Einar Aaron Swan (born Einar (Eino) William Swan; March 20, 1903 – August 8, 1940) was an American musician, arranger and composer. He is known for writing songs including " When Your Lover Has Gone" and "

In the Middle of a Dream "In The Middle Of A Dream" is a 1939 song composed by Tommy Dorsey, Einar Swan, and Al Stillman. The song became a Top Ten hit in 1939 when released by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra released the song as a 78 sing ...

Early life

Swan was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to Finnish parents who had immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century; he was the second of nine children. His father was a keen amateur musician and before Einar Swan had entered his teens, he played violin, clarinet, saxophone and piano. At the age of 16 he was already playing in his own dance band, Swanie's Serenaders, and travelling around Massachusetts for three years. Swan's main instrument had been the violin but during this period he switched to alto saxophone.Sven Bjerstedt
Who was Einar Swan? - A study in jazz age fame and oblivion
(2006) (published online by SFHS,

The Swedish-Finn Historical Society The Swedish Finn Historical Society is a genealogical association in Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the ...

)

Career

Around 1924, the bandleader Sam Lanin invited Swan to join his orchestra at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom, and Swan played with leading musicians such as cornettist Red Nichols, and members of

The Charleston Chasers The Charleston Chasers was a studio recording ensemble that recorded music on Columbia Records between 1925 and 1931. They recorded early versions of songs such as " After You've Gone", " Ain't Misbehavin'", and "My Melancholy Baby". Their 1931 re ...

Vic Berton Vic Berton (born Victor Cohen; May 7, 1896 – December 26, 1951) was an American jazz drummer. Berton was born, Victor Cohen, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father was a violinist and began his son on string instruments around age five ...

(drums) and

Joe Tarto Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

(tuba), with whom he soon started composing and arranging material for the orchestra. He also started arranging for the other resident band at the Roseland Ballroom,

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

's orchestra. After five months with Lanin, Swan joined Vincent Lopez's band in 1925 and went on tour to England. The band at that time also featured

Mike Mosiello Mike Mosiello (full name ''Michele Alphonso Mosiello'') (December 2, 1896 – June 3, 1953) was an Italian-born American trumpet player. Biography Mosiello was born in Frasso Telesino in Italy into a musical family. His father, Tobia Mosiello, ...

, Xavier Cugat and his old bandmate Joe Tarto. Shortly thereafter, the

Bar Harbor Society Orchestra Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

released "Trail of Dreams" credited to Swan and Raymond Klages. Around 1930 Swan stopped working as a musician and concentrated on arrangements, starting to work for radio programmes and bandleaders such as

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

collaborator

Dave Rubinoff David Rubinoff, also known as Dave Rubinoff (September 3, 1897, Grodno, Russian Empire, now Belarus – October 6, 1986), was a popular violinist who was heard during the 1930s and 1940s on various radio programs playing his $100,000 Stradivar ...

and

Raymond Paige Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

. In 1931 he wrote " When Your Lover Has Gone" which was featured in the

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

film '' Blonde Crazy'' (1931). The song became a hit and has since been covered by many other performers such as Lee Wiley,

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, Ray Charles, Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday,

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

. In 1939, he composed "

" with Tommy Dorsey and Al Stillman, which was recorded by

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

and Red Norvo.

Personal life

Swan married, on August 7, 1925, Ann "Billie" Kaufman in Brooklyn. Kaufman's sister, Pauline, was married to lyricist

Albert Stillman Al Stillman ''(né'' Albert Irving Silverman; 26 June 1901 Manhattan, New York – 17 February 1979 Manhattan, New York) was an American lyricist. Biography Stillman was born to Jewish parents Herman Silverman and Gertrude Rubin ''(maiden).'' ...

, with whom Swan would collaborate on "

". At the same time, Swan converted to his wife's religion, Judaism, and changed his middle name from William to Aaron. Swan's conversion exacerbated tensions with his father, who had already been unhappy about Swan abandoning classical music for jazz; his father never spoke to him again after the marriage. Einar and Ann had two children, Pearl, born in 1926 (later known as Leslie von Roeder), and Donald, born in 1930. He died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in Greenwood Lake, New York in 1940 at the age of 37."New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGP2-LNJ7 : 3 March 2022), Einar A Swan, 1940. After Swan's death, Sinatra donated his royalties from "When Your Lover Has Gone" to Ann, Swan's widow.

Major compositions

* "

White Ghost Shivers White Ghost Shivers is an eclectic American band based in Austin, Texas which claims cabaret, jazz, vaudeville, hokum, western swing, hillbilly, jugband and ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flouris ...

" * " Trail of Dreams" (1926) * " When Your Lover Has Gone" (1931) * "

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Einar Aaron 1903 births 1940 deaths American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz composers American male jazz composers American music arrangers American people of Finnish descent Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American composers 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers