In 1934, he tried out for the "Let's Dance" radio program. Since he needed new charts every week for the show, his friend John Hammond suggested that he buy some jazz charts from Fletcher Henderson, who had New York's most popular African-American band in the 1920s and early 1930s. The combination of the Henderson charts, his strong clarinet playing, and his band that practiced well made him a rising star in the mid-30s. 