ABSTRACT
One of them in particular had become very famous. Frank Sinatra had started work with the Harry James band in 1939. In 1940 he moved to Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra, where he quickly gained a vast following among white Americans. By 1942, he had become more popular than his own bandleader. This state of affairs could not possibly last, and so, on 10 September 1942, Sinatra left the Dorsey band to go it alone. By this time the AFoM strike had begun, and all the band singers were free to record on their own. When the strike ended, many vocalists had made it as solo stars, and no longer needed Swing bands to promote them. The emergence of the solo vocalist was thus one more nail in the coffin of Swing.
