biography
| name: |
Barnet, Charlie
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popular name of Charles Daly Barnet
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1913–91)
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| biography:
| Bandleader, born in New York City, New York, USA. He was a saxophonist from a New York socialite family who led his first band on the SS Republic (1929) and subsequently played on many Atlantic crossings for the Cunard and Red Star lines. In 1933 he formed a big band in New York, and the following year it became the first white orchestra to appear at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. His personal wealth enabled him to resist racial and musical barriers, and he became one of the first bandleaders to routinely employ African-American musicians and to perform compositions by Duke Ellington. He recorded his hit theme song ‘Cherokee’ (1939) and continued to lead an orchestra until he disbanded (1949). He occasionally formed bands for specific engagements in the 1950s and 1960s. His autobiography Those Swinging Years was published in 1984. |
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