Biography

A trumpeter who shot to fame in his early years with the Benny Goodman band, swing superstar Harry James first distinguished himself with a loud but fully controlled tone. After becoming a bandleader in his own right, he took a purposefully sweeter approach to his playing and presentation, aiming for popularity--and achieving it. He was the most popular bandleader of the '40s, and his records have continued to sell even after his death in 1983.

Top Tracks

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• (back Home Again In) Indiana

• (i'm) Confessin' (that I Love You)

• 9:20 Special

• Ain't She Sweet

• Alice Blue Gown

• All Or Nothing At All

• Autumn Leaves

• Big John's Special

• Blues

• Boo Woo

• Boog It

• Bye Bye Blues

• Caravan

• Cherry

• Chopin Waltz In C-sharp Minor

• Ciribiribin

• Ciribiribin (they're So In Love)

• Close To You

• Cotton Tail

• Cross Country Jump

• Deep Purple

• Duke's Mixture

• East Coast Blues

• Easy

• Eli Eli

• Embraceable You

• Everybody's Laughing

• Exactly Like You

• Feet Draggin' Blues

• Flash

• Friar Rock

• Girl Of My Dreams

• Guys And Dolls

• Harry's Blues

• Hodge Podge

• How High The Moon

• I Found A New Baby

• I Had The Craziest Dream

• I'll Get By (as Long As I Have You)

• Jersey Bounce

• Jump Town

• King Porter Stomp

• Laura

• Life Can Be Beautiful

• Life Goes To A Party

• Lover, Come Back To Me

• Lullaby In Rhythm

• Lush Life

• Manhattan Serenade

• Memphis Blues

• Moanin' Low

• Moonlight Bay

• Moten Swing

• Music Makers

• My Buddy

• On The Alamo

• One For My Baby

• One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)

• One O'clock Jump

• Perdido

• Ready Gal Jump

• Rose Room

• Ruby

• September In The Rain

• Sharp As A Tack

• Shoe Shiner's Drag

• Skylark

• Sleepy Lagoon

• Sleepy Time Gal

• St. Louis Blues

• Stardust

• Steel Guitar Rag

• Strictly Instrumental

• Sugar Foot Stomp

• Sweet Jenny Lou

• Tango Blues

• The Flight Of The Bumblebee

• The Mole

• The Sad Sack

• The Sheik Of Araby

• Things Ain't What They Used To Be

• Three Coins In The Fountain

• Trumpet Blues And Cantabile

• Trumpet Rhapsody, Pts. 1 & 2

• Tuxedo Junction

• Two O'clock Jump

• Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie

• What Am I Gonna Do About You

• Who's Sorry Now?

• Willow Weep For Me

• Woo-woo

• You Made Me Love You

Discography

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• Mr. Trumpet

  Hindsight

  1972

• Live

  Sounds Great

  1971

• 32nd Anniversary Night, Vol. 1

  Hitchcock Media

  1971

• 32nd Anniversary Night, Vol. 2

  Hitchcock Media

  1971

• Harry James & His Western Friends

  DOT Records

  1968

• Strictly Instrumental

  QED

  1966

• The Ballads and the Beat

  DOT Records

  1965

• New Version of Down Beat Favorites

  MGM

  1965

• In a Relaxed Mood

  MGM

  1964

• Double Dixie

  MGM

  1962

• Harry James Plays Neal Hefti

  MGM

  1962

• The Solid Gold Trumpet of Harry James

  MGM

  1962

• Requests on the Road

  MGM

  1962

• Harry, Not Jesse

  Metro

  1961

• The Spectacular Sound of Harry James

  MGM

  1961

• Harry's Choice

  Capitol

  1958

• The New James

  Capitol

  1958

• Wild About Harry

  Hallmark Recordings

  1957

• More Harry James in Hi-Fi

  Pausa Records

  1956

• Harry James in Hi-Fi

  Capitol

  1955

• The Man with the Horn

  Columbia

  1955

• Juke Box Jamboree

  Columbia

  1955

• Jazz Session

  Columbia

  1955

• 1954

  Circle

  1954

• Harry James at the Hollywood Palladium

  Columbia

  1954

• Saturday Night Swing

  Giants Of Jazz Recordings

  1954

• 1954 Broadcasts

  Sunbeam Records

  1954

• Swingin' N' Sweet

  Giants Of Jazz Recordings

  1954

• Trumpet After Midnight

  Columbia

  1954

• Radio Discs of Harry James

  Joyce

  1953

• One Night Stand

  Columbia

  1952

• Hollywood's Best

  Columbia

  1952

• Soft Lights, Sweet Trumpet

  Columbia

  1952

• Trumpet Time [Columbia]

  Vocalion

  1950

• Young Man with a Horn

  Columbia

  1950

• Your Dance Date

  Columbia

  1950