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Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his death in 1987.
Woody Herman was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, bandleader, and singer who was best known as the front man for a succession of bands he dubbed “herds.” Herman was a child prodigy who sang and danced in vaudeville at age six.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 11, 2013 · Woody Herman. After early experience in Chicago with the bands led by Tom Gerun and Harry Sosnik, Woody Herman toured with Gus Arnheim. In 1934, he joined Isham Jones, and when Jones's group disbanded in 1936 Herman used its leading sidemen as the nucleus for his own orchestra.
- For The Record…
- The Evolution of The Herd
- Kept His Personality in The Background
- Difficult Times in The 1960s and 1970s
- Selected Discography
- Sources
Born Woodrow Charles Thomas Herman, May 16, 1913, in Milwaukee, WI; died of congestive heart failure, emphysema, and pneumonia, October 29,1987, in Los Angeles, CA; father was a shoemaker, mother’s name, Martha; married Charlotte Neste, September 21, 1936; children: Ingrid. Performed as a child in dramatic and musical acts in the Great Lakes region...
By the early 1940s, recordings and newspaper advertisements were calling the Band That Plays the Blues the Woody Herman Band, and around 1944, it became widely known as Woody Herman’s Herd, the name by which Metronomejazz critic George T. Simon had been referring to it since the early 1940s. The Herd became tremendously popular during World War II....
Herman was different from many other bandleaders of the day—such as Benny Goodman, Harry James, or Artie Shaw—because he never made himself the star attraction of the band. Herman, who played alto saxophone, clarinet, and sang some of the group’s numbers, was never as strong a soloist as Goodman, James, or Shaw, and preferred to let the other membe...
While the Thundering Herd was successful, Herman’s own life became progressively more difficult. In the early 1960s he took on a business manager, who was a chronic gambler and so mishandled Herman’s finances that a few years later, Herman learned that he owed the Internal Revenue Service 1.6 million dollars. Herman worked the rest of his life to p...
World Class, Concord Jazz, 1982. 50th Anniversary Tour, Concord Jazz, 1987. The 40th Anniversary Carnegie Hall Concert, Bluebird, 1988. The Thundering Herds, 1945-1947, Columbia Jazz Masterpieces, 1988. The Third Herd: “Early Autumn,” Discovery, 1988. The Best of the Decca Years, MCA, 1988. Woody Herman, Verve, 1988. Woody and Friends, Concord Jazz...
Books
Herman, Woody, and Stuart Troup, The Woodchopper’s Ball: The Autobiography of Woody Herman,Dutton, 1990. Simon, George T., The Big Bands,Schirmer Books, 1981.
Periodicals
American Scholar,summer 1989. Atlantic,April 1986. Billboard,November 14, 1987. Down Beat,November 1986; February 1988. —Joyce Harrison
Mar 16, 2020 · The big-band leaders tended to have long contracts with their record labels – Ellington with RCA, Basie with Columbia and Kenton with Capitol. Woody Herman, who signed with Decca in 1936, was no exception. He stayed with the company until February 1945.
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1914 – October 29, 1987), also known as Woody Herman was an American jazz clarinetist and alto and soprano singer. He was also a leader of the Big band. He led some of the greatest big bands in the 20th century during his lifetime.
May 16, 2013 · Woody Herman, who would have turned 100 on Thursday, bloomed early and late — and then later still. He turned pro by age 9, singing and dancing in movie theaters on summer vacation.
