List of count basie songs list

“A Jazz Pioneer who still inspires…”

Biography

Jazz icon, Count Basie, was born William James Basie August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. He was the arbiter of the big-band swing sound and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style.

List of count basie songs list

Basie changed the jazz landscape and shaped mid-20th century popular music, duly earning the title “King of Swing” because he made the world want to dance.

The Man

Both of Basie’s parents were hard workers. His father, Harvey Lee Basie, was a coachman and a groundskeeper, and his mother, Lillian Childs Basie, was a laundress.

As a young boy, Basie hated to see his parents working so hard, and vowed to help them get ahead. The family had a piano, and Basie’s mother paid 25¢ a lesson for his piano lessons at an early age. He had an incredible ear, and could repeat any tune he heard.

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