Biography of Harry James

In 1942, Harry James had the most popular band in the US, broke Benny Goodman's attendance record at New York's Paramount Theater, and made more money than any living musician. He was married to Betty Grable, the #1 pin-up of the Armed Forces, and appeared in feature films himself. It was this great fame, little remembered today, that enabled James to carry on as leader of a big band long after most others had quit -- indeed, only Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton joined him in that select circle. James came to stardom with Benny Goodman's band, which he joined at 20. The son of a circus band leader and a sometime contortionist, he was raised under the big top; his first instrument was drums. At ten, he took up trumpet and soon was winning contests; at 17, he hit the road. His idol was Louis Armstrong, but it was with a piece of "schmaltz," You Made Me Love You, that his struggling big band finally hit the jackpot. From then on, he had to provide liberal doses of sweet stuff, but remained loyal to his jazz muse. (He also was Mr. Nice, letting the unknown singer he'd been first to hire, Frank Sinatra, go on to bigger bucks with rival Tommy Dorsey).Harry had integrated bands; altoist Willie Smith of Lunceford fame was with him for decades. He liked good drummers: Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson both spent time with him. And he loved the Count Basie sound, hiring Ernie Wilkins and Thad Jones and Neal Hefti to write for him. When he wanted to, Harry could play jazz trumpet with the best of them, and more often than not, he did. ~ Dan Morgenstern