Background

Dorsey was born on November 19, 1905 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Francis Dorsey, a miner and self-taught musician who led a band in his spare time, and of Theresa Langton. The father was determined that Tommy and his older brother, Jimmy, would not follow him into the mines. He saw music as their means of escape and began giving them lessons on the cornet as soon as they could blow a horn.

Career

Thomas together with his brother were playing in their father's band; and by the time Tommy was sixteen, they had a band of their own, Dorsey's Wild Canaries. The following year they joined the Scranton Sirens; and in 1924 they moved on to Jean Goldkette's big jazz band in Detroit, where they played with such celebrated musicians as Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, and Eddie Lang. By that time Jimmy had added the saxophone and clarinet to his instruments and Tommy was playing trombone.

The Dorsey brothers joined Paul Whiteman's orchestra briefly when Whiteman hired all of Goldkette's stars in 1927. For the next seven years they were among the busiest musicians in New York, playing radio and recording dates as accompanists to such singers as Bing Crosby and the Boswell Sisters and making their own records as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. Temperamentally, the brothers were exact opposites. Their most celebrated battle occurred at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York, on May 30, 1935. The year before, at the urging of Glenn Miller, the Dorseys had formed an eleven-piece orchestra for which Miller wrote most of the arrangements. The band caught on immediately and, on Memorial Day weekend 1935, they were playing at the packed Glen Island Casino when Tommy beat the tempo for "I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again. " For the next eighteen years the brothers went their separate ways, each leading his own band and rarely speaking to the other.

Jimmy continued to lead the Dorsey Brothers Band while Tommy took over a band from Joe Haymes. It first continued the "Dixieland" style that Glenn Miller had given the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra; but Tommy did not think highly of his talents as a jazz musician. He was a superb technician, a master of intonation and phrasing. As a result the band's arrangements gradually shifted to a more tightly knit, richly harmonized, melodic style. Tommy was a perfectionist so far as his own playing was concerned and, because he expected the same from his sidemen, there was a great deal of turnover in the band. But by 1940 he had developed an orchestra that brought popular dance music to one of its high points. At the beginning of the decade, Dorsey's vocalists were Frank Sinatra and Connie Haines. Later, Jo Stafford was a featured singer. Sy Oliver, whose arrangements had helped establish the unique sound of Jimmie Lunceford's band in the 1930's, joined Dorsey to give the band harmonic and rhythmic depth. The sidemen included Bunny Berigan, Buddy Rich, Ziggy Elman, and, later, Buddy De Franco, Charlie Shavers, Terry Gibbs, and Louis Bellson.

After World War II, the "name" bands that had flourished for more than a decade began to disappear, but Tommy Dorsey's orchestra survived. Dorsey died on November 26, 1956, in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Achievements

• Dorsey is best remembered for his standards, such as "Opus One, " "Song of India, " "Marie, " "On Treasure Island, " and "I'll Never Smile Again. " His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (2CD)

    (Here are 44 tracks that take you back to those amazin' da...)

  • Complete Recordings 1935-1939 ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED 2CD SET

    (Though he might have been ranked second at any given mome...)

  • Ultimate Big Band Collection: Tommy Dorsey

    (With his smooth-toned trombone, Tommy Dorsey led an orche...)

  • Tenderly: The Best Of The Decca Years

    (Because bandleader Tommy Dorsey had so many hits during t...)

  • Greatest Hits

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Jimmy was always the level-headed one, " Bill Rank, a trombonist in the Goldkette band, remembered. "Tommy was impulsive and aggressive. They used to fight like cats and dogs, but no one had better say anything about either one of them because, down deep, they loved each other. "
  
  The brothers' differences stemmed largely from the fact that "Tommy was always a great one for pushing, " as their mother recalled, "and Jimmy for taking his own sweet time. "

Connections

While the Dorseys were with the Goldkette band, in the mid-1920's, Tommy married Mildred Kraft; they had two children. In 1941 he was divorced and on April 8, 1943, he married Pat Dane. That marriage also ended in divorce. On March 27, 1948, he married Jane New; they had two children.

Father:

Thomas Francis Dorsey

Mother:

Theresa Langton

Spouse:

Mildred Kraft

Spouse:

Pat Dane

Spouse:

Jane New

Brother:

Jimmy Dorsey

He was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader.

colleague:

Frank Sinatra

He was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century.

colleague:

Connie Haines

She was an American singer and actress.

References

• Tommy Dorsey On the Side
• Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way, A Biography
• Tommy and Jimmy: The Dorsey Years