Benny Goodman - The "King of Swing" Quiz

Answer: Benjamin David Goodman

Benny's parents were Jewish immigrants that came to the United States to escape persecution in the Russian Empire. Benny's dad, David Goodman, was from Warsaw and worked as a tailor. His mother, Dora Grisinsky, was from Lithuania. When Benny was born, they lived in the Maxwell Street neighborhood of Chicago. Benny was the ninth of a total of twelve children.

Answer: Clarinet

At age ten, Benny and a couple of his brothers began taking music lessons at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue. He began playing the clarinet, studying under Franz Schoepp, a member of the Chicago Symphony. He later began playing Jane Addams' Hull House band.

Answer: Top Hat

"Top Hat" was a 1935 movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

"Hollywood Hotel" (1938) was a movie about a member of Benny Goodman's band winning a contest and going to Hollywood. Benny Goodman and his fellow band member, Harry James, appeared in the movie and Benny's band accompanied some of the film's songs.

In "The Gang's All Here" (1943), Benny Goodman's Orchestra played the part of Alice Faye's fellow performers in a night club.

"Sweet and Low-Down" (1944) actually starred Benny Goodman alongside Linda Darnell, and was nominated for an Acadamy Award.

Answer: Room 1411

The song was recorded in Chicago and was released on a Brunswick 78, a vinyl record, by Bennie Goodman's Boys, which Glenn Miller was a part of at the time. Other band members included Ben Pollack, Bud Freeman, Wingy Manone, Fud Livingston, Harry Goodman, Dick "Icky" Morgan, Jimmy McPartland, and Vic Briedis. The song was the first known composition by Glenn Miller.

Answer: Carnegie Hall

The January 16, 1938 concert was sold out. In addition to Benny's band, members of Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands also played at the concert. This concert was a big advancement for jazz bands because it represented the acceptance of jazz music by mainstream crowds.

William Burnet Tuthill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to build the hall in 1891. It is located in Manhattan, New York City, a few blocks away from Central Park.

Answer: Alice Frances Hammond

Alice was the socialite sister of John H. Hammond, a records producer for Columbia, and the great-great granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. Alice and Benny's two daughters, Benjie and Rachel, both studied music. Alice also had three daughters by her first husband. Alice passed away in 1978. Benny and Alice's brother John had been friends off and on throughout the years and reconciled for a final time after Alice's death.

Answer: Sing, Sing, Sing

Benny and his group changed the song several times over the first few years of performing it. The band had originally intended for the song to be sung by Helen Ward, but they changed it every time they performed it until it became very different from the original song. It eventually became an instrumental song about eight minutes long.

The original title of the song written by Prima was supposed to reference Bing Crosby and be called "Sing Bing Sing", but it was changed to "Sing, Sing, Sing" to enable it to be used in more contexts.

Answer: True

Even though it was unacceptable in the 1930s for black and white musicians to play together, Benny brought Teddy Wilson in with Gene Krupa to form the Benny Goodman Trio. He later added Lionel Hampton, and this quartet became one of the first racially diverse jazz bands to play in front of wide audiences.

Teddy Wilson was a pianist born in 1912 in Texas. In addition to playing with Benny Goodman, he also played alongside other greats like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.

Lionel Hampton played various instruments, including the piano, drums, and vibraphone. He was born in Kentucky in 1908. Some other famous jazz artists he worked with were Buddy Rich, Quincy Jones, and Charlie Parker.

Answer: The Ray

Even during rehearsals, he would glare at anyone that played a wrong note. He was looked at as being stern and unfriendly, and he wasn't very patient with anything that wasn't perfect. Other adjectives that have been used to describe him include arrogant, demanding, and stingy. The 'Ray' became one of Goodman's trademarks.

Answer: Heart attack

Benny passed away on June 13, 1986 in his New York home, Manhattan House. His health had been declining, but he continued to play up until his death, with his last performance just days before he died. His housekeeper, Anna Lekander, was the one who found his body.