Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller: The Lives and Careers of America's Most Famous Big Band Leaders

When the phrase “the King” is used in the context of American music, most people think of Elvis Presley, but Presley was just a baby when the title was first conferred upon Benny Goodman as the King of Swing in 1935. The Swing Era was a magical period in American history between the hedonism of the Roaring Twenties and the rebelliousness sparked by rock music beginning in the 1950s.Swing music was rooted in ragtime, blues, and jazz music that had long been popular in African American enclav...