Known to most of America as the "King of Swing", Benny Goodman was hugely popular during the Big Band era. He came from humble beginnings in Chicago and eventually became of the greatest swing bandleaders ever. His concert at Carnegie Hall was described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." Aside from his immensely popular orchestra, Goodman's small group was one of the first and certainly the most popular mixed race jazz group in the United States.

from Wikipedia