Artie Shaw was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Vincent Lopez was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist.
Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You".
Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist.
Edgar Melvin Sampson, nicknamed "The Lamb", was an American jazz composer, arranger, saxophonist, and violinist. Born in New York City, he began playing violin aged six and picked up the saxophone in high school. He worked as an arranger and composer for many jazz bands in the 1930s and 1940s. He composed "Stompin' at the Savoy", a jazz standard.
"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji during a 1935 Pacific cruise aboard Cunard's ocean liner Franconia. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical Jubilee, produced at the Imperial Theatre in New York City. Beguine is a dance and music form, similar to a slow rumba.
Clyde Lanham Hurley, Jr. was a trumpeter during the big band era. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas to Clyde Lanham Hurley and Esther Brown. Scott Yanow describes Hurley as "a fine trumpeter with a fat tone and a hard-driving style". He died of a coronary occlusion in Fort Worth leaving two sons and a former wife.
Irving A. Aaronson was an American jazz pianist and big band leader. Aaronson's most popular song, "The Loveliest Night of the Year", was not recorded with his band but was adapted by Aaronson in 1950 for the Mario Lanza film The Great Caruso.
Jerry Gray was an American violinist, arranger, composer, and leader of swing dance orchestras bearing his name. He is widely known for his work with popular music during the Swing era. His name is inextricably linked to two of the most famous bandleaders of the time, Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller. Gray, along with Bill Finegan, wrote many of Miller's arrangements during the late 1930s and early 1940s. In the latter part of Gray's career, his orchestra served as the house band at the Venetian Room of the Fairmont Hotel, Dallas.
Russell Morgan was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the composers of "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" with Larry Stock and James Cavanaugh. Morgan was the first to record the song.
Charles William Butterfield was an American jazz bandleader, trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist.
John Albert "Johnny" Guarnieri was an American jazz and stride pianist, born in New York City.
Joseph Copeland Garland was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger, best known for writing "In the Mood".
David Michael Barbour was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader.
Richard "Dick" Tobin McDonough was an American jazz guitarist and banjoist. Perhaps best remembered for his duets with fellow guitarist Carl Kress, McDonough appeared on numerous record sessions and radio broadcasts throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Vernon Brown was an American jazz trombonist.
Cliff Leeman was an American jazz drummer. His nickname was "Mr. Time".
Austin James Wylie was an American jazz bandleader.
Jerry Jerome was an American jazz and big band musician, a tenor saxophonist. He played with Glenn Miller and Red Norvo, then Benny Goodman from 1938 to 1940, and Artie Shaw.
Four Star Favorites is a compilation album of phonograph records released in 1941 by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra on Victor Records, containing studio recordings by his second, third and fourth orchestras.
