From the 'Band that Plays the Blues' in the 1930s through the Thundering Herds of the 1980s, Woody Herman's orchestras thrilled generations of jazz lovers around the world. His dozens of famous recordings included popular tunes like The Woodchopper's Ball and unconventional projects like Ebony Concerto, written specially for Herman by Igor Stravinsky. An accomplished clarinet and saxophone player, Herman also had a sharp eye for talent, a sly sense of humour, and a gift for helping musicians develop.

In Woody Herman: Chronicles of the Herds, William D. Clancy has interviewed scores of Herman's musicians, friends, and family members to compile a fascinating oral history of Woody Herman and his world. Much of the book is told by Herman himself, in quotes drawn from extensive interviews with Clancy and with the late jazz journalist Ralph H. Gleason.

Born in 1913, Woodrow Charles Thomas Herrman started early in vaudeville as a "song and dance kid," then learned the sax and clarinet. At 14, he was touring with a regional band and driving his own Whippet convertible. In 1936, Herman started a hot-jazz outfit called "The Band That Plays the Blues" - "a very bad move in the early stages," he later recalled, "because nobody knew what the blues were."

The band struggled for several years, even after making the hit recording The Woodchopper's Ball. But live radio broadcasts and a steady stream of records opened the door to popular fame. The "Herman Herd" of the mid-1940s (later called the First Herd) was a band that added up to more than the sum of its parts: "We all played above our heads many times." The Herd was a phenomenon, commanding a six-figure annual gross and frequently pictured in the national magazines.

Herman broke up the First Herd in 1946 to spend more time with his family, but found he could not stay off the road for long. His Second Herd offered a bebop-tinged sound and a special sax voicing that became a Herman trademark - three tenors and one baritone - with Stan Getz and Zoot Sims among the featured players. The band dissolved in 1949, as big bands and ballrooms lost popularity, but Herman was back the next year with a new band tailored for the college dance crowd. It would soon be called the Third Herd, followed by the Fourth Herd, the Swingin' Herd of the 1960s, the fusion-influenced bands of the 1970s, and the Thundering Herds from 1980 to 1986.

Disaster struck when it emerged that Herman's trusted manager had failed to pay the band's taxes for years. The venues changed from hotel ballrooms to high-school gyms as jazz became harder to sell. Still Herman faced the world with big band after big band, always listening to his young players and tempering his music with new ideas. Woody Herman: Chronicles of the Herds is a portrait of a courageous performer and a guide to one of the great musical legacies of jazz.

CONTENTS:
Preface Genesis: 1913-1936; "The Band That Plays the Blues": 1936-1943; The First Herd: 1944-1946; The Second Herd (The Four Brothers Band): 1947-1949; The Third Herd: 1950-1955; The Fourth Herd: 1956-1959; The Swingin' Herd-A Renaissance: 1960-1967; "Road Father"-The Fusion Era: 1968-1979; Straight Ahead: 1989-1986; Final Bars: 1987.
Notes; Bibliography; Index.

A former jazz bassist, WILLIAM D. CLANCY now pursues a career in publishing sales and marketing. He collaborated with Ernie Edwards, Jr., to produce one of the first Stan Kenton discographies in 1963. He was both a Herman fan and a close friend of the Herman family.

back to previous page