Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra was a Canadian swing revival band,"Johnny's a crowd Favourite". Halifax Daily News, April 8, 2004. active in the late 1990s."Band a favorite with swinging fans". Kingston Whig-Standard, June 10, 1998.
Formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by jazz singer Stuart "Johnny Favourite" Bastow, the band released its debut album The Life Desire independently in 1997."Can't beat the swing on Favourite album". Halifax Daily News, August 22, 1997.
Other band members included John Wesley Chisholm, Wes Mackey Jr., Colin Hudson, Pete Johnston, Matt Myer, Craig Sheppard, "Hound Dog" Dave Fitzgerald, Eric Landry, David Christensen, Dawn Hatfield, and Andrew Killawee.
They won an East Coast Music Award for Best Jazz Group in 1998,"Austin, Glamour Puss win big". Telegraph-Journal, February 2, 1998. and signed to Universal Records that year."Life desire becomes reality for Favourite: crooner signs deal with Universal". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, July 18, 1998. Soon afterward, however, Chisholm left the band after the birth of his second child;"Favourite orchestra, John Wesley Chisholm dissolve partnership". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, September 9, 1998. he subsequently received two Genie Award nominations, for both Best Original Song and Best Original Score, for his work composing music for the film Beefcake."Genie Award nominations". Toronto Star, December 8, 1999.
The band's second album, Holiday Romance, was released in fall 1998."Swigging and swinging to his heart's content". National Post, November 10, 1998.
By this time the band was a popular touring act,"Swing returns as Favourite on dance floor". Calgary Herald, February 5, 1999. whose live show included original material, jazz standards and covers of classic and hard rock songs by bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Band."Johnny comes out swinging!: Swing is one of the hottest trends of the '90s -- and this band should know". The Province, February 11, 1999. They garnered radio and MuchMusic airplay for singles such as "Rootbeer & Licorice" and "We Still Talk"."Maritime swing band has pop attitude". Victoria Times-Colonist, January 29, 1999. "Rootbeer & Licorice" charted on the Adult Contemporary charts in RPM, peaking at #32 the week of January 11, 1999.Adult Contemporary Tracks. RPM, January 11, 1999.
The band won the Juno Award for Best New Group at the Juno Awards of 1999."Triumphant, Favourite coming back home: Weekend shows his first here since copping best new group Juno". Halifax Daily News, April 1, 1999.
Because the band had up to 14 members at various times, it underwent frequent personnel changes and internal tensions."Just in time for summer: Johnny Favourite is smooth, solo and back on your radio". National Post, July 6, 2000. The band broke up following a show in Halifax in early 2000; Bastow continued to use the name Johnny Favourite as a solo artist,"Still a Favourite, despite Juno curse". Kingston Whig-Standard, July 25, 2000. and released his first solo album The Tonight Album in fall 2000. Five of the former Swing Orchestra band members continued as his solo backing band. He moved to Portugal for several years in the 2000s, before returning to Canada near the end of the decade;"The Province Playlist; Featured artist: JOHNNY FAVOURITE, 'What a Difference a Day Makes'". The Province, July 6, 2010. his second solo album, Troubadour, was released in 2010.
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