Artie Shaw was the rival of Benny Goodman in the Swing era. With a different style of playing, his sound on clarinet was more liquid than Goodman's sound. After playing in different orchestras in the late twenties and thirties, he formed his own orchestra in 1936 and he added a string quartet to the Big Band. In 1938 he had a famous hit with the recording of the Cole Porter song "Begin the Beguine". After months of success and popularity he disolved his band in 1939. The year after he appeared with a new band.

In the fifties he went into a semi-retirement and wrote two books: "The trouble with cinderella" and "I love you, I hate you, drop dead". His last recordings were in 1954 with a small group with Hank Jones on piano and others. After this, he retired from the music scene, except for a brief appearence for a week in the eighties.


His paintings continue to be shown, at venues like Webster Hall in New York City. Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990. Winner of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, 2004. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 506-509. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1709 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.