings to be added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. His theme song, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," was added in 1998, along with his recording of "Marie," which was written by Irving Berlin in 1928. In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service released a special postage stamp to honor Tommy Dorsey and his brother, Jimmy Dorsey.

Tommy Dorsey was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame after he died. This special Grammy award was created in 1973 to recognize recordings that are at least 25 years old and have "important qualities or historical value."

Movie Appearances

Tommy Dorsey was in these movies and short films:

• Universal Name Band Musical 7301: Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (1951) – short film
• Disc Jockey (1951)
• A Song Is Born (1948)
• The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
• Thrill of a Romance (1945)
• Broadway Rhythm (1944)
• Girl Crazy (1943)
• Swing Fever (1943)
• I Dood It (1943)
• Du Berry Was a Lady (1943)
• Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
• Ship Ahoy (1942)
• Birth of the Blues (1941)
• Las Vegas Nights (1941)
• A Night in a Dormitory (1930) – short film

Filmography

• Segar Ellis and His Embassy Club Orchestra (1929)
• Alice Bolden and Her Orchestra (1929)

Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra appeared in these films made by Paramount, MGM, Samuel Goldwyn, Allied Artists, and United Artists:

• Las Vegas Nights (1941)
• Ship Ahoy (1942)
• Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
• Girl Crazy (1943)
• Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
• Broadway Rhythm (1944)
• Thrill of a Romance (1945)
• The Great Morgan (1946)
• The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
• A Song Is Born (1948)
• Disk Jockey (1951)