The Swing Book (40 page)

Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie,
by Count Basie with Albert Murray (Da Capo Press, 1995)

Hamp: An Autobiography,
by Lionel Hampton with James Haskins (Amistad, 1993)

The History of Jazz,
by Ted Gioia (Oxford University Press, 1997)

Jazz Anecdotes,
by Bill Crow (Oxford University Press, 1990)

Jazz Cavalcade: The Inside Story of Jazz,
by Dave Dexter Jr. (Criterion, 1946)

Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance,
by Marshall Stearns and Jean Stearns (Da Capo Press, 1994)

Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest,
by Ross Russell (Da Capo Press, 1997)

Just a Gigolo: The Life and Times of Louis Prima,
by Gary Boulard (University of Southwestern Louisiana Press, 1989)

Lady Sings the Blues,
by Billie Holiday with William Duffy (Penguin Books, 1995)

Let the Good Times Roll: The Story of Louis Jordan and His Music,
by John Chilton (University of Michigan Press, 1994)

Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz 1915-1945,
by Richard M. Sudhalter (Oxford University Press, 1999)

MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide,
edited by Steve Holtje and Nancy Ann Lee (Visible Ink Press, 1998)

MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening,
edited by Steve Knopper (Visible Ink Press, 1998)

MusicHound Swing: The Essential Album Guide,
edited by Steve Knopper (Visible Ink Press, 1999)

Music Is My Mistress,
by Duke Ellington (Da Capo Press, 1988)

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,
edited by Barry Kernfeld (St. Martin’s Press, 1994)

The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music,
edited by Donald Clarke (Penguin Books, 1999)

The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc,
edited by Richard Cook and Brian Morton (Penguin Books, 1999)

The
Rolling Stone
Jazz and Blues Album Guide,
edited by John Swenson (Rolling Stone Press, published by Random House, 1999)

Shoes: Fashion and Fantasy,
by Colin McDowell (Rizzoli, 1989)

Swing Changes: Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America,
by David W. Stowe (Harvard University Press, 1996)

Swing! The New Retro Renaissance,
by V Vale (V/Search Publications, 1998)

Swingin’ at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer,
by Norma Miller with Evette Jensen (Temple University Press, 1996)

Swingin’ the Dream: Big Band Jazz and the Rebirth of American Culture,
by Lewis A. Erenberg (University of Chicago Press, 1998)

The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin,
by Bill Zehme (HarperCollins, 1997)

Zoot Suits and Second-Hand Dresses,
edited by Angela McRobbie (Unwin Hyman, 1988)

I
’m grateful to the countless members of the swing world who offered their time and expertise to help me research and write
this book. My thanks go out to Scotty Morris for writing the foreword, Bill Elliott, Eddie Reed, Lionel Hampton, Jonathan
Bixby, Steve Lucky and Carmen Getit, Margaret Batiuchok, Petra Mason, Lavay Smith and Chris Siebert, Darrow Cannizzaro, Heidi
Richman, Morty Okin, Chris Chavira, Margie Cormier, Paul Kelly, James Hrabak, and Max Young. Dance Manhattan’s Teddy Kern
opened her heart to me and was constantly available, reading drafts of the dance chapter at the last minute and letting me
take Lindy classes at the studio. Similarly, Chuck Haddix, sound recording specialist at the Marr Sound Archives at the University
of Missouri, Kansas City, read the chapter on the history of swing and offered helpful suggestions. During a wonderful afternoon
at their home in San Francisco, trumpeter Johnny Coppola and his wife, singer Frances Lynne, helped really turn me on to the
music. Thanks also to Tophatters’ Marie and Ted Lee and the staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Thank you to all the swing experts who took the time to fill out my exhaustive survey of the top neoswing albums: Rich Conaty,
host of
Swing Time
on New York’s WFUV 90.7 FM at Fordham University; Patrick Cullen, DJ of the Atlantic Dance club in Orlando; Melbourne, Florida’s
DJ Cutter;
Modern Lounge
associate editor David Elsensohn;
Swivel’s
Tammy Francis; Oregon swinger Keith Hazleton; New York DJ Chad “Chops” Kincaid;
Anyswinggoes.com’s
Doug LeClair; Bo Lewis, DJ of the Big Band Dance Party on WNAV 1430 AM, Annapolis, Maryland;
Blue Martini Pages’
editor Lucky Hand; Detroit DJ Sean McDonnell; Dante Murphy, who spins the tunes at Philadelphia’s Five Spot; Seattle’s Leslie
Price of CSL Productions; Nicole Seefeldt, aka DJ Curly, of KSDJ 90.7 FM, Brookings, South Dakota; New York’s “LoFi” Lee Sobel;
Denver DJ Tim “Dogboy” Wieser of Ninth Avenue West;
Nocturne.com
’s Karen Wilson; Gregg Wolfe, producer of Minneapolis’ s
Swanktown Radio
on KBEM 88.5 FM; and Pennsylvania 6-5000 cyberswinger Joe Wood.

A number of friends and colleagues in New York were also instrumental in helping me complete the book. I’m thankful for the
invaluable contributions of Perry Turcotte, Anna Holmes, and
Atomic
magazine editor Leslie Rosenberg. Jason Schneider provided the book’s stylish illustrations. My friends and family, including
Richard Anderson, Lisa Light, Michael Kroll, Caroline Khella, Bill Auerbach, Nadia Murray, and Jeannette Walls were unfailingly
supportive. My brother Steve Pener and father, Harry Pener, helped with research. Brad Hurtado, Scott Wooledge, and Fred Bernstein
got me through the hectic last week.
Entertainment Weekly’s
Clarissa Cruz first gave my name to Little, Brown, while Alexandria Carrion, Suzanne Regan, Rob Brunner, and Will Lee offered
assistance as well. Thanks also to my agent, David Chalfant of IMG.

Finally, there are two people without whom this book would never have happened at all.
Entertainment Weekly’s
assistant managing editor Maggie Murphy first assigned me to write about swing for the weekly in 1998. That story ultimately
caught the eye of my sharp and savvy editor, Little, Brown’s Michael Liss, a swing dancer himself who, I’m honored to say,
is just two degrees of separation away from the original Savoy dancers. (His teacher Margaret Batiuchok was one of the first
to meet up with members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in the 1980s.) When Michael called me up and asked me if I wanted to write
a book on swing, little did I know what an enriching and captivating experience it would turn out to be.

Swing is king again. Louis Prima is the last word in cool; new bands like the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
are jumping the charts; and across the country crowds are once more packing the dance floor. The Swing Book is a complete
guide to swing, from back in the day to today’s new scene–everything you need to know about what to listen to, where to dance,
how to dress, and how to move.

“What does swing mean? If you are compelled to grab ahold of the nearest girl and get on the dance floor and just make a fool
of yourself, you can bet the song is swinging.”

—EDDIE REED, EDDIE REED BIG BAND

“When I started the band, I thought maybe we’ll just play to grandmas.… And all of a sudden there were these young kids getting
into it.”

—EDDIE NICHOLS, ROYAL CROWN REVUE

“There will always be a future for swing music. Swing is here to stay.”

—LIONEL HAMPTON

“People say, Frankie, what’s your secret? I keep dancing. I get up in the morning and I put on Count Basie. He wakes me up.
And at night I put on Ella Fitzgerald. She lets me sleep.”

FRANKIE MANNING, SWING DANCE INNOVATOR

“Swing music is the most fun kind of music that’s ever been invented.… It more directly taps into good feelings than almost
any other kind of music.”

—BILL ELLIOTT, THE BILL ELLIOTT ORCHESTRA

“Swing music is just the best music in the world. Now people everywhere are finding out what we knew.” —NORMA MILLER, ORIGINAL
SAVOY DANCER, ENTERTAINER

Degen Pener worked as a staff writer for
Entertainment Weekly
and as a columnist for the
New York Times’
“Style of the Times.” He now contributes to
The New Yorker, New York, Wallpaper,
and
In Style.
He lives in Manhattan.