It was Benny Goodman's toughest audience. As he led his red-coated band into the opening strains of Let's Dance, the 4,600 people crammed into Moscow's Soviet Army Sports Palace divided their attention between him and the figure seated in the government box: Nikita Khrushchev. By his presence, Nikita gave official approval to a brand of music that the Communists have often reviled as decadent. Russian cats were hip enough to know that Benny was really otstaly (out-of-date), but Khrushchev declared himself bewildered. "I enjoyed it," he said as he left, but added: "I don't dance myself, so I don't understand...
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