In 1940, the swing orchestra led by Jimmie Lunceford won first place in a much-publicized Battle of the Bands with 27 other groups, including those led by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller. Known for innovative arrangements, imaginative instrumentation, and full-bodied swinging sound, the Lunceford orchestra exerted a powerful influence over big-band music during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s as well as on post-World War II dance bands.

Jimmie Lunceford

Born James Melvin Lunceford in Fulton, Mississippi, Lunceford moved to Memphis, where he studied music with Paul Whiteman's father, Wilberforce. During the 1920s he played in jazz bands led by Elmer Snowden and Wilbur Sweatman. Although he became proficient in all the reed instruments, he seldom played in bands, preferring to conduct. Lunceford organized and taught a student orchestra in a Memphis high school before beginning his professional career as...