Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his death in 1987. His bands often played music that was cutting edge and experimental; their recordings received numerous

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations.

Early life and career

Herman was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, on May 16, 1913. His parents were Otto and Myrtle (Bartoszewicz) Herrmann. His mother was born in Poland. His father had a deep love for show business and this influenced Woody at an early age. As a child, Woody Herman worked as a singer and tap-dancer in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, then started to play the clarinet and saxophone by age 12. In 1931 he met Charlotte Neste, an aspiring actress; the couple married on September 27, 1936. Woody Herman joined the Tom Gerun band and his first recorded vocals were " Lonesome Me" and "My Heart's at Ease". Herman also performed with the Harry Sosnick orchestra,

Gus Arnheim Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being " I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. ...

and

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jon ...

. Jones wrote many popular songs (including " It Had to Be You") and at some point was tiring of the demands of leading a band and wanted to live off the residuals of his songs. Herman saw the chance to lead his former band and eventually acquired the remains of the orchestra after Jones' retirement.

The Band That Plays the Blues, 1936–1943

Herman's first band became known for its orchestrations of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and was sometimes billed as "The Band That Plays the Blues". This band recorded for the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label, at first serving as a cover band, doing songs by other Decca artists. The first song recorded was "Wintertime Dreams" on November 6, 1936. In January 1937,

George T. Simon George Thomas Simon (May 9, 1912 – February 13, 2001) was an American jazz writer and occasional drummer. He began as a drummer and performed in this role in early versions of Glenn Miller's orchestra. He wrote about that orchestra in 1974 with ...

ended a review of the band with the words: "This Herman outfit bears watching; not only because it's fun listening to in its present stages, but also because it's bound to reach even greater stages." After two and a half years on the label, the band had its first hit, "

Woodchopper's Ball "Woodchopper's Ball", also known as "At the Woodchopper's Ball" is a 1939 jazz composition by Joe Bishop and Woody Herman. The up-tempo blues tune in D-flat major was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular compositio ...

" recorded in 1939. Herman remembered that "Woodchopper's Ball" started out slowly. " was really a sleeper. But Decca kept re-releasing it, and over a period of three or four years it became a hit. Eventually it sold more than five million copies—the biggest hit I ever had." Decca also used Herman to accompany its other artists and gave the band the name "Woody Herman's Woodchoppers" for such recordings. There were two notable hits using that title with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, "The Whistler's Mother-in-law" (with Muriel Lane singing with Crosby) in 1941 and

Deep in the Heart of Texas "Deep in the Heart of Texas" is an American popular song about Texas. The 1941 song features lyrics by June Hershey and music by Don Swander. In 1942, Five versions of the song were on the ''Billboard'' charts, with three in the top 10. "Deep ...

" in 1942. In January 1942, Herman would have his highest-rated single (No. 1 in the ''Billboard'' charts), singing

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

's "

Blues in the Night "Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun wi ...

" backed by his orchestra. Other hits for the band include "Blue Flame" and "

Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental ("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight t ...

". Musicians and arrangers that stood out included Cappy Lewis on trumpet and saxophonist/arranger

Deane Kincaide Robert Deane Kincaide (March 18, 1911 – August 14, 1992) was an American jazz reedman. Kincaide was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Decatur, Illinois. He began playing professionally and working as an arranger in the early 1930s. He worked ...

.Visser 17 "

The Golden Wedding "La Cinquantaine" (French "the fiftieth anniversary") is a piece of light music composed by Jean Gabriel-Marie in 1887. A swing arrangement of the work by James "Jiggs" Noble, recorded in New York City in late 1940 or early 1941 by Woody Herma ...

" (1941), arranged by James "Jiggs" Noble, featured an extended (34 bars) drum solo by

Frankie Carlson Frankie is a diminutive of Frank, Francis, Francisco, Francine, and Francesca. People *Frankie (musician), indie pop musician from Los Angeles, California *Frankie Abernathy (1981–2007), American MTV Real World cast member * Frankie Adams (born ...

Be-bop and the First Herd, 1944–1946

The trumpeter

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

wrote three arrangements for Herman, " Woody'n You", "Swing Shift", and "Down Under". These were arranged in 1942. "Woody'n You" was not used at the time. "Down Under" was recorded July 24, 1942. Herman's commissioning Gillespie to write arrangements for the band and hiring

Ralph Burns Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...

as a staff arranger heralded a change in the style of music the band was playing. In February 1945, the band started a contract with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Herman liked what drew many artists to Columbia,

Liederkranz Hall The Liederkranz of New York City is an organization devoted to cultural and social exchange as well as the sponsorship of musical events. Its activities are dedicated to the support, development and preservation of culture in New York City. Its ob ...

, at the time the best recording venue in New York City. The first side Herman recorded was "Laura", the theme song of the 1944 movie. Herman's version was so successful that it made Columbia hold from release the arrangement that

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

had recorded days earlier. The Columbia contract coincided with a change in the band's repertoire. The 1944 group, which he called the First Herd, was known for its

progressive jazz Progressive music is music that attempts to expand existing stylistic boundaries associated with specific genres of music. The word comes from the basic concept of "progress", which refers to advancements through accumulation, and is often dep ...

. The First Herd's music was heavily influenced by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

. Its lively, swinging arrangements, combining bop themes with swing rhythm parts, were greatly admired. As of February 1945, the personnel included

Sonny Berman Saul "Sonny" Berman (April 21, 1925 – January 16, 1947) was an American jazz trumpeter. Berman was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He began touring at age sixteen and performed with Louis Prima, Harry James and Benny Goodman, but ...

Pete Candoli Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli(June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries. Career A native ...

, Bill Harris,

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conc ...

Billy Bauer William Henry Bauer (November 14, 1915 – June 17, 2005) was an American jazz guitarist. Life William Henry Bauer was born in New York City. He played ukulele and banjo as a child before switching to guitar. He played with the Jerry Wald ban ...

(later replaced by

Chuck Wayne Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was an American jazz guitarist. He came to prominence in the 1940s, and was among the earliest jazz guitarists to play in the bebop style. Wayne was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, the f ...

, and Davey Tough.Lees 109 On February 26, 1945, in New York City, the Woody Herman band recorded "Caldonia".Clancy 68

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for '' The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in hi ...

and Ralph Burns collaborated on the arrangement of "Caldonia" that the Herman band used. "Ralph caught

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

inging "Caldonia"in an act and wrote the opening twelve bars and the eight bar tag." "But the most amazing thing on the record was a soaring eight bar passage by trumpets near the end." These eight measures have wrongly been attributed to a Gillespie solo, but were in fact originally written by

. George T. Simon compares Hefti with Gillespie in a 1944 review for ''

Metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

'' magazine saying, "Like Dizzy .. Hefti has an abundance of good ideas, with which he has aided Ralph Burns immensely." In 1946, the band won ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'', ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' polls for best band, nominated by their peers in the big band business. Classical composer

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

wrote the '' Ebony Concerto'', one in a series of compositions commissioned by Herman with solo clarinet, for this band in 1945. Herman recorded the work at Belock Recording Studio in Bayside, New York. Herman called it a "very delicate and a very sad piece". Stravinsky felt that the jazz musicians would have a hard time with the various time signatures. Saxophonist Flip Philips said: "During the rehearsal ..there was a passage I had to play there and I was playing it soft, and Stravinsky said 'Play it, here I am!' and I blew it louder and he threw me a kiss!" Stravinsky observed the massive amount of smoking at the recording session: "the atmosphere looked like Pernod clouded by water." ''Ebony Concerto'' was performed live by the Herman band on March 25, 1946, at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Despite the Carnegie Hall success and other triumphs, Herman was forced to disband the orchestra in 1946 at the height of its success. This was his only financially successful band; he left it to spend more time with his wife and family. During this time, he and his family had just moved into the former Hollywood home of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

and

Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

. One reason Herman may have disbanded was his wife Charlotte's growing alcoholism and pill addiction. Charlotte Herman joined

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...

and gave up everything she was addicted to. Woody said, laughing: "I went to an AA meeting with Charlotte and my old band was sitting there."Lees 147 Many critics cite December 1946 as the actual date the big-band era ended, when seven other bands, in addition to Herman's, dissolved.

"The Four Brothers Band" and more Herds, 1947–1969

In 1947, Herman organized the Second Herd. This band was also known as "The Four Brothers Band". This derives from the song recorded December 27, 1947, for Columbia Records, " Four Brothers", written by

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

, featuring the saxophone section of

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Serge Chaloff Serge Chaloff (November 24, 1923 – July 16, 1957) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. One of bebop's earliest baritone saxophonists, Chaloff has been described as 'the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has eve ...

Herbie Steward Herbert Bickford "Herbie" Steward (May 7, 1926 Los Angeles, California, United States – August 9, 2003 Clearlake, California) was an American jazz saxophonist. He was widely known for being one of the tenor saxophone players in '' Four Broth ...

, and

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

.Clancy 121 The other musicians of this band included

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R ...

, Lou Levy,

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Jazz bassist Christian McBride called Pettiford "probably the most imp ...

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

, and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...

. Among this band's hits were "

Early Autumn ''Early Autumn'' is a 1926 novel by Louis Bromfield. It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1927. In 1956, producer Benedict Bogeaus announced that he was adapting the book into a film to be titled "Conquest," but the film was never made. ...

" and "The Goof and I". The band was popular enough that they went to Hollywood in the mid-1940s. Herman and his band appear in the movie ''

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

'' (1947) with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. In 1947, Herman was Emcee and also played at the third Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in Los Angeles which was produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr. Leon Norman Hefflin Sr. (August 17, 1898 – November 20, 1975) was a pioneering African-American producer, director, business owner, furniture manufacturer, and entrepreneur. After losing his large and successful manufacturing business in the De ...

on September 7, 1947. The Valdez Orchestra, The Blenders,

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

Slim Gaillard Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing ...

The Honeydrippers The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally ...

, Johnny Otis and his Orchestra,

Sarah Vaughn Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, and the Three Blazers also performed that same day. Woody Herman

Herman's other bands include the Third Herd (1950–1956) and various later editions during the 1960s. In the 1950s, the Third Herd successfully toured Europe. He was known for hiring the best young musicians and using their arrangements. In the early and mid 1960s, Herman fronted a Herd featuring

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

, drummer

Jake Hanna Jake Hanna (April 4, 1931 – February 12, 2010) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States. Hanna first performed in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the house drummer at Storyville nightclub in Boston, ...

, tenor saxophonist

Sal Nistico Salvatore Nistico (April 2, 1940 – March 3, 1991) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Associated for many years with Woody Herman's Herd, Nistico played in the group from 1962 to 1965, considered one of Herman's best bands, with ...

, trombonists Phil Wilson and Henry Southall and trumpeters like

Bill Chase Bill Chase (October 20, 1934 – August 9, 1974) was an American trumpeter and leader of the jazz-rock band Chase. Biography Bill Chase was born William Edward Chiaiese on October 20, 1934, to an Italian-American family in Squantum, Massa ...

, Paul Fontaine, and

Duško Gojković Duško Gojković ( sr-Cyrl, Душко Гојковић; 14 October 1931 – 5 April 2023) was a Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Biography Gojković was born on 14 October 1931, in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time part ...

. By 1968, the Herman library came to be heavily influenced by

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. He was also known to feature brass and woodwind instruments rarely associated with jazz, such as the bassoon, oboe, and French horn. In concert, as the evening wore on and the crowd started dissipating, Herman would often leave the stage and let the band continue the last set on its own; but Terry Gibbs confirmed that the band never sounded the same without Herman being present.

"The Young Thundering Herds", 1970–1987

In the early 1970s, he toured frequently and began to work more in

jazz education Each style and era of jazz adopted new techniques to help educate younger musicians. Early forms of jazz education were more informal. Since the first degree program was founded in 1947, the rise of institutionalized jazz education, resulted in ja ...

, offering workshops and taking on younger sidemen. For this reason, he got the nickname Road Father and the bands were known as the "Young Thundering Herds". In January 1973, Herman was one of the featured halftime performers at

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

. In 1974, Woody Herman's band appeared without their leader for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's television special ''

The Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

'' and album '' The Main Event – Live''. Both were recorded mainly on October 13, 1974, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City. On November 20, 1976, a reconstituted Woody Herman band played at Carnegie Hall in New York City, celebrating Herman's fortieth anniversary as a bandleader. By the 1980s, Herman had returned to more straight-ahead jazz but augmented with rock and fusion. Herman signed a recording contract with

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists ha ...

around 1980. In 1981, John S. Wilson reviewed one of Herman's first Concord recordings ''Woody Herman Presents a Concord Jam, Vol. I''. Wilson's review says that the recording presents a band that is less frenetic than his bands from the forties to the seventies. Instead, it takes the listener back to the relaxed style of Herman's first band of the thirties that recorded for Decca.

Timeline of Woody Herman Bands

ImageSize = width:1000 height:200 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:120 top:0 right:14 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1936 till:31/12/1987 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1936 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1936 Colors = id:bbb value:black legend:Band That Plays The Blues id:bebop value:red legend:Bebop/First Herd id:fb value:green legend:Four Brothers id:yth value:blue legend:Young Thundering Herds LineData = at:01/01/1936 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1941 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1945 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1951 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1956 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1961 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1966 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1971 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1976 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1981 color:black layer:back at:31/12/1987 color:black layer:back PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Band That Plays The Blues from:01/10/1936 till: 01/10/1944 color:bbb bar:Bebop/First Herd from:01/10/1944 till: 08/10/1947 color:bebop bar:Four Brothers from:01/10/1947 till: 31/12/1969 color:fb bar:Young Thundering Herds from:08/10/1970 till: 31/12/1987 color:yth

Last years

Herman continued to perform into the 1980s, after the death of his wife and with his health in decline, chiefly to pay back taxes that were owed because of his business manager's bookkeeping in the 1960s. Herman owed the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

millions of dollars and was in danger of eviction from his home. With this added stress, Herman still kept performing. In a December 5, 1985, review of the band at the Blue Note jazz club for ''The New York Times'', John S. Wilson pointed out: "In a one-hour set, Mr. Herman is able to show off his latest batch of young stars—the baritone saxophonist Mike Brignola, the bassist Bill Moring, the pianist Brad Williams, the trumpeter Ron Stout—and to remind listeners that one of his own basic charms is the dry humor with which he shouts the blues." Wilson also spoke about arrangements by Bill Holman and

John Fedchock John William Fedchock (born September 18, 1957) is an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, and arranger. Early life and education Fedchock was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at Ohio State University and the Eastman School of Music at th ...

for special attention. Wilson spoke of the continuing influence of

on Woody Herman bands from the 1940s to the 1980s. Before Woody Herman died in 1987 he delegated most of his duties to leader of the reed section,

Frank Tiberi Frank Tiberi (born December 4, 1928) is an American saxophonist and the leader of the Woody Herman Orchestra. He was born in Camden, New Jersey, United States. He was picked by Woody Herman shortly before Herman's death and has led the band sinc ...

. Tiberi leads the current version of the Woody Herman orchestra. Tiberi said at the time of Herman's death that he would not change the band's repertoire or library. Herman died on October 29, 1987, and had a Catholic funeral on November 2 at St. Victor's in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

. He is interred in a niche in the columbarium behind the Cathedral Mausoleum in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

. Awards won by the Woody Herman orchestras with major publications: "Voted best swing band in 1945 ''DownBeat'' poll; Silver Award by critics in 1946 and 1947 ''Esquire'' polls; won ''Metronome'' poll, band division, 1946 and 1953. A documentary film titled ''Woody Herman: Blue Flame – Portrait of a Jazz Legend'' was released on DVD in late 2012 by the jazz documentary filmmaker Graham Carter, owner of Jazzed Media, to salute Herman and his centenary in May 2013.

Gold records and charts (singles and albums)

Gold Records *1939 ''

'' (

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

) instrumental *1945 '' Laura'' (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) vocal by Woody Herman

Hits as charted singles

(Songs that reached the top of the US or UK charts) Between 1937 and 1956, Herman had numerous hits on ''Billboard''s charts.

Hits as charted albums

(Albums charting history with ''Billboard'' magazine)

Grammy Awards

Grammy Awards (albums) , - , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2", '' Encore: Woody Herman, 1963'' , Best Performance by an orchestra – for dancing , , - , rowspan="14", Best Jazz Performance – Large Group (Instrumental) , , - , , ''Woody Herman '64'' , , - , , ''Woody's Winners'' , , - , , ''Woody Live – East And West'' , , - , , ''Concerto For Herd'' , , - , , ''Light My Fire'' , , - , , ''Woody'' , , - , , ''Giant Steps'' , , - , , ''Thundering Herd'' , , - , , ''The 40th Anniversary, Carnegie Hall Concert'' , , - , , ''Live At The Concord Jazz Festival 1981'' , , - , , ''World Class'' , , - , , ''50th Anniversary Tour'' , , - , , ''Woody's Gold Star'' , Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award , - , , 1987 , , , Woody Herman , , Lifetime Achievement Award , ,

Further awards and honors

*Honored on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

(Recording – 6805 Hollywood Blvd.) *Woody Herman Music Archives established at the University of Houston School of Music, 1974 *Honorary doctorate,

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, 1977

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Blues On Parade'' (

, 1940) * ''Sequence In Jazz'' with the First Herd ( Columbia, 1948) * ''Swinging with the Woodchoppers'' with the First Herd ( Dial, 1950) * ''Blue Prelude'' (

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

, 1950) * ''Woody Herman Goes Native'' (

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, 1953) * ''Four Shades of Blue'' ( Columbia, 1953) * ''The 3 Herds'' (Columbia, 1954) * ''Men From Mars'' (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1954) * ''Music For Tired Lovers'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''Ridin' Herd'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''The Woody Herman Band!'' (

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

, 1955) * ''Road Band!'' (Capitol, 1955) * ''HI FI-ing Herd'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, 1955) * ''Jackpot!'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''Blues Groove'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''Hi-Fi Drums'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''Twelve Shades of Blue'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''Songs For Hip Lovers'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

, 1957) * ''Woody Herman '58 featuring The Preacher'' (Verve, 1958) * ''Jazz, The Utmost!'' (Columbia, 1958) * ''Moody Woody'' (

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

, 1958) * ''Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat!'' (Everest, 1958) * ''The Herd Rides Again – in Stereo'' (Everest, 1958) * ''The Fourth Herd'' ( Jazzland, 1960) * ''The New Swingin' Herman Herd'' (

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, 1960) * ''Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 1962) * ''

Woody Herman–1963 ''Woody Herman–1963'' is a 1963 studio album by Woody Herman and his big band. The album peaked at 136 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Reception Ken Dryden reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that "While this is hardly "the Swingin'est Big ...

'' (Philips, 1962) * ''Hey! Heard The Herd?'' (Verve, 1963) * ''Woody's Big Band Goodies'' (Philips, 1965) * ''Woody's Winners'' (Columbia, 1965) * ''My Kind of Broadway'' (Columbia, 1965) * ''The Jazz Swinger'' (Columbia, 1966) * ''Jazz Hoot'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''Light My Fire'' (

Cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

, 1968) * ''Somewhere'' (Cadet, 1969) * ''Heavy Exposure'' (Cadet, 1970) * ''Woody'' (Cadet, 1970) * ''Brand New'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, 1971) * ''The Raven Speaks'' (Fantasy, 1972) * ''Giant Steps'' (Fantasy, 1973) * ''Thundering Herd'' (Fantasy, 1974) * ''Children of Lima'' (Fantasy, 1975) * ''King Cobra'' (Fantasy, 1976) * ''Road Father'' (

Century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

, 1978) * ''Flip Phillips/Woody Herman – Together'' (Century, 1978) * ''Chick, Donald, Walter, and Woodrow'' (Century, 1978) * ''Feelin' So Blue'' (Fantasy, 1981) * ''Presents Volume 2 ...Four Others'' (Concord, 1982) * '' Rosemary Clooney/Woody Herman – My Buddy'' (Concord, 1983) * ''World Class'' (Concord, 1984) * ''Woody's Gold Star'' (Concord, 1987)

Live albums

* ''At Carnegie Hall, 1946 Vol. I'' with the First Herd (

, 1952) * ''Woody Herman Sextet At The Roundtable'' (

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, R-25067 Forum F 9016 1959) * ''Woody Herman's Big New Herd – At The Monterey Jazz Festival'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1960) * ''

Encore Woody Herman–1963 ''Encore Woody Herman–1963'' is a 1963 live album by Woody Herman and his big band recorded at Basin Street West Jazz Club in Los Angeles, California, in May 1963. Track listing # "That's Where It Is" (Teddy Castion) - 3:58 # " Watermelon ...

'' (Philips, 1963) * ''Woody Herman: 1964'' (Philips, 1964) * ''The Swinging Herman Herd-Recorded Live'' (Philips, 1964) * ''Woody Live East And West'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''Concerto for Herd – At the Monterey Jazz Festival'' (Atlantic, 1968) * ''Herd At Montreux'' (Fantasy, 1974) * ''The 40th Anniversary, Carnegie Hall Concert'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1977) * ''Woody Herman Presents A Concord Jam Volume 1'' (

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, 1981) * ''Aurex Jazz Festival '82'' (Eastworld/Toshiba, 1982) * ''Live At The Concord Jazz Festival'' (Concord, 1982) * ''50th Anniversary Tour'' (Concord, 1986)

As sideman

;With

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

*''

How Hi the Fi ''How Hi the Fi'', subtitled ''A Buck Clayton Jam Session'', is an album by trumpeter Buck Clayton which was recorded in 1953 and 1954 and released by Columbia.Edwards, D., Callahan, M., Watts, R. and Eyries, PColumbia Main Series, Part 1: GL 50 ...

'' (Columbia, 1954) *''

Jumpin' at the Woodside "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...

'' (Columbia, 1955)

References

External links

PBS – JAZZ A Film By Ken BurnsWoody Herman Biography
* * ttps://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/204456 Woody Herman recordingsat the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. *
The Complete Columbia Recordings of Woody Herman And His Orchestra & Woodchoppers 1945-1947 (Mosaic Records) Loren Schoenberg
' *
Doug Ramsey-The Complete Capitol Recordings of Woody Herman(Mosaic Records)
' * The Complete Capitol Recordings Of Woody Herman (listen at Archive.org) * The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Woody Herman 1945-1947 (listen at Archive.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Woody 1913 births 1987 deaths American big band bandleaders Cool jazz clarinetists Swing clarinetists Cool jazz saxophonists Swing saxophonists American jazz bandleaders American jazz clarinetists American vaudeville performers Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Musicians from Milwaukee Capitol Records artists Decca Records artists Kent Records artists Concord Records artists Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 20th-century American clarinetists 20th-century American saxophonists American people of Polish descent Hep Records artists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members