• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Shuffle Projects

Swinging Projects for Lindy Hop & Balboa Dancers

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • DJ CHRiSBE
    • Song of the Week
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT

Les Brown

DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #82: Bizet Has His Day

26.09.2011 by Chris

Many songs from the swing era were inspired by melodies from other genres. Bizet Has His Day has its origin in classical music and how the title tells us, a piece by the composer Georges Bizet. Basis is “Farandole” from L'Arlésienne-Suite.

Here is a clip I've found on YouTube:
Farandole performed by Deutsch-Niederländische KammerPhilharmonie



The swing version was adapted and arranged by Ben Homer. In 1940 he became a staff composer for band leader Les Brown (14.03.1912-04.01.2001). The latter led a first-class jazz-oriented dance band for over 60 years.

Scott Yanow & Bruce Eder are writing on allmusic: “Les Brown's music was never innovative but was generally quite pleasing.”

Of course it's not innovative to take an existing melody, but Bizet Has His Day is for sure a successful transformation into a great danceable swing tune! In addition, the tempo is very comfortable for Lindy Hop dancers.


DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week #82: Bizet Has His Day by Les Brown & His Band Of RenownTitle: Bizet Has His Day
Artist: Les Brown & His Band Of Renown
Recorded: 1945 (?)
Album: The Les Brown Story
Tempo: 155 bpm
Dance: Lindy Hop



Click the link to prelisten and/or buy the song (mp3/mp4a) at
iTunes — Amazon.de (CH/D/A) — Amazon.com — eMusic*

*not an eMusic member yet? Get 25 Songs with Your 7 Day FREE Trial!


Do you like this song? Do you like the series? Please leave a comment!


Every Monday, I post a new “Song of the Week“.

Sign up now for DJ Chrisbe's free resources emails for more music tips and swing DJ resources!

Related posts:

Song of the Week #81: “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington
Song of the Week #80: “Shout, Sister, Shout!” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Lucky Millinder
Song of the Week #79: “Buns Blues” by Count Basie & Oscar Peterson
Song of the Week #78: “Savage Serenade” by Adrian Rollini & His Orchestra
Song of the Week #77: “A Viper’s Moan” by Willie Bryant

If you enjoyed this post, please tweet, “like”, +1, or share it. Thank you!

Filed Under: Music, Song of the Week Tagged With: Ben Homer, DJ Chrisbe, Georges Bizet, Les Brown, Lindy Hop, Swing

Primary Sidebar

Welcome, I'm Christian Bossert. Since 1999, I‘ve been passionate about Swing dances as well as their culture and history. I‘m a Swing dance instructor and international Swing DJ Chrisbe, based in Zurich Switzerland. Read More…

Recent Posts

  • Alphabetical Jazz Steps – Edition 3 (2017) with Chester Whitmore
  • Marcia & Chris unterrichten bei Dance2bee in CH-Muhen, 10.-13.07.2017
  • WhatStep – Your Dance Move Assistant App: The Story
  • Februar-Aktion: 15% auf iTunes Geschenkkarten
  • Marcia & Chris are teaching Balboa in D-Dortmund, 27.-29.11.2015

Most Popular Posts

  • 33 Tips & Actions How To Become A Better Swing Dancer
  • Swing Summer in Europe: Studio Hop Summer Camp in Eauze France
  • Competing at ABW and ESDC
  • Dance Teaching Idea: Ask & Tell
  • A Day At The Balboa Experiment
  • Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging (Documentary)
  • 14 Tips To Become A (Better) Swing DJ

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in