Continuing the exploration of how popular music is often wind-band music, this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features music of a big band called \“a thundering herd\” instead of an orchestra. Before being a musician or bandleader, Woody Herman was a vaudeville performer billed as \“The Boy Wonder.\” He began playing his clarinet in a band at age 13 and doubled on saxophones. In 1934, he joined the Isham Jones Orchestra and added singing to his musical activities. In 1936, he formed his first band called the Band That Plays the Blues. Probably because of the rhythmic drive of the band’s playing, a music critic started to refer to the band as Woody Herman’s Herd. The band reached the height of its popularity during WW II, during which time the name of the band morphed into Woody Herman and His Thundering Herd. We open today’s edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion with one of his hits from that WWII period: \“Goosey Gander.\”
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