Classic swing music (Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Louis Prima, etc.) can be found at most stores in the Jazz section. Some neo-swing albums, like Royal Crown Revue and BBVD (and yes, even the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra) are found in the Rock/Pop section.
CD reviews
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Read reviews of past hits, present favourites and up-and-coming bands.
Music Stores
  • HMV, various locations (megastore: 1010 Ste-Catherine W.)
  • Sam the Record Man, Ste-Catherine W. corner St-Alexandre
  • Hepcat Records, out of California, is dedicated to selling the best of swing music. Their selection outdoes everyone else, and you can pretty much guarantee to find what you want when local stores don't have it. Online ordering.
  • Amazon.com and CDNow both carry almost every CD that Hepcat does, and often sell them for cheaper.
  • Drive Entertainment has a great selection of big band CDs, and has a special "buy one, get one free" until April 30th. Also sells the fantastic award-winning TV special Swing Alive featuring Royal Crown Revue and Brian Setzer.
Online Radio

There are many websites that offer swing for your listening pleasure, either through RealAudio or MP3. Many radio stations upload their playlists every week, and several swing bands offer royalty-free singles for download. The best I've encountered are:

  • Yehoodi Internet Radio: a different show every day! From contemporary swing and jazz to standards and classics.
  • SonicNet Swing/Big Bands: Royal Crown Revue drummer Daniel Glass programs this online radio station with a mix of the best classic and revival swing tunes.
  • Chuck Cecil's "The Swingin' Years": Every Saturday listen online to a true swing legend, either from 4-6 PM EST on KCSN-Los Angeles or from 9 PM-12 AM on WPEN-Philadelphia.
  • Les Mordus du Swing: swing radio show Sundays at 7 PM on CKIA-FM 96.1 in Quebec City.
  • Swanktown Radio: weekly swing/lounge compilation
  • NetRadio: has continuously streaming swing music 24 hours/day. Select "Swing" from the pull-down menu...
  • MP3.com: offers CD quality swing/big band songs for listening pleasure or for download.
  • Spinner: continuously streaming CD quality sound with their free audio player. Has swing, lounge and big band music.
  • Hard Boiled: campus swing radio from Eugene, Oregon
Bands
Montreal Canada
U.S. and Europe