One of the hottest bands of the swing era. Tommy Dorsey.
Fantastic music, but he was slave driver and one mean
perfectionist with a cold personality.
He had a reputation for firing his musicians on the spot.
He and brother Jimmy had a major blow-up and didn't reconcile
until the 1950s. And the scandal around Sinatra and Dorsey
is that Dorsey refused to let him out of his contract.
Johnny Fontain in the
Godfather is supposedly
about Dorsey and Sinatra.
Hence, the start of Sinatra and Mafia ties.
It's said that Dorsey died by regurgitating in his sleep.