Benny Goodman Biography

Fast Facts

• Received honorary doctorates from Union College, University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Bard College, Columbia University, Yale University and Harvard University
• Was inducted into the radio division of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame
• Won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986
• Was 10 years old when he first started learning to play the clarinet
• Played in a band featuring Bix Beiderbecke when he was 14
• Quote: "If you're interested in music, you can't slop around․"
• Known as the "King of Swing," he played the clarinet and brought jazz to Carnegie Hall during the Big Band era of the 1930s
• Was one of the first bandleaders to lead a well-known, integrated jazz group
• After his death, his musical papers were donated to Yale University
• Was pictured on a $0․29 commemorative postage stamp issued in 1996