“Stomping at the Savoy”
Composed and arranged by Edgar Sampson.
Recorded by Chick Webb and His Orchestra for Columbia on May 18, 1934 in New York.
Chick Webb, drums, directing: Mario Bauza, first trumpet; Reunald Jones and Taft Jordan, trumpets; Sandy Williams, trombone; Pete Clark and Edgar Sampson, alto saxophones; Elmer Williams, tenor saxophone; Joe Steele, piano; John Trueheart, guitar; John Kirby, bass.
The story:
The tune “Stomping at the Savoy,” like many swing era successes, has a somewhat checkered past. This relates to the aphorism I have mentioned before: success has a thousand fathers (or mothers), while failure is an orphan.
If we trace the lineage of “Stomping at the Savoy” backwards from the late 1930s, after the tune had been taken up by Benny Goodman, played by his band on the radio, recorded by him on January 24, 1936 for Victor Records, and made a hit (1), we will find some interesting developments. The Goodman recording, bearing the title “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” lists the tune’s composers as: Sampson, Goodman, Webb. These names belong to Edgar Sampson, the putative composer of the song, Benny Goodman, who made it a mainstream swing era hit (2), and Chick Webb, the drumming bandleader for whom Edgar Sampson worked for several years in the mid-1930s. Webb was the first bandleader to record “Stomping at the Savoy.” He did that on May 18, 1934, with Edgar Sampson as a member of his band. On the Columbia disk which was the first commercial recording of the tune, the title is listed as “Stomping at the Savoy,” and composer is listed as Sampson. When asked about this in 1970, Sampson replied: “The other names were put on for business reasons. I have the original with ASCAP.”(3)
To explain this a bit, I offer the observation that it was a common practice during the swing era for a bandleader to insist that he get a part of the composer credit for an original tune written by someone in his band or otherwise as quid pro quo for the bandleader playing, broadcasting and recording the tune. So even though Edgar Sampson was listed as the sole composer on the 1934 Chick Webb recording of “Stomping at the Savoy,” by the time the tune was recorded by Benny Goodman, both Chick Webb and Benny Goodman took a part of the tune’s composer credit for the roles they had already played in popularizing the tune (Webb), and would play in further popularizing the tune (Goodman).
To further explore the origins of “Stomping at the Savoy,” I will offer the comments of cornetist Rex Stewart, who claimed that he and Nelson Hurd collaborated with Sampson in writing the tune in the summer of 1933 when Sampson and Hurd were playing in Stewart’s band at the Empire Ballroom on Broadway in New York City. The tune they composed, according to Stewart, was called “Misty Morn,” and was the theme song of his band. By the time Benny Goodman recorded “Stomping at the Savoy,” Stewart had joined Duke Ellington’s band. Stewart recalled hearing Goodman play the tune on radio: “I was amazed to hear Benny Goodman playing our old theme song. The next day in music stores, I learned that (the tune’s) composer credits were Goodman, Webb and Sampson!” (4)
The music – Webb:
The first thing one notices when listening to Chick Webb’s recording of “Stomping at the Savoy” is that Chick took the original Edgar Sampson arrangement at a faster tempo than Benny Goodman would when he recorded that same arrangement some twenty months later. Also, the Webb band was phrasing in a choppy, up-and-down way that was common in the early and middle 1930s. That changed as the 1930s progressed, with swing bands playing in a more flowing, legato fashion. It should also be mentioned that Webb was a most aggressive drummer, who pushed his band rhythmically. Also, listen for John Kirby’s bass: it is excellent throughout this performance.
The first solo, a melodic one, was taken by first trumpeter Mario Bauza or Reunald Jones, muting his horn with a Harmon mute (or its predecessor). The rhythmic trombone solo was played by Sandy Williams, who would remain with Webb for several years. The tenor saxophone solo was played by Elmer Williams in the days before he was known as “Tone.” The sound Williams gets here is perilously close to Guy Lombardo territory. The jazz trumpet solo was played by Taft Jordan using a straight mute and paying respects to Louis Armstrong. The following melodic clarinet solo on the tune’s eight bar bridge was played by Edgar Sampson himself. After this, Jordan returns to complete the chorus. (Above right: Edgar Sampson outside of the Savoy Ballroom in 1935 when he was a member of Chick Webb’s band.)
The final chorus is more rhythmically intense than the one we hear in the later Goodman recording, and it contains a brief but tasty alto saxophone solo played by Pete Clark. Mr. Clark clearly knew what he was doing as a soloist.
Chick Webb and his band in the spring of 1934. L-R front: Sandy Williams, Reunald Jones, Taft Jordan, Mario Bauza, Pete Clark, Edgar Sampson, vocalist Charles Linton holding Elmer Williams’s tenor saxophone; Joe Steele; back: Webb, John Trueheart and John Kirby.
“Stompin’ at the Savoy”
Composed by Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb and Benny Goodman; arranged by Edgar Sampson.
Recorded by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra for Victor on January 24, 1936 in Chicago.
Benny Goodman, clarinet, directing: Ralph Muzzillo, Harry Geller and Nate Kazebier, trumpets; Sterling “Red” Ballard and Joe Harris, trombones; Hymie Shertzer, first alto saxophone; Bill DePew, alto saxophone; Arthur Rollini and Dick Clark, tenor saxophones; Jess Stacy, piano; Allan Reuss, guitar; Harry Goodman, bass; Gene Krupa, drums.
The music – Goodman:
The overall feeling of the Goodman recording is one of relaxation, yet paradoxically also of ensemble precision. Notice the apparent casual ease with which the cup-muted brass play alternately with the unison saxophone quartet on the main theme. They are harmonized on the bridge. This belies the intense rehearsals Benny took his bands through to get performances like this. Also notice the chugging rhythm guitar of Allan Reuss, which is quite clearly recorded.
The second chorus begins with the now harmonized saxophones playing a simple two note fragment as a counterline to the syncopated straight-muted brass. This is interrupted by a BG clarinet solo on the tune’s bridge (humming saxophones behind him) before the saxophones and brass return to finish chorus two.
The next chorus contains a highlight of this recording: a splendid jazz solo by trombonist Joe Harris. Harris plays for sixteen bars, then Arthur Rollini takes a smooth and stylish tenor saxophone solo on the bridge. Harris returns to end the chorus in fine fashion. (At right – Joe Harris.)(5) Gene Krupa’s subtly swinging use of his brushes in this chorus gently prods both Harris and Rollini in their jazz solos. At the end of the chorus, Krupa can be heard saying …Ahhh in appreciation of Harris’s solo.
The final chorus has the ensemble (brass now open) playing with a bit more intensity. Benny chips in another brief, descending clarinet bit, and the band finishes this marvelous performance with the cup-muted brass now playing doo-dah, while the unison saxophones outline the melody.
The recordings presented with this post were digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo.
Notes and links:
(1) “Stomping at the Savoy” actually came into the Benny Goodman band’s book of arrangements in the spring of 1935. Benny recorded it then as a part of the mammoth Thesaurus Rhythm Makers recording date, which took place on June 6, 1935. Benny also played the tune at the Congress Hotel in Chicago, probably during the entirety of his residency there from November of 1935 until May of 1936. Two aircheck recordings of the tune by Goodman from January of 1935 exist. It is not unreasonable to assume that the tune was played all along by the Goodman band from the time it first arrived until the Victor recording Benny made of it on January 26, 1936. After that, it was played and recorded by many bands, and is a jazz staple to this day.
(2) Bandleader Ozzie Nelson also made a swinging recording on “Stompin’ at the Savoy” for Brunswick on April 6, 1936. The composer credits on that record are: Goodman, Webb and Sampson. Here is a link to that recording: https://archive.org/details/78_stompin-at-the-savoy_ozzie-nelson-his-orchestra-goodman-webb-sampson_gbia3000777b
(3) The Swing Era – 1936-1937 (1970), notes on the music by Joseph Castner, 66.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Joe Harris (1908-1952) was born in Sedalia, Missouri. Moved to Oklahoma, where he met Jack Teagarden in 1927. Thereafter, Teagarden was an inspiration for Harris as both a trombonist and vocalist. A bit later, Harris joined Joe Haymes’s band (where he met Pee Wee Erwin and Johnny Mince) in late 1932, then Ben Pollack’s band in May of 1933. He came to New York with Pollack, and remained with that band after it was reorganized by Gil Rodin under the titular leadership of Bob Crosby. He joined Benny Goodman in August of 1935, but as vocalist only until Jack Lacey left the Goodman band at the end of September. He then remained with Goodman as trombonist/vocalist until May of 1936, when he began a career as a Hollywood studio musician. Periodically, he joined touring bands to relieve the tedium of studio work, including Ben Pollack (May – July 1940), Pee Wee Erwin (autumn 1941 into spring of 1942) and Benny Goodman (early 1943 into the summer of that year). Returned to Los Angeles in 1943 and continued working in the studios and doing outside gigs periodically. Was killed in an auto collision in 1952. (This information comes from Who’s Who of Jazz (1970), by John Chilton, 144.)
Wonderful post, Mike, as usual. Ongoing thanks.
Thank you Rick, for visiting and commenting.
Another fantastic piece Mike! It’s always a pleasure to read your work. One minor correction. Longtime Webb guitarist and close friend, John Trueheart spelled his name as such. This is based on what few legal documents we have for the rhythm guitar trailblazer (a favorite of Freddie Green, Danny Barker, and many others), as well as conversations I had with Webb biographer Stephanie Stein Crease, who came to the same conclusion. His name has been continually spelled incorrectly over the years.
Nick, thanks for your kind words, and the correction. I will change that misspelling in all posts where it appears. When mistakes acquire the authority of the printed word, it becomes much more difficult to correct them. I have been fighting to get folks to spell one of our favorite lead alto saxophonists last name correctly for years. Nevertheless, I still see Hymie Shertzer’s name spelled “Schertzer.” Onward!
Great piece as usual, Mike. I have heard an aircheck of the Rex Stewart band playing what became known as “Savoy” in 1933.
Thanks, Loren for that information. I’m glad to know that that recording exists. I found no trace of it anywhere in my research. My hope is that whoever is in possession of it will post it on the Internet so that one more tile can be added to the historical mosaic of “Stomping at the Savoy.”