Erenberg (History/Loyola Univ.) picks up the history of American
popular culture where he left off at the end of his previous book,
Steppin' Out: NY Nightlife and the Transformation of American
Culture (not reviewed). From the middle of the 1930s through the
early years of the postwar period, the so-called swing era,
American popular music was dominated by the sound of the big bands,
both jazz bands and "sweet" bands. For the first time in the
history of American popular culture, African-American forms came to
the fore, and the success of big-band jazz made it possible, albeit
with considerable difficulty, for some musicians to push a
pioneering racial integration on the bandstand and even in the
audience. At the same time, Erenberg argues, swing helped revive a
potentially moribund youth culture, verdant in the '20s but
battered by the economic realities of the Depression. A combination
of forces, particularly the repeal of Prohibition and the rise of
radio, made the brief triumph of swing possible. And a brief
triumph it was - the war and the social forces it unleashed, the
Red scare of the post-WW II era and a series of rapid socioeconomic
changes doomed the big bands. This story has been told many times
before, and Erenberg does make some significant contributions to
enriching the picture, most notably in his occasional focus on
audience reaction and participation. But overall this is a
disconnected and often repetitive collection of essays. Moreover,
the book is marred by numerous errors, such as attributing "Bidin'
My Time" to Hoagy Carmichael. The most egregious error, however,
points up the major source of its failure. Erenberg repeats the
tale that Bessie Smith "died as a result of segregation in medical
facilities." Recent scholarship has disproved this version. A
perusal of his footnotes reveals that while Erenberg is
knowledgeable in his own academic field, he has failed to keep up
with the literature of jazz. A disappointing and, frankly, rather
dully written effort. (Kirkus Reviews)
During the 1930s, swing bands combined jazz and popular music to
create large-scale dreams for the Depression generation, capturing
the imagination of America's young people, music critics, and the
music business. "Swingin' the Dream" explores that world, looking
at the racial mixing-up and musical swinging-out that shook the
nation and has kept people dancing ever since.
""Swingin' the Dream" is an intelligent, provocative study of the
big band era, chiefly during its golden hours in the 1930s; not
merely does Lewis A. Erenberg give the music its full due, but he
places it in a larger context and makes, for the most part, a
plausible case for its importance."--Jonathan Yardley, "Washington
Post Book World"
"An absorbing read for fans and an insightful view of the impact of
an important homegrown art form."--"Publishers Weekly"
" A] fascinating celebration of the decade or so in which American
popular music basked in the sunlight of a seemingly endless high
noon."--Tony Russell, "Times Literary Supplement"
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