Where did big bands and swing music go? They didn't leave. . . but many Americans actually believe they disappeared along with ballrooms, jukeboxes, bobby sox and zoot suits decades ago. Band leader Brooks Tegler, who has recreated the great music of World War II with his Army Air Corps Review Big Band, offers a good response. "In order for something to come back, it needs to have gone away. Big bands have wrongly been put in that category. They never went away." And that's the essence of the chapters of my book about America's big bands, ballrooms and dancing's past and present. And there's a good look at the future through the eyes of a number of young bandleaders from the east to west coast who carry on in the tradition of Guy Lombardo, Glenn Miller, Harry James, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington and a host of other music legends in their own distinctive way. The struggle to survive in the music business hasn't been without losses and a need for life support. It did when Miller, Benny Goodman, James and Ellington were in their heyday. It's a financially precarious business regardless of your talent. Inevitably, music and dancing evolved and matured. The reasons are numerous and linked to our heritage. But like marching bands on the 4th of July, imagine a country club new year's eve without live dance music and a big band. Think about the many community social events and high school and college proms let alone wedding receptions that still insist on having live bands to play the foxtrots and swing numbers people enjoy. My research shows that while there were approximately 800 big bands on the road during the swing era of the 1940s, today there are nearly 1,300 big bands, according to a Google search and a review of hundreds of territory bands. Consequently, neither the bands nor the music vanished. . . they scattered throughout the American countryside.

In this book you will find an astounding 400 biographies that highlight the history and personnel of the great bands. It is organized into four sections: “The Big Bands--Then” (the scene, the leaders, the public, the musicians, vocalists, arrangers and businessmen, recordings, radio, movies and the press); “Inside the Big Bands” (profiles of 72 top bands); “Inside More of the Big Bands” (hundreds of additional profiles arranged by categories (“The Arranging Leaders,” “The Horn-playing Leaders,” etc.); and “The Big Bands Now.” The Big Bands is one of the best books on the subject. It is both readable and an invaluable reference source for the study of jazz standards since many were written by big band leaders or musicians or were popularized through their performances and recordings. The index is comprehensive with names but lists no songs. George T. Simon was one of the original organizers and members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra for which he played the drums. He was also one of the first writers for Metronome Magazine where he remained from 1935 until 1955.

On July 4, 1825, construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal began with the turning of the first shovel of earth in the Buckeye Lake area. Completed in 1830, it formed the Licking Summit Reservoir, which became known as Buckeye Lake. To increase weekend business on its streetcars, the Columbus, Buckeye Lake and Newark Traction Company bought land at Buckeye Lake and built an amusement park, advertising it as “the Playground of Ohio.” The Buckeye Lake Amusement Park and the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club on Watkins Island were very popular, and during the big band era, many visitors came to dance at the Crystal Pavilion and the Lake Breeze Pier Ballroom, which featured the sounds of Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Lawrence Welk, and Louis Armstrong.

As one of the last major ballrooms located in this great nation, the Sunnybrook Ballroom is a historical and intricate part of Pennsylvanias past. Since 1926, the Sunnybrook Ballroom has been an established landmark in its community and is recognized nationwide. Opening its doors in 1931, the grand ballroom was built as an addition to the swim club and dance pavilion. For years, Sunnybrook has served as a viable piece of Americana and has seen many big-name performers upon its stage, including Glenn Miller, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Lawrence Welk, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Checker, and even Bill Haley and the Comets. Using vintage photographs, The Sunnybrook Ballroom traces the history of this cherished haven for big band fans, rock and rollers, and music lovers alike.

The Valley Dale Ballroom began as a stagecoach stop in the 1880s and later served as a tavern and overnight inn. The dance hall was added in the early 1920s, thus bringing about the birth of the Valley Dale Ballroom, or "The Dale." In the 1930s, the wisdom of the Peppe brothers' ballroom purchase and their connection to the neoteric music of that generation assisted in their cultivation of the big band era. Significant musical giants like Benny Goodman, Harry James, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Dean Martin (before he knew Tommy Dorsey's vocalist Frank Sinatra) each appeared on that marvelous stage, while CBS and NBC broadcast nightly from the ballroom. After World War II ended, the ballroom was no longer the nightly spot for music it once was. War and soaring band costs ushered in different uses for the ballroom's survival; it was hosting rock bands while becoming a wedding and event facility.

The Willowbrook Ballroom was originally built as an outdoor dance pavilion named Oh Henry Park by Austrian immigrant John Verderbar. Wildly successful, it was enlarged and fully enclosed in 1923, and a 10¢-a-dance policy was implemented. Destroyed by fire in 1930, a determined Verderbar hired a crew of 200 carpenters, and a new facility was built to the tune of a then-staggering $100,000. In 1959, it was renamed the Willowbrook Ballroom, and dancers have since enjoyed the big band sounds of Count Basie, Teddy Lee, Harry James, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. As record crowds flocked to the 6,000-square-foot dance floor, the Willowbrook also became a favorite setting for weddings, proms, and other once-in-a-lifetime events. Today, at the height of its popularity, the Willowbrook is one of only five ballrooms of its magnitude in the United States and the only one remaining in the greater Chicagoland area.