Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way--A Biography [Hardcover]

Peter J. Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2005

Swing has never gone out of style. It was the music the Greatest Generation danced to-and went to war to. And no musician evokes the Big Band era more strikingly than Tommy Dorsey, whose soaring trombone play and hit tunes influenced popular music for a generation. Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956) led a rich and complex life. Beginning with his childhood in the coal mining towns of Pennsylvania, we follow the young trombonist's journey to fame and fortune during the jazz age. Tommy, with his brother Jimmy, created one of the most popular bands of the era and played with such giants as Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller. They also launched the career of a skinny young singer named Frank Sinatra. But Tommy's volcanic personality eventually split the band and Tommy went off on his own. Drawing on exhaustive new research and scores of interviews with the musicians who knew him best, Levinson delves into Dorsey's famously eccentric lifestyle and his oversize appetite for drink, women, and perfection. The first biography on Dorsey in more than thirty years, Tommy Dorsey is a dazzling portrait of the Big Band era's brightest star-his tumultuous life, his turbulent times, and the unforgettable music that made him a legend.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Levinson, a former entertainment publicist, booking agent and personal manager, delivers a definitive biography of trombonist-bandleader Dorsey (1905–1956). As children in Pennsylvania coal mining country, brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey practiced daily, and music became their ticket out. By 1930, their versatility was evident; they did 15 radio shows a week in New York, while also performing for movie soundtracks, dance dates and theater pit jobs. Hit records followed after the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra signed with Decca in 1934, but blow-ups between the brothers led Tommy to quit the following year. The split led to two bands, both successful, and in 1939, Tommy wisely hired Frank Sinatra away from Harry James. Reunited as the Fabulous Dorseys, the brothers introduced Elvis Presley to the national TV audience on Stage Show, their 1954–1956 CBS series. Levinson's authoritative approach, layered with details, makes this book a bonanza for big band fans. He shares an arsenal of anecdotes, having interviewed over 160 people, including family, friends and ex-Dorsey musicians. The result is a striking portrait of Tommy Dorsey—"volatile, demanding, yet charming and engaging"—and a successful recreation of the swing era's glory days. 32 photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Marking the great bandleader's centenary, the first biography of Tommy Dorsey (1905-56) in more than 30 years offers a multifaceted portrait of a complex man. Levinson begins where Dorsey did, in the hardscrabble anthracite--mining towns of eastern Pennsylvania and in a family of self-taught musicians. Dorsey eventually became as famous (notorious) for the disciplined work ethic and toughness his perfectionist father instilled in him as for his trombone skills. Levinson traces Dorsey and his reed-player brother Jimmy from early gigs in Pennsylvania dance halls to Paul Whiteman's orchestra to forming their own ensemble, from which Tommy seceded to create one of the most popular big bands ever and launch two supernova stars, Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra. Hot-tempered, impetuous, prone to violence, stubborn to a fault, a problem drinker, Dorsey wasn't easy to be around, and after Sinatra left, Dorsey's popularity plummeted. But when reunited with Jimmy for a short-run TV show, it was Frankie all over again: Dorsey, not Ed Sullivan, introduced the nation to Elvis Presley. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (October 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306811111
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811111
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,418,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Amazing Dorsey Saga, February 24, 2006

By 

A. T. Herbert-jones "Alan Jones" (Harbord, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way--A Biography (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this well researched and well written book, as I did the two previous efforts by this writer on Harry James and Nelson Riddle. It is a fascinating account of the life and times of the big touring bands in the swing era. I found it very hard to put down but sorry when I finished it. A very fine piece of work in my opinion.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TOOTIN' DORSEY'S HORN, GOOD AND BAD, November 5, 2006

By 

Alan W. Petrucelli (THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way--A Biography (Hardcover)

Few musicians evoke the Big Band era more than Tommy Dorsey. With his soaring trombone playing and hit tunes, he left an indelible mark on American culture, yet few know that off stage, Dorsey's personal life was as fascinating as the music he created on stage. A man driven by his passion for women and drink as much as for music, Dorsey was a perfectionist who lived on overload. Peter Levinson's bio, drawn on exhaustive new research and scores of interviews with those who knew Dorsey best, takes us center stage and behind the scenes, toppling the swing era's icon sweet and mellow image and replacing it with a more truthful, multi-faceted portrait of a man of extreme excess. All the high and low notes Dorsey achieved are here. Play on!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A PAGE TURNER FOR AMATEURS OF THE SWING ERA!, February 22, 2006

By 

Reinhold Schwarzwald (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way--A Biography (Hardcover)

Peter Levinson's book is a fun, entertaining and well researched portrait of one of the swing era's great artists and bandleaders. Levinson takes the reader on a journey into the life and work of the multi-faceted personality of Dorsey, who worked relentlessly to lead his orchestra to become one of the biggest successes of its era. Dorsey who had a significant influence on the music scene of his time was also the mentor of what would become one of the most successful entertainers of all time - Frank Sinatra.

Guided by Levinson, the reader gets insights from behind the scenes about Dorsey and Band, largely hidden from the public eye. Spiked with anecdotes of colleagues and other contemporaries, written with wit and an underlying satirical humor by a publicist who has worked with some jazz giants, this book is a page turner for anyone interested in this era, be it amateurs or professionals.