PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Artie Shaw

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Artie Shaw
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Sunday, February 06, 2005

(THEME)

ANNOUNCER¹:

I'm Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell the story of a musician who led one of the most popular American bands during the nineteen thirties and forties.

His name was Artie Shaw. Listen for a few minutes to one of his many hit songs. This one is called "Frenesi." Artie Shaw plays the clarinet.

(MUSIC)

On December thirtieth, two thousand four, Artie Shaw died after a long sickness. He was ninety-four years old. He was the last great musician and bandleader of what has been called the "Big Band Era²." Some of the others were Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller³.

 
Graphic⁴ Image
In the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties Artie Shaw was one of the most popular musicians and bandleaders in the United States. Just a few notes from his clarinet could start people dancing. His music sold millions of records.

It still is difficult to listen to an old Artie Shaw recording⁵ and not tap your foot in time with the music. Or want to dance. Or sing along with his great sound.

Listen to Shaw on the clarinet and his band play part of a song recorded in Hollywood, California in nineteen forty. It is called "Summit⁶ Ridge⁷ Drive."

(MUSIC)

Artie Shaw was born in New York City in nineteen ten. His name was Arthur Arshawsky. His parents were poor immigrants⁸ who had come to the United States from Eastern Europe. His family later moved to New Haven⁹, Connecticut.

At the age of fourteen, he began to play the saxophone and then the clarinet. From a very young age, Artie Shaw wanted to play his clarinet better than anyone. He wanted his sound and music to be perfect. He worked at this task much of his life.

He began working as a professional musician when he was fifteen. He left home and began playing in bands across the United States.

In nineteen twenty-seven, young Artie Shaw traveled to Chicago, Illinois to hear the great trumpet¹⁰ player, Louis Armstrong. He immediately understood that Armstrong's great jazz sound was the beginning of something new and exciting. Artie left Chicago with a growing interest in jazz music. Soon after, he moved to New York City.

He got work playing the clarinet for the Columbia Broadcast System radio network. In nineteen thirty-six, he was given a chance to form a small group and play at New York's famous Imperial¹¹ Theater on Broadway. His group was not the top band in the show. But the crowd loved his music. This proved to a major step in his career.

Artie Shaw was always trying something new, something different. He heard a young black woman sing and hired her for his band. This was the first time that a black woman sang with white musicians. Racial separation was the rule in many states. Artie Shaw did not care.

The young singer was Billie Holiday. She would become very famous within a few years. Listen as Billie Holiday sings with Artie Shaw's band. This recording was made in nineteen thirty-eight. It is called "Any Old Time."

(MUSIC)

 
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That same year, Artie Shaw and his band recorded what would be one of their most popular songs. It sold millions of records. It still sells several thousand each year. Shaw was surprised that it became so popular. The song is "Begin the Beguine" written by Cole Porter¹².

(MUSIC)

Artie Shaw was well known before he recorded "Begin the Beguine." But that record made him extremely famous. He and his band earned as much as sixty thousand dollars each week. That was a huge amount of money then. However, the fame caused problems for Shaw. He could not go anywhere without being recognized. He no longer had a private life.

Artie Shaw was married eight times. Two of his wives were Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. They were the most famous and beautiful Hollywood movie actresses of that time. Those marriages increased his fame and made it even harder to have a private life. The fame may have helped lead to the failure of his marriages.

His attempts to create better music also caused problems for Artie Shaw. Many years later, he said people always wanted to hear the old songs he had recorded. They did not want to hear new music he was writing. He did not like playing the same old songs again and again.

Critics have always said his playing was very special. Sometimes Shaw did not follow the music. He would improvise¹³. This means he would play the music as he felt it. He often took a song that everyone knew and changed it so it sounded very different.

Listen to Artie Shaw improvise with a song called "Stardust." It was recorded in nineteen forty. It was another major hit for Shaw and his band and sold millions of records.

(MUSIC)

Artie Shaw made his last public appearance as a musician in nineteen fifty-four. He said the struggle with fame and trying to produce a perfect sound was destroying him. He was only forty-four years old. He never played the clarinet again.

Artie Shaw wrote several books in his later years. He wrote stories for magazines. He spoke¹⁴ about music at colleges and universities. But he had very little to do with the world of recording or music. During those years however, he received many awards and honors¹⁵ for his music. These included a Hall of Fame award from the National Academy¹⁶ of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Music experts will tell you that Artie Shaw was one of the best of the big band leaders and musicians. Much of his work from so long ago is still fresh and exciting today.

We leave you with one more Artie Shaw song. He recorded it in nineteen forty. It is called "Blues¹⁷." Listen as Artie Shaw makes his clarinet fly.

(MUSIC)

This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Bob Doughty¹⁸ was our engineer and I'm Doug Johnson. Listen again next week for another People In America program in VOA Special English.

1 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

2 era   

n.时代，年代，纪元，阶段

参考例句：

• We are living in the information era.我们生活在信息时代。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

7 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

8 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

10 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

11 imperial   

adj.帝王的，至尊的；n.特等品

参考例句：

• They made an objection to the imperial system with resolution.他们坚决反对帝制。
• The Prince Imperial passed away last night.皇太子昨晚去世了。

12 porter   

n.搬运工人；守门人，门房

参考例句：

• The hotel porter will help you.旅馆的门童可以帮你的忙。
• The porter and I looked at each other and smiled.我和脚夫微笑着你看着我，我看着你。

13 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

17 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

18 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。