Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey was an American bandleader, composer and trombonist during the big band era, known as the Sentimental Gentleman of Swing for a smooth trombone tone. Born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, he first studied trumpet with his father and later took up trombone. As a teenager he joined the Scranton Sirens, then played in groups led by Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman, and in 1929 he and his brother Jimmy scored a hit with Coquette. Tommy formed his own orchestra in 1935, and it became known for dance-tempo ballads, often featuring vocalists including Jack Leonard and Frank Sinatra. His biggest success was I'll Never Smile Again, which spent twelve weeks at number one in 1940 with Sinatra singing. He appeared in Girl Crazy (1943), The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) and A Song Is Born (1948), and later reunited with Jimmy for the television program Stage Show, where Elvis Presley made his national television debut.