Benny Goodman Breaks the Color Barrier

In the early 1930s blacks and whites couldn't perform together in most clubs or venues. Benny Goodman did much to change that. The bandleader first broke the color barrier in 1935 when he hired black pianist Teddy Wilson to perform in the Benny Goodman Trio with him and drummer Gene Krupa. A couple years later, Goodman also hired vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, making the band half black.