Interesting article.
All of it occured before I was born, but my Grandfather and his brothers were all in bands prior to the war. Aftewards, from what I recall, he said the bands just weren’t around anymore for whatever reason.
Seems Rock and Roll didn’t really pick up popular steam until around ‘54/’55 - that’s almost 10 years after the article cites the big band death.
Curious what was happening in the interim. Sinatra was definitely around, but IIRC, that between period coincides with a lull in his career as well.
Better sound systems and more affordable records and the prevalence of radio may have been a factor. Eventually TV too - Lawrence Welk started in ‘55 so there must have been some demand for big band music still around.
To add, the real height of the big-band craze was probably more like 1938-42. Records were coming out at a fast-and-furious pace. In 1942 was also when the Petrillo recording ban started (ending in 1944), which prevented records by big-bands, yet allowed the record companies to release vocalists’ recordings. Timing that with the wartime draft snatching up sidemen, gas rationing hampering traveling, and such, it was really crippling things even well before 1946. Seemed like bands were trying to regroup and get their mojo back in late-1945, but tastes had changed, and apparently this cabaret tax was also a factor.
The recording output of major-name bands in 1945 and 1946 (after the recording ban) was very tiny, compared to 1942 and before.