Playboythe magazine, the empire, the lifestyleis one of the worlds best-known brands. Since the launch ofPlayboymagazine in 1953, two elements have been remarkably consistent: the first, obviously, is the celebration of nubile, female flesh. The second, readers may be surprised to learn, is Playboys involvement in the music scene. The Playboy experience was never just about sex but about lifestyle. Musicparticularly the finest jazz, a personal passion of Hefnershas always been an essential component of that lifestyle. Playboy Swingsfocuses specifically on Playboys involvement in the music scene, its impact on popular entertainment (and vice versa), and the fabulous cadre of performers who took to the stages of the mythic Playboy Clubs and Jazz Festivals.Throughout Playboy Swings, Farmer demonstrates how Playboy helped change the world through music by integrating the TV shows, festivals, and the clubs. Complied through interviews with hundreds of people who were on the scene throughout Playboys rise, fall, and on-going renaissance,Playboy Swingscarries readers on a seductive journey through the history of the empireall the while focusing on the musical entertainment that made it unique.Hefs personal passion for musicand his belief in it as a cornerstone of the Playboy ethoshas expressed itself in a wide range of media over Playboys 60-year history, and all of it comes alive in these pages. Famer takes the reader from the inception of the Playboy empire through the 1959 jazz festival, to the opening of club after club. With approximately 60 black and white photos, and a complete Playboy music reference guide, readers will think of music, not just Bunnies, when thinking about Playboy. Throughout the book, it is the artists who do most of the talkingand they have a lot to say about the golden era of Playboy entertainment.
