Arthur Jacob Arshawsky was born on May 23, 1910 in New York City and died on December 30, 2004. Shaw was a shy boy that studied saxophone and then clarinet as a youth. Because of his exposure to both swing and classical music he brought new innovation to popular music of the day by incoroporating elements of clssical music with jazz and swing. He hired Buddy Rich for his band, and also hired Billie Holiday to sing with the band. His band, with Billie Holiday as lead singer, was the first band in America to tour with a black singer. During the second world war, while Glen Miller joined the army air force and created a military band that toured the European theater entertaining the Allied troops, Artie Shaw joined the Navy and formed a band that toured the Pacific Theater and entertained the troops. For a period he played four concerts a day in battle areas, including the Guadalcanal during the fiercest fighting. Shaw found much less success in his personal life, with eight failed marriages, including short marriages to Lana Turner and Ava Gardner.