This book is dedicated to my father, Bob Williams, who hosted his own weekly radio show on WHO Radio called "Bob Williams Big Band Show". On each show, he'd feature several famous big bands he was very familiar with, talking about the bands and their music before playing their songs. The show aired from the mid-80s to the early 90s, every Saturday from 10:30 pm to 12 am.

His show was both informative and fun to listen to, flying by so quickly that you didn't even notice it was an hour and a half long. The big band era revolutionized popular music in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Big band music is characterized by a jazz orchestra playing together, featuring complex harmonies and syncopated rhythms. Often, a vocalist or instrumental soloist is added, creating a melody on top of the jazz orchestra. This book tells the story of some of the most popular bands from that era.