swing band

Decades before Madonna lit up the New York night, Ella Fitzgerald had audiences standing on their seats at the Savoy Ballroom as the singer for Chick Webb’s swing band, a powerhouse vocalist who had to overcome her “pretty plain looks” before she became the 20th century’s tower of song.

Mr Wilkins-Odudu, who also performs in a local choir and swing band, says "reducing poverty and promoting local enterprise with secure and well-paid jobs will be high on my list of goals" ahead of his first meeting at Ribble Valley Borough Council on Tuesday.

Ghee, nominated in the category of lead actor in a musical, stars in the tap-filled adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” the 1959 hit comedy in which two musicians, after witnessing a murder, attempt to escape town as members of an all-female swing band touring the country.

“He could overhaul an engine and not get his hands dirty,” said Tommy Hays, 92, a Western swing band leader.

In another theater, guitarist Bill Kirchen held a tribute for his pioneering country rock swing band, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.