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Woody Herman

Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (died 1987)

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Born
May 16, 1913
Died
October 29, 1987
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1913

About Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles Herman was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his death in 1987. His bands often played music that was cutting edge and experimental; their recordings received numerous Grammy nominations with three wins plus a lifetime achievement award for Herman. Woody Herman joined the Tom Gerun band and his first recorded vocals were "Lonesome Me" and "My Heart's at Ease". Herman's first band became known for its orchestrations of the blues, and was sometimes billed as "The Band That Plays the Blues".

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Woody Herman was born

Woody Herman was born in 1913. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1913

  • Best-selling book"The Inside of the Cup" – Winston Churchill

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJim Thorpe stripped of Olympic titles over amateurism rules
  • Top headline16th Amendment allows federal income tax
  • Technology milestoneFord assembly line begins — revolutionizes manufacturing
  • World population~1.73B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population96.0M

1913 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Woody Herman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19132026
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population96.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.