Record producers also realized that it is far cheaper to work with a small band composed from studio musicians, because they did not have to pay lots of money for an arranger to write orchestration and arrangements for a large number of musicians and musical instruments, as it was the case with big bands. Sinatra welcomed the idea. This allowed him to choose his own arrangers. Sharp and shrewd, Sinatra was able to convince the legendary Axel Stordahl, the musical arranger of Dorsey to quit Dorsey’s band and work for him. Sinatra opened the door for many non-union arrangers, and work was abundant. Later on, many stars of the era will imitate Sinatra and hire their own arrangers.
Early Stars Of The Music Business: By the end of the war, singers like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, Jo Stafford, Andy Russell, were the superstars of the music business.
Photos from L to R: 1-Dick Haymes was born on September 13, 1916 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died from lung cancer on March 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California. He renounced his United States citizenship in 1944 and registered himself as resident alien. He starred in “Won Ton Ton”, “The Dog Who Saved Hollywood” (26-May-1976), “One Touch of Venus” (Aug-1948), “The Shocking Miss Pilgrim” (4-Jan-1947), “State Fair” (29-Aug-1945), “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” (19-Oct-1944). 2-Jo Stafford was born on November 12, 1917 in Coalinga, California. In the early 1990s, Stafford won a huge breach-of-contract lawsuit against her former record label, which won her rights to all of her old recordings. Soon after, Stafford reactivated her Corinthian Record label. In 1966, she retired from the music business. But briefly, in 1977, she did the Jonathan and Darlene Edwards version of “Stayin' Alive.” In 1990, Stafford sang at a ceremony honoring Frank Sinatra. Unquestionably, Stafford was one of the most popular singers of the post-war period. 3-Helen Forrest was born on April 12, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She died on Jul 11, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. Forrest was one of the more popular big band era singers. In her early career, she used many names, such as Bonnie Blue and The Blue Lady.
Photos from L to R: 1-Benny Goodman and members of his band in 1938. 2-By the 1950s, Nat King Cole became on of the 10 top recording artists in America. 3-At 26, Frank Sinatra became the greatest and most popular vocalist of the era. Continues Next