THE WONDERFUL ERA OF THE GREAT DANCE BANDS.

Organized, lucid, and definitive, The Wonderful Era of the Great Dance Bands presents a complete coverage of the spectacular reign of the dance bands during Prohibition, wartime, and the postwar boom. Leo Walker’s knowledge, gleaned from firsthand association with the music business and its prominent people, is matched only by his unbounded enthusiasm for the music he writes about. Here he recounts more than three decades of entertainment, tracing the growth of the bands from the early small combos to the days when many boasted thirty men including large string sections and seven or eight vocalists. The over 400 pictures include the first organized dance orchestras, the big bands of the twenties in which the popular leaders of the swing era got their start, and all of America’s favorite band leaders. This authoritative chronicle of one of the nation’s most colorful eras is sure to evoke fond memories in those old enough to remember it, and instill yearnings for halcyon days in younger readers as well.