Thomas Francis Dorsey (Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, 19 November 1905 - Greenwich, Connecticut, 26 November 1956) was an American trombonist, trumpeter and bandleader.
Dorsey started at the age of 16 with Russ Morgan in the 1920s well-known band "The Scranton Sirens". He played with his brother Jimmy in various bands, including those of Rudy Vallée, Vincent Lopez and Paul Whiteman, before they formed the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1934. Several quarrels between the two brothers caused Jimmy to leave the band in 1935, at the time they had a hit with "Every Little Moment".
The members of Dorsey's first band originally came from Joe Haymes' band. The smooth trombone style that the band's songs had were known as some of the best of the swing era. When the band signed with RCA Victor, they immediately had a hit with "On Treasure Island", one of four hits that year from the band. Eventually, the orchestra had 137 hits (including with singer Frank Sinatra) including "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "Marie", "The Big Apple", "Music, Maestro, Please", "I'll Never Smile Again", "This Love of Mine", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie", "Well, Git 'It", "Opus One", "Manhattan Serenade" and "There Are Such Things".
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