Benny Goodman The Benny Goodman Hits Collection Vol. 1 (4-CD)

Benny Goodman was a clarinettist and band leader, equally at home with small bands or fronting a large orchestra, whose music covered the spectrum of jazz and popular music in the four decades spanning WWII, and who earned the nickname of "The King Of Swing" as a pioneer of that style of jazz. He was so popular and successful that he racked up well over 150 hits in the quarter century or so from 1930 to the early '50s, so many indeed that we were present them in two volumes - this great-value 94-track 4-CD covers the years from 1931-38, and the 3-CD set "The Benny Goodman Hits Collection Vol. 2 1939-53" (ACTRCD9137) deals with the rest. This collection comprises all hits with his orchestra and small bands during these years on the Melotone, Columbia and Victor labels. It features his No. 1 hits from these years "Moon Glow", "It's Been So Long", "Goody-Goody", "The Glory of Love", "These Foolish Things", "You Turned The Tables On Me", "Goodnight My Love", "This Year's Kisses", "Don't Be That Way" and "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", with performances by featured vocalists Jack Teagarden, Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, Scrappy Lambert, Ann Graham, Helen Ward, Ray Hendricks, Margaret McCrae, Jimmy Rushing, Betty Van and Martha Tilton. It's a fascinating and enlightening overview of a key era of popular music when swing arrived on the scene, and a fine showcase for one of the most influential musicians of his times.