That Swingin' Music - 3rd St. Swingers

3rd Street Swingers
Santa Monica, CA

THAT SWINGIN' MUSIC

It Don't Mean a Thing, If it Ain't Got that Swing!
The most popular music heard today can be rooted back to Swing music. However the authentic Swing music is in a class by its own. It’s fun! It’s energetic! It's timeless! It appeals to a wide cross-generational of people of many different age groups, cultural and ethnic! It has such a great sound and rhythm that you just can’t simply stand or stay still, and before you know it, you’re tapping your feet, and/or snapping your fingers, and rhythmicly moving your body. If you’re a dancer, you’re probably already on the dance floor by the second beat of the song. If you’re a non-dancer, you most likely had wished you knew how to dance properly to this kind of great, enjoyable, and infectious music (and you definitely should learn).

This music has been used alongside, and is synonomous with the different styles of Swing Dancing, most notably Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug. It has been influenced by many different aspects of the American culture and social climate of the period. During World War II, the music was exported to Europe by our American GI's, and it eventually became a part of the European culture as well.

The music can generally be categorized by the different decades, although many classic swing songs were originally written as far back as the late 1800's, however with the help of a number of extremely talented musicians such as Benny Goodman, and their revolutionary arrangement, the songs set a solid foundation for Swing music phenomena, which later resulted in what Jazz music is today.

As the music evolved from decade to decade, so did the dances and the dancers. The 30's & 40's were the golden Big Band years. However due to the high cost of maintaining a 12-20 piece band, the band member count shrunk and helped to create a new sound which was known as ‘Jump Swing’, and then later as Rock-n-Roll in the 50's. Although the Big Band era has been long gone, the music is timeless and still going as strong as ever. Today, there are many Big Bands around, such as Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra, George Gee & his Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra, Eddie Reed Big Band, and Mora’s Modern Rhythmist, just to name a few. Everyone of these bands and many other notables has made a tremendous contribution in preserving the music, style, and its flavor, which has been an essential part of today's American and Swing Culture.

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This page revised on:
3-27-2001

Below is a partial list of the variety of Vintage and Contemporary "Big Band," "Swing Band," and other "Artists'" music that you can typically hear being played by the 3rd St. Swingers' DeeJay on Sunday afternoons, at Santa Monica's 3rd St. Promenade and at other offsite locales.

Vintage Big Bands
   - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
   - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
   - Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
   - Count Basie & His Orchestra
   - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
   - Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
   - Les Brown & His Orchestra
   - Ray Anthony & His Orchestra
   - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
   - Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra
   - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra
   - Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra
   - Harry James & His Orchestra
   - Cootie Williams & His Orchestra
   - Stan Kenton & His Orchestra
   - Jessie Powell Orchestra
   - The Casa Loma Orchestra
   - Tiny Bradshaw & His Orchestra
   - Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra
   - Django Reinhardt & His Orchestra

Other Vintage Bands & Artists
- Louis Jordan & His Orchestra
   - Lionel Hampton & His Septet
   - Gene Krupa's Swing Band
   - Cab Callaway
   - Jimmie Lunceford
   - Billie Holiday
   - Ella Fitzgerald
   - Woody Herman
   - Chick Webb
   - Dinah Washington
   - Coleman Hawkins
   - Fats Waller
   - Martha Davis
   - Andrew Sisters
   - T-Bone Walker
   - Fletcher Henderson
   - Roy Eldridge
   - Benny Carter
- Louie Armstong
   - Louis Prima
   - Nat King Cole Trio
   - Wynonie Harris
   - Dominoes
   - Joe Liggins & His Honey Drippers
   - Bill Haley & His Comets
   - Elvis Presley
   - Jerry Lee Lewis
   - Basin Street Boys
   - Mills Brothers
   - MoonGlows

Contemporary Big Bands (Local)
   - Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra
   - George Gee & His Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra
   - Big Time Operator
   - Eddie Reed Big Band
   - Mora's Modern Rhythmist Orchestra
   - Pete Jacobs & His Wartime Radio Revue
   - Don Miller Orchestra
   - Chester Whitmore's Opus One Orchestra
   - Mike Henebry & His Orchestra
   - The Blue Rhythm Swing Orchestra
   - The Spitfire Band
   - Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra
   - Alumni Association Orchestra
   - Esquires Big Band

Contemporary Swing Bands & Artists
   - Indigo Swing
   - Steve Lucky & the Rumba Bums (featuring Miss Garmen Gettit)
   - Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
   - Royal Crown Revue
   - Jive Aves
- The Chazz Cats
   - Red & The Red Hots
   - Big 6
   - The Swing Session
   - Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88's
   - SwingerHead
   - Casey MacGill & The Spirits of Rhythm
   - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
   - Eric Ekstrand & His Orchestra
   - Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
   - Blues Jumper
   - The Mighty Blues King
   - Rob Rio & the Revolvers
   - The New Morty Show
   - John Pizzarelli
   - Diana Krall
   - Harry Connick Jr.
   - Crescent City Maulers
   - Felix & the BuzzCatz
   - The Max Weinberg 7
   - Dem Brooklyn Bums Big Band
   - Randy Beckett's Jive Train
   - Jellyroll
   - Eight To The Bar
   - Colin James
   - Speak Easy Spies
   - The Manhattan Transfers
   - Hollywood Combo

This WebPage has been authored by Joshua and Kia.