Saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader Charlie Barnet was born on born October 26, 1913 in New York City. As a young member of a wealthy family, Barnet rejected their urging that he become a corporate lawyer and instead turned to music. He led his first band at age 16, on a transatlantic liner, and eventually made 22 such crossings. Barnet also visited the South Seas and parts of Latin America. In 1932 he became leader of the band at the Paramount Hotel in Manhattan and then formed a succession of large and small bands. He achieved his greatest fame with the 1939 hit record Cherokee, and with 1944’s Skyliner.

Barnet, who was nicknamed “Mad Mab,” was one of the big band era’s most colorful figures. He was said to have been married somewhere between six and eleven times. He was also one of the first white leaders to feature Black performers, among them Lena Horne, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers and Benny Carter. He was especially influenced by the style of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Barnet and his various ensembles appeared in such motion pictures as “Syncopation” (1942), “The Fabulous Dorseys” (1947), and “Make Believe Ballroom” (1949). He also appears in the 1948 Danny Kaye/Virginia Mayo picture “A Song is Born” along with Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman.

In later years, after the demise of the big bands, Barnet tried such careers as music publishing and the restaurant business, but nevertheless continued to play occasionally. His 1984 autobiography, “Those Swinging Years,” illuminated the jazz musician’s hectic life on the road. Barnet died from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease and pneumonia in San Diego, California on September 4, 1991, aged 77.

Here is a link to Charlie Barnet's band:

"SKYLINER"