Swing Era Bandleader Artie Shaw, 94, Dies
Posted By Paul on January 2, 2005
Wow, the last week or so, it seems like every two or three posts is another obit. This one I had missed and just saw tonight.
I know that those of you familiar with some of my more ‘public’ listening habits would be surprised to know that I also really enjoy Big Band Swing music - the real stuff, from the first time around; the kind that Artie Shaw played.
His list of hits is as impressive as anyone’s: “Begin the Beguine,” “Frenesi,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Nightmare,” “Back Bay Shuffle,” “Accent-tchu-ate the Positive,” “Traffic Jam,” “They Say,” “Moonglow,” “Stardust,” “Thanks for Ev’rything,” “Summit Ridge Drive” and “My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue.”
Man, he was good. Rest in peace, Artie Shaw.
Bandleader Artie Shaw Dies at 94
from NPR
All Things Considered, December 30, 2004 · Bandleader, clarinetist and arranger Artie Shaw has died at home in Los Angeles. His health had declined since Thanksgiving. He was 94 years old.
Shaw’s recording of “Begin the Beguine” became so popular in 1938 that it brought him to an even footing with the other so-called “King of Swing” — Benny Goodman. The famously irascible Shaw later referred to the song as an anchor around his neck.
Shaw was an innovator as well as a hit maker. He was one of the first white bandleaders to hire black musicians, and his orchestral compositions won him respect in the classical music world.
But Shaw quit performing in the mid-1950s to compose and arrange music, write books, produce film — and perfect fly-fishing techniques. Shaw once said his epitaph should read, “He did the best he could with the material he had.” Then he changed it — to “Go Away.”
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