Woody Herman

Woody Herman was a multitalented person. He was not only a clarinetist and a
saxophonist but at the same time, he was a singer as well. Woody Herman was
renowned for being the leaders of one of the most popular bands who specialized
in Jazz by the name of Thundering Herds which was lead by him for more than 50
years. His performance mainly focusing on the cutting edge music but also
experimenting side by side for which the entire band was not only nominated but
also awarded Grammy awards for numerous performances.

Early years

Woody Herman or as named at birth Woodrow Charles Herman was born on 16th
of May in the year 1913 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin located in United States. He was
born to Otto and Myrtle Herman. His interest in the show business was ultimately
the product of his father’s interest which influenced him as well. He was also
considered as a child prodigy when it came to music as he started singing and
dancing b delivering his performances by the age of six in Vaudeville. His talent
was also recognized when he started playing saxophone and clarinet soon after
his earlier performances. Following the same he even released his first record by
the name of “The Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia” by the age of 16.

Even though he had started to make a name for himself, he pursued his passion
for music by studying about music at the Marquette University located in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a term. He left the same and became a touring
musician joining his first band in 1929. While on one of the tours in the year 1931,
Woody met Charlotte Neste, who was also an inspiring actress and married her on
27th September, 1936.

Career

His career started since the age of 6 only but he got associated with the various
bands and his first band was Tom Gerun and there he recorded his first song also
performing with some of the legends at that time. Developing upon the same, he
became a part of the Isham Jones Junior in the year 1934 but the same disbanded
in the year 1936 and Woody used this opportunity to put his talent to a test and
took to lead the band and ensemble the band with new members which started
to be recognized as “Band That Plays the Blues”. With the new band, Woody was
propelled to new heights of stardom with the success of their album by the name
of ‘Woodchopper’s Ball’ in the year 1939 and they sold more than a million copies
of the song.

The band now came to be recognized as Herman’s Herd and appreciated for
showing exuberance and technical brilliance. This success opened various ambits
for their band and they also started doing their own Radio Show. They even got
an opportunity to be a part of various motion pictures such as New Orleans. The
career for Woods and his band took a completely different turn and they started
performing concerts at the Carnegie Hall.

The WWII took a hit at the band and it caused the band to decimate but this was
surely not the end for Woods. As after the end of WWII, he ensembled a second
herd pioneering the combination of 3 tenor saxophones combined with a
baritone saxophone which became the identity for the new band and associated
the same with one of their songs by the name of ‘Four Brothers’. But this herd
could not last long and it disbanded in the year 1949.

Last years

This did not stop him and he continues performing in various concerts and in
1986, he even released a Woody Herman and his Big Band 50th Anniversary Tour.

Though in 1980’s, his health declined mainly owing to tension to pay back the
taxes which were owed due to a faulty bookkeeping by his managers in the year
1960’s. He died in the year 1987.