Charlie Barnet on AllMovie

A bandleader from age 16 until his death 62 years later, Charlie Barnet was at his peak in the late '30s and early '40s. Of his many recordings, Barnet is best remembered for his smash hit single "Cherokee;" his arrangement, in fact, has been followed note by note by virtually every band and orchestra since. Among the first white bandleaders to hire blacks (one of his discoveries was Lena Horne), he was refreshingly casual about it, refusing in later years to posture as a Civil Rights pioneer. Compared to other bandleaders of his stature, Charlie Barnet's film appearances were sparse, consisting of a mere four feature films: Music in Manhattan (1944), Jam Session (1944), Idea Girl (1946), and A Song is Born (1948).