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.
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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 SawyersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
