Benny Goodman was a famous American jazz clarinetist and bandleader born in 1909 in Chicago. He studied classical clarinet and began his career playing in bands in the 1920s. In the 1930s, Goodman organized a big band and became the first white bandleader to hire black musicians like Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton. His band played the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles in 1935, which made him hugely popular and earned him the nickname "King of Swing." Goodman's band went on to become the most successful big band of all time.