Vocalist Jimmy Valentine sang with local bands in his native Texas before being discovered by drummer Ray McKinley while on tour with Jimmy Dorsey in the late 1930s. Valentine was extremely popular with crowds in his home state, upstaging even Dorsey vocalist Bob Eberly. When McKinley and trombonist Will Bradley formed an orchestra in 1939 McKinley offered Valentine a job. Though the young tenor proved a capable balladeer for the band he was extremely shy, often running off the stage when his number was over. Valentine had little opportunity to gain experience, as Bradley and McKinley soon hit upon the formula for success in playing boogie woogie rhythms, leaving the singer little to do.