Jazz clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman was born into a large, impoverished immigrant family in Chicago on May 30, 1909. He broke through social and cultural barriers to bring big band swing music into mainstream American culture. His most profound legacy is that during an era of rigid racial segregation, Goodman risked his career by forming the first popular integrated jazz ensembles, performing alongside musicians such as Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton.
