♪ Put the needle down — quiet swing
From Harlem Ballrooms to Hollywood Stages

PresentingThe Big
Band Era

"Swinging through history. Moments from jazz's most iconic era."

19351946
Explore the Era Visit the Shop
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Duke EllingtonBenny Goodman Count BasieGlenn Miller Ella FitzgeraldFrank Sinatra Louis ArmstrongPeggy Lee
BIG BAND — ERA — 78 RPM · SHELLAC
About the Brand

Keeping the
Golden Era Alive

THE BIG BAND ERA is an archive of motion and sound — restored newsreels, ballroom broadcasts and studio takes from the years when a sixteen-piece orchestra was the loudest thing on Earth.

From Goodman's clarinet at the Palomar to Sinatra's first bars with Dorsey, every frame we publish preserves a moment when swing was not a genre — it was the weather.

Follow along as we dig through vaults, shellac and celluloid, one story at a time.

27,000+
Admirers
83
Stories Told
1935–46
Golden Years
Chronicle

Four Nights That
Changed Music

1935
The Night Swing Was Born
Benny Goodman lets loose at the Palomar Ballroom, Los Angeles. The crowd surges toward the stage — and the Swing Era officially begins.
1939
In the Mood
Glenn Miller records the anthem of a generation. Within months it is playing from every radio, jukebox and dance hall in America.
1943
Ellington at Carnegie Hall
Duke Ellington premieres "Black, Brown and Beige" at Carnegie Hall — jazz claims the concert stage as its own.
1962
Benny Goodman in Moscow
The King of Swing crosses the Iron Curtain. Six weeks, thirty concerts — and proof that swing never needed translation.
The Pantheon

Legends of the Bandstand

Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Piano · Composer
1899 – 1974
Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Clarinet · King of Swing
1909 – 1986
Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Trombone · Bandleader
1904 – 1944
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Trumpet · Vocals
1901 – 1971
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
First Lady of Song
1917 – 1996
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
The Voice
1915 – 1998
Count Basie
Count Basie
Piano · Bandleader
1904 – 1984
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Vocals · Songwriter
1920 – 2002
The Official Collection

Wear the Swing

Five legends of swing — pencil portraits on heavyweight tees and ceramic mugs.

T-Shirt · Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw Tee

$77
T-Shirt · Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington Tee

$77
T-Shirt · Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman Tee

$77
T-Shirt · Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller Tee

$77
T-Shirt · Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey Tee

$77
Mug · Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw Mug

$44
Mug · Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington Mug

$44
Mug · Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman Mug

$44
Mug · Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller Mug

$44
Mug · Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey Mug

$44
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