Woodchopper’s Ball – 1964
Woody Herman
Herman and his orchestra play his first hit
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Woody Herman (1913-87) led big bands for nearly a half century.
His first hit was in 1939 when he recorded the medium tempo blues “Woodchopper’s Ball” which resulted in his orchestra for a time being billed as “the band that plays the blues.”
While Herman occasionally tinkered with the song and claimed to be tired of it, it always stayed in his band’s book.
The 1964 Woody Herman Orchestra, with solos from tenor-saxophonist Sal Nistico, trombonist Phil Wilson, trumpeter Paul Fontaine, and bassist Chuck Andrus, swings their way through “Woodchopper’s Ball.”
-Scott Yanow
