The Big Bands Foreward by Frank Sinatra Author:George T. Simon This book chronicles the men and the music that made America forget its troubles and just get happy. All across America from the mid-thirties to the mid-forties the big bands were king. Includes biographies of 400 great bands whose musical styles ranged from the dynamic swing of Duke Ellington to the extrasweet sounds of Guy Lombardo. Seventy-tw... more »o of the top-ranking outfits are profiled at length. Everything you could want to know about the making of a successful band is chronicled. Includes the little inside stories-within-stories that reveal the human angle of the big band saga. Includes more than 250 photographs.« less