All the press hype about the rise of '40s swing music in the last year seemed like so much jive. Until now.

While isolated clubs and scenes have long pushed Big Band sounds, the movement had little effect on the charts. Groups like the Flying Nutrinos, Royal Crown Revue and the Brian Setzer Orchestra packed shows but couldn't sell albums. The only neo-swing act on the charts last year, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, seemed like a fluke.

Now, with the rise of two other groups, it doesn't seem that way anymore. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy recently got to No. 64 on the Billboard Top 200. This week, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies shot 24 points north to No. 67.

The former got a boost by being included on the soundtrack to the movie "Swingers." The latter has gotten play on Modern Rock radio for the single "Zoot Suit Riot." Last week, the Cherry Daddies' song began crossing over to Top 40, while the video just went into active rotation on MTV, promising to make them the new kings of swing.

According to top Cherry member Steve Perry, the neo-swing crossover owes much to the breakthrough of ska. "That legitimized horns for the mainstream ear," he says.

Perry should know. His band performs its share of ska. Yet to Perry there's a clear hierarchy.

"Ska sounds superficial and shallow unless the blues tip is there, as in the Skatalites' music. Swing has more harmonic depth."

Still, the accent on swing for the Cherry Daddies' new album had a commercial, as well as an esthetic purpose. Formed in 1989, the band released three indie LPs that, Perry says, "would feature a metal song next to a country song next to a swing song. Only the lyrics made it cohere."

According to Perry, the guys manning the merchandising table at their live shows found that fans liked the swing stuff most. "We did this ["Zoot Suit Riot"] compilation of our earlier swing work just for those fans. Now that we're getting all this attention, it worries me that we'll be known just for that. I'd like to experiment more."

Welcome to the music industry, Steve.

Not that the Daddies ever found it easy to march with the trends. They formed in the Pacific Northwest (Eugene, Ore., to be exact) just as grunge started. "To me, they were just playing campfire chords with lots of distortion. It sounded like crap to me."

The feeling was mutual, as certain locals didn't cotton to the band's randy name. "This was the height of political correctness and we lived at one of its epicenters. I had hot coffee thrown in my face. People sent in bomb threats."

They go over much better now, especially given that their swing has the force of punk. "It's energetic music, not the slower cocktail sound of lounge," Perry says.

The balance of old and new fits in well with the wavering taste of current radio. "Anything can be the next big thing," Perry says, "even music like ours."

Louis Prima would be proud.