Frank Sinatra's first performance with the Tommy Dorsey band was February 2, 1940.
1940 was the height of the Big Band Era. The bobby-soxers may have swooned over Frank Sinatra, but it was Tommy Dorsey's name on the record. The dance halls ruled, ballroom tickets were affordable, the great Depression was quickly becoming a memory, and the war was something the Europeans would have to figure out.
Frank Sinatra was Tommy Dorsey's lead vocalist, backed by the Pied Pipers on at least ten of his chart hits. The Pied Pipers were a quartet of three men and one woman, who happened to be Jo Stafford. Stafford's first hit came in 1941, a song called Yes Indeed that she sang solo.
Tommy Dorsey allegedly fired one of the Pied Pipers in 1942, which led to the departure of the whole group in a show of team unity. With the eventual departure of Sinatra in 1942, Tommy turned to Dick Haymes for vocal leadership.
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