Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw

From What a Creep by Sonia Mansfield

December 8, 2025 · 40 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the life and career of jazz clarinetist and big-band leader Artie Shaw, highlighting both his musical achievements and personal controversies.

What a Creep Season 31, Episode 4 Artie Shaw The lovely and fantastic Simone O. Elias, author of “Old Films, Young Eyes: A Teenage Take on Hollywood's Golden Age,” joins host Sonia Mansfield to talk about Artie Shaw. Artie Shaw played the jazz clarinet and was a big-band leader who reigned supreme as one of the kings of swing with his recordings of "Begin the Beguine," "Lady Be Good," and "Star Dust" in the late 1930s and 40s. He was also an abusive husband, who was married 8 times, ANNNND, he dropped some names at the House of Un-American Activities in the 1950s. What a creep. Sources for this episode ArtieShaw.com Ebsco.com The Guardian The Guardian The Hairpin New York Times New York Times NPR Swing and Beyond Time Wikipedia Wikipedia Be sure to follow us on social media. But don’t follow us too closely … don’t be a creep about it! Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts Facebook: Join the private group BlueSky Instagram @WhatACreepPodcast Visit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/whatacreep Email: WhatACreepPod@gmail.com We’ve got merch here! https://whatacreeppodcast.threadless.com/# Our website is www.whatacreeppodcast.com

People in this episode

Host: Sonia Mansfield

Guest: Simone O. Elias

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: House of Un-American Activities, ArtieShaw.com, Ebsco.com, The Guardian, The Hairpin, New York Times, NPR, Swing and Beyond, Time, Wikipedia

Books & works: Old Films, Young Eyes: A Teenage Take on Hollywood's Golden Age, Begin the Beguine, Lady Be Good, Star Dust

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