James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader.

His other major recordings were "Tailspin", "John Silver", "So Many Times", "Amapola", "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)", "Pennies from Heaven" with Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Frances Langford, "Grand Central Getaway", and "So Rare".

He played clarinet on the seminal jazz standards "Singin' the Blues" in 1927 and the original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind", which were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

[3] The same year, he played clarinet on the iconic jazz standard "Georgia on My Mind" in 1930 with Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra which featured Bix Beiderbecke on cornet.

[6] During his early days as a musician, Jimmy Dorsey performed with various ensembles and artists, including the Scranton Sirens, The California Ramblers, Red Nichols, Jean Goldkette, Frankie Trumbauer, Ben Pollack, and Paul Whiteman.

He played the clarinet solo on the iconic 1927 jazz standard "Singin' the Blues", with the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke (which would, a half-century later, be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame).

[7] After returning to the United States from his European tour, he worked briefly with Rudy Vallee, and with several other bandleaders; and likewise with his brother Tommy—including starting their famed eponymous band.

Glenn Miller arranged and played trombone on several early sessions that he and his brother Tommy did together for OKeh Records, including "The Spell of the Blues", "Let's Do It", and "My Kinda Love"—all with Bing Crosby on vocals.

[1] Despite their success, the brothers frequently disagreed over management of the band and their conflict would come to a head in May 1935 when, after an onstage disagreement, Tommy stormed off.

For the next two years, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra would provide accompaniment for Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall radio show.

The early band was considered more jazz-oriented than his brother's, and in response the band recorded instrumental swing classics: "Dorsey Stomp," "Tap Dancer's Nightmare," "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps," "John Silver" and "Dusk in Upper Sandusky," and included musicians such as Bobby Byrne, Ray McKinley, Donald Matteson and Skeets Herfurt along with vocalists Bob Eberly and Kay Weber.

[3] Dorsey left Crosby in 1937, to concentrate on his own career,[11] and he did well commercially, although he was overshadowed by Benny Goodman, whose big band had "grabbed center stage" in the mid-1930s.

Dorsey's main vocalist was Bob Eberly, considered to be the best in the music business, and in 1939, Helen O'Connell joined the band,[12] and the idea to have them perform duets proved to be highly successful.

She and Bob Eberly possessed a "boy and girl next door" charm, and their pairing produced several of the band's biggest hits.

[3] Almost every record released during 1939–1943 were hits, but especially their Latin American stylized songs like "Amapola", "Maria Elena", and "Green Eyes", which topped the charts in 1941.

Dorsey employed pianist and arranger Joe Lipman in 1939 (who had just left Bunny Berigan); he contributed heavily to the repertoire of the band and success of the recordings through the next three years.

[18] The success of that television appearance led Gleason to produce a weekly variety program, Stage Show, hosted by the brothers on CBS from 1954 to 1956.

In 1938, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra also appeared in a movie short performing many of his hits including "It's the Dreamer in Me", "I Love You in Technicolor", and "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps".