Equipped with his signature trombone, Tommy Dorsey was a centerpiece of the swing era. Dorsey and his band were one of the most popular acts of his time and he sold more records for RCA Victor than any other artist until a guy by the name of Elvis Presley came around.Dorsey began receiving musical instruction from his father, Thomas Dorsey Sr., at a young age. He honed the art of the trombone and began performing with local groups with his brother Jimmy before starting their own band, Dorsey's Novelty Six, in 1920. For most of the twenties the Dorsey brothers jumped from band to band until 1928, when the duo hit the charts as The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra with "Coquette." The following year, the tandem landed a top 10 hit with "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," which featured Bing Crosby on vocals.The Dorsey brothers continued to churn out hits, some reaching number one, for the first half of the 1930s before Tommy left the group due to a volatile relationship between the two siblings. Tommy didn't take long to achieve success without his brother as he had a number one hit in "On Treasure Island" by the end of the year. In 1937, Dorsey scored an incredible 18 top 10 hits, including four number one songs. He followed with 15 top 10 hits the next year and 11 in 1939.Dorsey continued to experience hit after hit well into the 1950s, even securing Frank Sinatra as his band's vocalist for a time before Sinatra left to pursue a solo career. Dorsey played with some of the most famous vocalists of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s and dominated the charts for those three decades. His gargantuan discography is nearly as impressive as the distinctive sound that emanated from his trombone every time he touched it to his lips.
