Tuxedo Junction

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Dale “Mickey” McMickle, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Howard Gibeling, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Dick Fisher (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan, Chummy MacGregor (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – February 5, 1940, 1:00-4:45 PM

046784-1      Sweet Potato Piper (MH vcl, JG arr)    Bluebird 10605

046785-1      Too Romantic (RE vcl)         Bluebird 10605

046786-1      Tuxedo Junction (JG arr)     Bluebird 10612 (gold label)

046786-2      Tuxedo Junction (JG arr)     Bluebird 10612 (silver label)

046787-1      Danny Boy [Londonderry Air] (GM, ChM arr)       Bluebird 10612

Dorothy, Bing & Bob harmonize on sweet potatoes.

The February 5^th, 1940 Glenn Miller session was another auspicious one, including a top Miller hit and one of the oldest, sweetest charts in the band’s library. First, however, were two new movie tunes from the first Bob Hope-Bing Crosby-Dorothy Lamour starrer, THE ROAD TO SINGAPORE. Dependable songwriters Johnny Burke and Jimmy Monaco crafted both. They had been turning out songs for Bing’s Paramount films for awhile and knew well how to bring out the best in his voice and manner.

SWEET POTATO PIPER, a trio in the movie for the three stars, works neatly as another Marion Hutton-Tex Beneke swing duet routine – “you can’t jam on a yam!” The modulation into the vocal is especially pleasant. Tex runs up and down the scale during his solo and ends with an upward gliss.

The film’s ballad, TOO ROMANTIC, begins with trombones leading into the reed sound. Ray Eberle warbles the vocal in a nicely plaintive manner and the coda is satisfyingly different.

Four days before the Miller recordings, Tommy Dorsey recorded these same two tunes for RCA with his brand-new vocalists, The Pied Pipers and Frank Sinatra, respectively. This die-hard Miller fan must admit that the Dorsey renditions are superior, with Johnny Mince joining the Pipers on an actual sweet potato instrument and Sinatra delivering the ballad slowly and with much feeling.

By now, Glenn was starting to fall into repetitive routines with his ballads and novelty tunes, recycling familiar passages, modulations and codas.  Perhaps the band’s onerous schedule provided little time for Glenn and his arrangers to explore new creative avenues, especially on the recorded pop tunes.  As 1940 continued, Glenn gave Bill Finegan and Jerry Gray some more leeway and their arrangements began to show greater imaginative scope.

Next on the session was a Miller blockbuster, TUXEDO JUNCTION.  It’s a rare case of Glenn adapting another band’s hit into an even bigger one.  Written by bandleader Erksine Hawkins and sidemen Julian Dash & Bill Johnson, it was recorded by Hawkins in July 1939 (on Glenn’s own Bluebird label!), becoming popular enough for the band to adopt it as their theme song.  Sensing a potential hit song, the publisher had words added by Buddy Feyne, describing the Tuxedo Junction trolley crossing in Hawkins’ home town of Birmingham, Alabama.

In quick succession from January through March 1940, the tune was recorded by Al Donahue, Jan Savitt, then Glenn, followed by Harry James, Casa Loma and Gene Krupa.  It shows how much clout Glenn had developed that he was allowed to record the number for the same label as Hawkins had, something that rarely occurred in those days.

Glenn had first picked up on JUNCTION when his band played opposite the Hawkins band at the Savoy Ballroom on Christmas Eve, 1939.  Miller and Jerry Gray slowed the tempo down to a hypnotic lope, dropped most of the solos (except for Clyde Hurley’s emulation of Erskine’s original trumpet solo) and made it into more of an ensemble piece with repetitive riffs and blaring trumpets.  Apparently this was just what the fans and dancers wanted, as the Miller record shot to Number One on the sales and popularity charts and was programmed often on their radio shows.  The alternate take was apparently one of the few MIller alternates that was issued on 78 around the same time as the master take.  There is little difference between the two versions.

On the flip side, DANNY BOY (aka LONDONDERRY AIR) was one of the earliest entries in the Miller band library. Jointly arranged by Glenn and Chummy MacGregor (who plays the celeste introduction, adding an ethereal touch), it is a brief, one-chorus rendition of the vintage ballad. Composed in 1910 by English musician Frederick Weatherly, it quickly became a favorite for Irish audiences, who always loved a sentimental melody.  In Miller’s hands, muted brass and the reeds alternate passages, with Chummy tinkling in the background, leading to Glenn’s muted trombone at the end.

As a change of pace during stage shows, this lovely, quiet number would hold audience attention, especially when colored lighting effects were applied to highlight the various sections of the band.

We’ve heard from Ray Eberle only fleetingly during the last few sessions. He returns with a vengeance on the next two dates, singing on all but one of the upcoming records!

Say “Si Si”

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Mickey McMickle, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Tommy Mack, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Dick Fisher (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – January 26, 1940, 2:00-5:15 PM

046727-1      Say “Si Si” [Para Vigo Me Voy] (MH vcl)     Bluebird 10622

046728-1      The Rumba Jumps (MH, TB vcl)   Bluebird 10673

046728-2      The Rumba Jumps (MH, TB vcl)   first issued on LP

Happily tootling along in New York, the Miller band worked through January on their Chesterfield program and Café Rouge appearances. Two more record dates were slotted in before the end of the month. Two tunes with a Latin tinge comprised the January 26^th session. SAY “SI SI” was an authentic Cuban song by famed composer Ernesto Lecuona, published in 1935 under the title PARA VIGO ME VOY and recorded by Xavier Cugat.

With the developing craze for Latin American music, quite a few older songs by Lecuona, Alberto Dominguez and others got an American makeover with new English lyrics. Journeyman writer Al Stillman did the job here and also successfully lyricized THE BREEZE AND I and MAMA YO QUIERO around the same time. Marion Hutton sings jauntily, pushing the Miller disc into hit status. The Andrews’ Sisters version on Decca also sold well. Coincidentally, the Sisters featured the number on their Chesterfield radio appearances with Glenn, who therefore had to carry two arrangements of the song in his book!

Unlikely “Latin” composers Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer wrote THE RUMBA JUMPS, for their flop Broadway musical, Walk With Music; Glenn had earlier recorded OOH! WHAT YOU SAID from this score.      Future Miller stars, The Modernaires, sang both songs in the show. It tells a complicated story about a Harlem band stranded in the Dominican Republic and likely provided the impetus for a colorful production number on Broadway. On record, it serves as the first Hutton-Beneke vocal-whistling duet, with the hip “Hiya Tex, what’cha say?” patter that would become a familiar part of the band’s performances.

Just three days later, the band would be back at RCA for a lengthy session featuring Marion & Tex again.

Wish Upon a Star

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Mickey McMickle, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Al Mastren, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato ,Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Dick Fisher (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Bill Finegan, Jerry Gray (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – January 6, 1940, 2:00-5:30 PM

046082-1      The Gaucho Serenade (RE vcl, JG arr)        Bluebird 10570

046083-1      The Sky Fell Down (RE vcl, BF arr)                         Bluebird 10580

046084-1      When You Wish Upon a Star (RE vcl)        Bluebird 10570

RCA Victor Studios, New York – January 15, 1940, 1:00-4:30 PM

046431-1      Give a Little Whistle (MH vcl)          Bluebird 10580

046432-1      Missouri Waltz           Bluebird 10587

046433-1      Beautiful Ohio (JG arr)         Bluebird 10587

046434-1      What’s the Matter With Me? (MH vcl)       Bluebird 10657

1940 arrived with a bang for Glenn and the band. Their new radio program for Chesterfield was getting under way and a lengthy engagement at New York’s prestigious Café Rouge (in midtown’s Pennsylvania Hotel) began on January 4^th.

Now the band could stay put in one city for several months, rehearsing, performing, recording and broadcasting. The first recording session of the year came less than a week after New Year’s Day.

For some reason, Glenn’s very citified orchestra was assigned to record a hefty slice of Western and cowboy music, beginning with THE GAUCHO SERENADE. He would eventually record enough to fill an album, though RCA never saw fit to compile one. It’s also Jerry Gray’s first recorded arrangement for the band, though airchecks exist of several earlier ones from late 1939.

THE GAUCHO SERENADE was the title song of singing cowboy Gene Autry’s latest film, stuffed as usual with tunes by various composers. James Cavanaugh, John Redmond and Nat Simon wrote it; they each had a long series of hits behind them, including POINCIANA, I LIKE MOUNTAIN MUSIC, MISSISSIPPI MUD and I LET A SONG GO OUT OF MY HEART. It’s a merry little ditty, with Ray Eberle serving as an unlikely South American cowboy.

Bill Finegan surfaces as the arranger for THE SKY FELL DOWN, sung with great assurance by Ray. It’s a simple, effective chart with a sweet solo for Glenn in the last chorus. The distinguished team of Louis Alter (MANHATTAN SERENADE, YOU TURNED THE TABLES ON ME and DOLORES) and Edward Heyman (BODY AND SOUL, OUT OF NOWHERE, I COVER THE WATERFRONT) counted this as one of their big hits.

This song also had the distinction of being the first disc recorded by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey on the higher-priced Victor label. There would be many more songs recorded by both Eberle and Sinatra over the next three years. Eberle was the more popular vocalist in 1940, but that would soon change.

Glenn had previously recorded the 1939 Best Song Oscar winner, OVER THE RAINBOW and was lucky enough to be assigned the eventual 1940 award winner, WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR, from Pinocchio.  Composers Ned Washington and Leigh Harline were regular contributors to Disney films; eventually this song became the Disney “theme,” heard on TV and in the theme parks up to the present day.

Though the arrangement is nothing special, Ray’s pleasant vocal and the song’s inherent quality carries the day. In 1947, the disc was reissued as part of a Victor 78 album of Glenn’s “star” songs, titled Starlight Serenades.

    Nine days later, as the first tune on the next record date, another Pinocchio melody was given a spritely treatment. Jiminy Cricket’s GIVE A LITTLE WHISTLE is warbled by Marion, a bit off-key, but sweetly sincere. Chummy MacGregor gets a rare boogie-woogie solo, and Tex is his usual dependably swinging self. Oddly, Bluebird didn’t release the two PINOCCHIO songs back-to-back, but on separate discs.

For a big change of pace, Glenn next recorded two waltzes. Every swing band had a few waltzes in their book to please older or more traditional dancers, but rarely got the chance to record them. That was the territory of the sweet bands. Wanting to be recognized as a well-rounded orchestra, Glenn apparently pushed Victor to let him record a few numbers in ¾ time; certainly music publishers weren’t promoting these oldies!

MISSOURI WALTZ, composed in 1914 by John Cameron Eppel, eventually became Missouri’s state song.   The arrangement, likely by Glenn, is simple and effective, with several tenor sax incursions by Beneke.

On the flip side, BEAUTIFUL OHIO, not surprisingly, was the state song of Ohio. Ballard MacDonald and Robert King wrote it in 1918 as a standard love song. A later lyric revision made the song more Ohio-specific. Jerry Gray penned Glenn’s wistful chart, featuring muted brass and brief solos by Tex and Chummy.

Back to swing for the last item on the session – WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH ME?, written by Sam M. Lewis, with lyrics by Terry Shand. Lewis’ name is completely unknown today, but his songs aren’t – IN A LITTLE SPANISH TOWN, I’M SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD (both previously recorded by Glenn), FOR ALL WE KNOW and STREET OF DREAMS, to name just four. Terry Shand was a singer who recorded prolifically in the 1930s as a band vocalist and under his own name. He also wrote the lyrics for such hits as I DOUBLE DARE YOU and DANCE WITH A DOLLY.

After a bouncy opening, Marion chirps the lyrics in a slightly subdued manner. The record really sparks to life with Clyde Hurley’s torrid solo, happily echoed by Tex, leading to a rousing windup.

Having been out of the studio for nearly all of December, Glenn was finally back at RCA on a regular recording schedule and more big hits were about to arrive!

Way Back in 1939 A.D.

RCA Victor Studios, New York – December 6, 1939, 1:30-5:00 PM

043973-1      I Beg Your Pardon (RE vcl) Bluebird 10561

043974-1      Faithful To You (RE vcl)       Bluebird 10536

043975-1      It’s a Blue World (RE vcl)     Bluebird 10536

043976-1      Ooh! What You Said (MH vcl) Bluebird 10561

On the afternoon of the band’s last day at the Meadowbrook Ballroom, Glenn held his final recording session of 1939. All four songs had good lineage, but none became a major hit.

Chubby Mack Gordon asks George Raft for a pardon.

I BEG YOUR PARDON reportedly came about from an idea of lyricist Mack Gordon. A jolly, rotund figure, Gordon often used the titular phrase when squeezing in and out of elevators, so he decided to repurpose it as the title of a love song. J. Fred Coots, composer of SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN and YOU GO TO MY HEAD, wrote the music. Ray sings the song nicely, but no fireworks result.

More Ray is heard on FAITHFUL TO YOU, a collaboration between popular NY disc jockey Martin Block and co-writers Harry Green and Mickey Stoner. The trio would work together on several other songs recorded by Glenn in the coming years. Presumably, Block promoted Miller recordings on his Make Believe Ballroom show in gratitude for recording these tunes.

WNEW disc jockey Martin Block

It’s another standard Miller ballad, with a brief, luscious clarinet solo by Jimmy Abato. Glenn took an instant dislike to the young musician and he didn’t last long in the band.

There are more mournful reed sounds on IT’S A BLUE WORLD, which was introduced by future AAF Band vocalist Tony Martin in the film Music In My Heart, which co-starred young Rita Hayworth. Songwriters Robert Wright and Chet Forrest were then working as Hollywood songsmiths, but would eventually hit it big on Broadway with Song of Norway and Kismet.   Ray does his usual vocal stuff and the arrangement has some pleasantly original dynamic touches and a lovely coda.

Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael didn’t collaborate as often as they should have, but crafted some memorable songs when they did. In late 1939, they turned their sights toward Broadway, with the score for Three After Three, which was retitled Walk With Music. The show, based on the same play that would eventually be filmed as How to Marry a Millionaire, went through a rocky gestation and finally opened in June 1940. It closed in a little over a month. Hoagy never tried Broadway again, though Johnny returned with several semi-hits in the following decades.

Hoagy & Johnny

Glenn recorded two songs from the show, OOH! WHAT YOU SAID and THE RUMBA JUMPS. In one of those interesting coincidences, OOH! was performed in the show by a vocal group named the Modernaires, who we’ll be hearing from later on!  It’s a welcome swinger after so many ballads. Marion Hutton sings the catchy lyrics and Tex surfaces for a good solo.

That’s it for 1939, as far as Glenn Miller’s recording sessions go. It had been quite an amazing year – from near-obscurity in January to the top of the big band pantheon in December.

The year wasn’t over yet – more road dates in December took the band for the first time as far west as Ohio. Arranger Jerry Gray joined, after the sudden breakup of Artie Shaw’s stellar orchestra. Jerry would bring some new sounds and many hits to the Miller band in the next three years. On Christmas Eve, Glenn and the boys broke all previous attendance records at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The same night, Glenn received a surprise gift of a 1940 Buick, which the bandsmen had pooled their money to buy.

Biggest news of all – the Miller band began a nationwide CBS radio series for Chesterfield Cigarettes on December 27^th.  Replacing Paul Whiteman, whose music was considered old hat by now, the band was initially paired with the top-selling Andrews Sisters, since sponsor Liggett & Myers were unsure about the band’s ability to carry the show.

Once 1940 began, the band would be heard every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening on a 15-minute Chesterfield program. Continuing until the band broke up, this schedule, with some tweaks, would affect all aspects of Glenn’s itinerary, as the band had to be close to a big broadcasting center every week. Any such difficulties were far outweighed by the prestige of such a popular program, which any band would kill for. Also, the free availability of endless supplies of Chesterfields would be another plus for the hard-smoking Glenn and his personnel.  We’ll pick up the tobacco saga in our next installment.

This Changing World

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 22, 1939, 1:15-4:15 PM

043909-1      In an Old Dutch Garden (RE vcl)    Bluebird 10553

043910-1      This Changing World (RE vcl)         Bluebird 10526

043911-1      On a Little Street in Singapore (RE vcl, AG arr)   Bluebird 10526, Victor 20-1585

043912-1      Vagabond Dreams (RE vcl) Bluebird 10520

The third Miller session of November 1939 led off with a pretty banal song brightened by the distinctive Glenn touch. IN AN OLD DUTCH GARDEN (BY AN OLD DUTCH MILL) is exactly what you’d expect from the title, with wooden shoes, tulips and windmills referenced.

Will Grosz, composer of THE DAY WE MEET AGAIN, which Glenn recorded back in June 1939, wrote the song. Grosz died at the end of the year, but did produce, as one of his last compositions, a Miller hit in 1940, ALONG THE SANTA FE TRAIL. Another 1940 Grosz song, MAKE-BELIEVE ISLAND, was published with Glenn’s picture on the sheet music, even though the band never recorded it.

When perusing the Miller discography, it’s apparent that Glenn had a lower threshold for selecting second-tier songs than, say, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. The latter two bands recorded far more quality show and movie tunes than Glenn. Top songwriters like Gershwin, Arlen, Rodgers, Kern and Porter rarely show up in the Miller repertoire.

Glenn got involved early on with song plugging and publishing, starting his own firm, Mutual Music, in 1941. Bands he invested in, like Charlie Spivak and Hal McIntyre, dutifully played Glenn’s favored songs, as we’ll note later on.

Back to OLD DUTCH GARDEN – it’s a pleasant enough record, with smoothly varied section playing, a touch of Beneke and of course, Ray singing, all of which doesn’t disguise the basic inanity of the song.

Miss Dana Suesse

The next record has a better pedigree – THIS CHANGING WORLD, by quirky female composer Dana Suesse (her BLUE MOONLIGHT was waxed by Glenn back in August). Harold Adamson’s thoughtful lyric is well sung by Ray and the chart has some welcome variations, including a nice Johnny Best trumpet intro, Glenn’s solo modulation into the vocal and lovely sax writing in the coda.

More Ray Eberle in a similar vein is heard on ON A LITTLE STREET IN SINGAPORE, which sounds, in the Miller version, about as Asian as an old Dutch garden. The Harry James-Frank Sinatra rendition is far more atmospheric.  Still, it’s a fine disc of the Peter De Rose-Billy Hill ballad. De Rose had written THE LAMP IS LOW earlier in the year and Hill was better known for his Western songs, like EMPTY SADDLES and WAGON WHEELS, but Tin Pan Alley songwriters were nothing if not versatile!

Oh, Frankie!

One other note about SINGAPORE – in 1944, during the recording ban, when the Sinatra-James disc was reissued by Columbia to cash in on Frankie’s popularity, Glenn’s disc was also dusted off as the flip side of the first release of BASKET WEAVER MAN, the last unissued Miller item in the RCA vaults.

Hoagy

Ray is upfront again to finish the session with Hoagy Carmichael’s VAGABOND DREAMS. Not one of Hoagy’s better-known songs, it has a mournful quality that might have worked better as an instrumental without Jack Lawrence’s unmemorable lyric.

Between the first and second November recording session, Glenn and the band stepped off the road for their second engagement at the Meadowbrook Ballroom, for a three-week Autumn stint that lasted from November 16 through December 6. Their next Bluebird date was scheduled for that last day at the Meadowbrook.

A souvenir bar of Meadowbrook soap!

 

 

Oh, Johnny, How You Can Swing!

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 18, 1939, 1:30-4:30 PM

043390-1      Ciribiribin (RE vcl, BF arr)   Bluebird 10507

043391-1      Careless (RE vcl)       Bluebird 10520

043392-1      Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh! (MH vcl)   Bluebird 10507

For one of the only times in his recording career, Glenn Miller devoted an entire session to songs that were already hits for other artists.

CIRIBIRIBIN, like so many of Glenn’s 1939 recordings, was a real oldie, an Italian popular song written by Alberto Pestlozza way back in 1898. Opera singer Grace Moore had made a crossover recording of it in 1936 and then Benny Goodman swung it in 1938. Shortly after the Goodman session, featured trumpeter Harry James started his own band and chose the melody for his theme song, played at both sweet and swing tempos. Harry first waxed it in February 1939 as an instrumental.

JOHNSON RAG lyricist Jack Lawrence was assigned to write English lyrics, which were then recorded by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in September, then by James with vocalist Frank Sinatra on November 8, followed by this Miller recording.

Bill Finegan’s cheerful arrangement is nicely played, with an equally cheery Ray Eberle vocal.

CARELESS, written by bandleader Dick Jurgens and singer Eddy Howard (with a musical assist from Lew Quadling) was a huge hit for them, and later became Eddy Howard’s theme song when he spun off his own band. Glenn’s version highlights the reeds and the Miller Sound, along with a more serious Eberle vocal.

OH JOHNNY, OH JOHNNY, OH! brings Marion Hutton back to the recording mike after a pretty long absence. It’s a jolly rendition, beginning with a lengthy riff fade-in that goes on for more than 20 seconds before the familiar melody is stated. Surprise!

The song goes back to 1917, written by Abe Olman and Ed Rose. It was a huge World War I-era hit, both in its original form and with an additional set of patriotic lyrics, exhorting potential Army recruits to enlist. Girl singer Wee Bonnie Baker revived it in mid-1939, in a cutsie-poo rendition with Orrin Tucker’s sweet band that became an enormous success.

The Andrews Sisters then struck gold with it and Glenn followed soon after. The Miller version didn’t make waves, but the Sisters would soon be collaborating with Glenn in unexpected ways!

Perhaps realizing that it’s always best to make your own hits, rather than ride on another’s coattails, the next Miller sessions would feature all-new, fresh songs.

Indian Summer

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Mickey McMickle, Johnny Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Al Mastren, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Dick Fisher (g); Rolly Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 5, 1939, 3:00-7:45 PM

043354-1      Indian Summer (RE vcl)      Bluebird 10495

043355-1      It Was Written in the Stars (RE vcl)     Bluebird 10498

043356-1      Johnson Rag (BF arr)            Bluebird 10498

043356-2      Johnson Rag (BF arr)            first issued on LP

Once the Glenn Miller band’s three-week engagement at the Paramount Theater in New York ended on October 10, the band went on another East Coast tour of one-nighters and short engagements. Nearly a month went by without a recording session.

Three dates in November helped Glenn to catch up on some new songs. The first one to be waxed was actually very old, Victor Herbert’s INDIAN SUMMER, originally written as an instrumental composition in 1919. Fitted out with spanking-new lyrics by Al Dubin, the “new” song became a major hit for Glenn and Tommy Dorsey.  Jazzman Sidney Bechet also made a memorable disc of it in 1940.

Willie Schwartz sweetly leads the reeds through the first chorus, with interjections by Tex Beneke’s sax.   Ray Eberle takes a mellow vocal despite the rangy melody; kudos to lyricist Dubin for devising an evocative set of words that adds, rather than detracts, from the vintage song. Glenn continued to play with the arrangement after the record date, a fairly rare occurrence for his ballads; there is an aircheck that adds a Johnny Best trumpet solo after the vocal.

Opening on December 6^th, Du Barry Was a Lady would be Cole Porter’s next big, splashy Broadway hit musical, starring Ethel Merman, Bert Lahr and Betty Grable. The show was full of rowdy songs, including FRIENDSHIP, BUT IN THE MORNING, NO!, KATIE WENT TO HAITI and WELL, DID YOU EVAH?, plus ballads DO I LOVE YOU? and WHEN LOVE BECKONED. Artie Shaw recorded the two ballads for Bluebird. Glenn got a decidedly lesser effort, IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS.

It’s a pretty nothing song, as if Cole had exhausted all his melodic invention on the show’s other numbers. Unusually, Ray comes right in with the vocal after a short introduction. Also different was Clyde Hurley’s hot solo, a rarity on a Miller ballad. Despite these innovations, the record is not a classic.

Bill Finegan looks in with his arrangement of JOHNSON RAG, a 1919 composition that proved such a hit in this Miller version that lyrics were added by Jack Lawrence (wordsmith for ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL the same year). 10 years later, Jimmy Dorsey recorded a catchy Dixie-swing rendition that also racked up sales.

The RAG is a pretty simple melody, almost simplistic, but Finegan’s groovy-tempoed chart is hard to resist. All the hot men – Beneke, Hurley, Klink and Miller get good solo moments. The IN THE MOOD fadeout routine is reused here, which likely set the fans into ecstasies.

Only three songs were cut, as would be the case on the next session, some two weeks later.

Carnegie Hall Jumpin’ Jive

Carnegie Hall, New York – October 6, 1939

H2PP-6679/6680               RCA Victor LPM1506 (all titles)

Moonlight Serenade

Runnin’ Wild (BF arr)

Sunrise Serenade

Little Brown Jug (BF arr)

Stairway to the Stars (RE vcl)

To You (RE vcl)

One O’Clock Jump

Londonderry Air [Danny Boy] (GM arr)

The Jumpin’ Jive (MH vcl)

F.D.R. Jones (MH & Band vcl)

Hold Tight (MH & Band vcl)

In the Mood

Bugle Call Rag (GM arr)

Moonlight Serenade

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in 1914 to collect and distribute licensing fees from performances of their members’ compositions. To celebrate their 25^th anniversary, it was decided to present a series of free-to-the-public concerts, both classical and popular, all over New York. On the evening of October 9^th, Carnegie Hall rang with the sounds of four popular dance and swing bands. Paul Whiteman, Fred Waring, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller each took the stage for a half-hour set that night.

The sounds of that memorable concert were professionally recorded; the Whiteman and Goodman portions have been privately issued. In 1958, RCA Victor commercially published Glenn’s contribution on LP and EP. Since the release of The Glenn Miller Story in 1954, RCA had produced two dozen Miller LP reissues, all of them snapped up by a seemingly insatiable public. The opportunity to release a “new” Glenn Miller album was a no-brainer, resulting in The Glenn Miller Carnegie Hall Concert. It has stayed in print, on vinyl and CD, ever since. Personally, I’ve always found the cover design slightly creepy, with Glenn appearing like a waxen figure.  A later UK issue of the LP has a more imaginative design, even though Carnegie Hall appears to be on fire!To modern listeners, this recording provides the only chance to hear the original Miller band in a typical live stage-show performance, likely similar to the shows they were then doing daily at the Paramount Theater.

Apparently, the four bandleaders did not compare notes before the concert, as Whiteman, Goodman and Miller all included SUNRISE SERENADE in their playlists and both Goodman and Miller played ONE O’CLOCK JUMP.

The Miller concert begins with a laudatory introduction by Gene Buck, the President of ASCAP and MC for the evening. After a short statement of their theme, Glenn launches immediately into RUNNIN’ WILD, a sure-to-please-all swinger. The band is miked amazingly well, considering how vintage the recording is, much better than Benny Goodman’s famous Carnegie Hall Concert of the preceding year. Beneke, Hurley and Purtill get a bit frantic and the crowd responds, though the recording only captures the audience response distantly.

After that hot opener, the popular SUNRISE SERENADE is trotted out, with its languorous Beneke sax chorus. LITTLE BROWN JUG has the band singing at the outset, an addition since the record was made. The boys swing it lightly and politely, getting into a good groove. Moe Purtill solidly backs Beneke, Hurley and Glenn’s solos.

Glenn then steps up to introduce Ray Eberle, who obliges with short choruses of two of his early hits, TO YOU and STAIRWAY TO THE STARS.

“Our version of Count Basie’s famous ONE O’CLOCK JUMP” is next on the program, in a nearly five-minute showpiece that really rocks. The band chorus is back, chanting, “Sent for you yesterday and here you come today…” for some reason and forgotten man Al Klink gets a fine solo spot. Never recorded commercially, Glenn liked the number enough to program it on many broadcasts.

“In order to offer a more varied program,” as Glenn says, LONDONDERRY AIR (aka DANNY BOY) follows. This was one of Glenn’s earliest arrangements (but not recorded until 1940) and was often featured during stage shows, with colored lighting effects highlighting the various sections of the band. Wonder if this was done at Carnegie?

After polite applause, the band strikes up a fanfare that begins a rollicking segment by Marion Hutton. She knocks out three hot ones in her effervescent manner, giving an audio approximation of the on-stage fireball antics that consistently wowed audiences. Oddly, all three tunes, THE JUMPIN’ JIVE, F.D.R. JONES and HOLD TIGHT went unrecorded commercially, though lengthier airchecks of each do exist. (For decades, the original LP listed the first song as JIM JAM JUMP, which was finally corrected on the CD.)

What could possibly follow Marion? How about “our latest recording, IN THE MOOD!” Though the record had only been out for a short time, the audience clearly loves it, clapping on the wrong beat during the fade-outs before the ending.

Upping the temperature is BUGLE CALL RAG, “featuring our drummer, Maurice Purtill.” This was another early chart by Glenn, which wouldn’t be set down in the studio until 1940. Moe gives out with one of his more imaginative drum solos and the whole band surely did their choreographed routine, throwing and waving their horns, which was happily preserved in the film, ORCHESTRA WIVES.

A short reprise of MOONLIGHT SERENADE ended the concert and then the band was off to the 34^th Street Armory for another concert. They sure were keeping busy!

And once the Paramount engagement ended on October 10^th, Glenn headed off on another East Coast tour that continued until the band began it’s second Meadowbrook engagement on November 16^th.

Poster for an upcoming recreation of the Goodman and Miller portions of the 1939 ASCAP concert!

A Paramount October

Tommy Mack (tb) replaces Toby Tyler; Benny Carter (arr) added

RCA Victor Studios, New York – October 3, 1939, 11:30 AM-2:30 PM

042780-1     Blue Rain (RE vcl)       Bluebird 10486, Victor 20-1536

042781-1     Can I Help It ? (RE vcl)           Bluebird 10448

042782-1     I Just Got a Letter (MH vcl)   Bluebird 10448

RCA Victor Studios, New York – October 9, 1939, 11:30 AM-4 PM

042923-1     Bless You (RE vcl)     Bluebird 10455

042924-1     Bluebirds in the Moonlight (MH vcl, BC arr)   Bluebird 10465

042925-1     Faithful Forever (RE vcl)       Bluebird 10465

042926-1     Speaking of Heaven (RE vcl)             Bluebird 10455

Glenn Miller and his band got massive on-air exposure during their spring and summer gigs at the Meadowbrook and Glen Island, but didn’t make much money. Now that they were hitting the road, the money was pouring in. Their September-October three-week engagement at the New York Paramount alone would wind up grossing them $150,000, an amazing quantity of money for 1939!

How they managed to squeeze in two record dates while playing all day at the theater is a wonder.   The October 3^rd date begins with two Ray Eberle vocals, both songs composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with different wordsmiths, Johnny Mercer and bandleader-songwriter Eddie DeLange. Van Heusen would contribute close to a dozen songs to the Miller discography and later teamed with Sammy Cahn to become Frank Sinatra’s “house” composer.

BLUE RAIN is not one of Mercer’s more inspired lyrics, but the Miller arrangement is so charming that it carries the performance along. It was enough of a hit that it was reissued in 1943, as the backing for one of the band’s final recordings, CARIBBEAN CLIPPER.

CAN I HELP IT? is totally forgotten, both as a song and as a Miller recording, never reissued until the 1980s. A standard-issue pop tune of the era, it does capture the band and Eberle at their most relaxed.

I JUST GOT A LETTER is a welcome swinger after a surfeit of ballads. Dave Franklin’s song (he was the composer of THE MERRY-GO-ROUND BROKE DOWN and WHEN MY DREAMBOAT COMES HOME) isn’t much, but the Miller crew mixes it into quite a tasty salad, with a nice Marion vocal, touches of Hal McIntyre’s sax and Moe’s drums. Some loose riffing winds it up. Somehow, the great Ethel Waters, who rarely handled this type of novelty, also waxed it for Bluebird!

Only three tunes were captured at the October 3^rd session, but nearly a week later, the band set down its usual allotment of four songs, with Ray, once again, getting the majority of them.

BLESS YOU sounds very unpromising, as either a benediction or the response to a sudden sneeze. It’s one of the few songs written by Don Baker, then the featured organist at the Paramount Theater. Glenn likely got the tune from him during this engagement. Eddie Lane’s lyrics are pretty unimaginative, but the song is quite melodic and the chart shows off the reed sound at its lushest. Ray sings a lower ending here, but on an aircheck issued by RCA, he makes an octave jump and goes way high for the final notes.

By accident or design, Glenn managed to record a number of songs from kid-friendly films – THE WIZARD OF OZ, PINOCCHIO, DUMBO, MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN and here, two songs from Max Fleischer’s cartoon feature, GULLIVER’S TRAVELS.

Paramount Pictures’s dependable house composers, Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin, wrote both. FAITHFUL FOREVER was the movie’s hit ballad and features tightly muted brass and one of Eberle’s sweetest vocals. Great for romantic fox-trotting and holding your best gal close.

We get a welcome dose of Marion on BLUEBIRDS IN THE MOONLIGHT, which is also distinguished by a Benny Carter arrangement. A bit of Chummy’s boogie-woogie piano starts it off, with some imaginative reed backgrounds, as one would expect from Carter. After Marion’s twinkly vocal, with her sounding more self-assured than usual, Clyde Hurley, who has been barely in evidence for the last few sessions, gets an excellent half-chorus solo. A real winner all around.

Composer Jimmy Van Heusen returns with SPEAKING OF HEAVEN, another celestial ballad. Lyricist Mack Gordon would later play a very important part in the Miller pantheon, as the wordsmith for both of Glenn’s feature film scores. Tex Beneke is featured on the unusual intro and Ray takes a very smooth vocal.

And that’s it, recording-wise, for October 1939. However, between these two sessions, Glenn made a prestigious appearance at another important venue, which luckily was recorded – we’ll cover it next time!

September on the Road

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Mickey McMickle, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Al Mastren, Toby Tyler (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato, Tex Beneke,  Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Dick Fisher (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – September 11, 1939, 8:30-11:00 PM

042662-1      Melancholy Lullaby (RE vcl)            Bluebird 10423

042663-1      (Why Couldn’t It Last) Last Night ? (RE vcl)          Bluebird 10423

 

RCA Victor Studios, New York – September 25, 1939, 11:30 PM-3:30 AM

042729-1      Out of Space (RE vcl)             Bluebird 10438

042730-1      So Many Times (RE vcl)       Bluebird 10438

Once sprung from the Glen Island Casino gig, the Glenn Miller band went traveling on a series of record-breaking engagements from Maine to Washington, DC, before beginning a three-week stand at New York’s famed Paramount Theater on September 20.  At this time, Glenn also added a trumpet and trombone, bringing the brass up to eight strong. The money was starting to pour in!

Being on the road did not afford much time to rehearse new music. After the flurry of recording sessions while the band was ensconced at the Glen Island Casino, just two brief dates were completed in September.  The second date ran until 3:30 AM, lasted four hours and only produced two finished masters. The band must have been exhausted!

The dashing Mr. Eberle

Ray Eberle croons on all four tunes, which make for pleasant, if not spectacular, listening.  Best is MELANCHOLY LULLABY, the theme song of Benny Carter’s new big band.  It’s a lovely Carter melody, with a worthy lyric by Edward Heyman, who had written BODY AND SOUL, I COVER THE WATERFRONT, OUT OF NOWHERE and other memorable songs.

Since Carter was contributing arrangements to Glenn’s book at this time, it’s possible that this chart is his.

LAST NIGHT was composed by brothers Charles and Nick Kenny. Nick was a syndicated entertainment columnist for The New York Daily Mirror and a poet and songwriter on the side. Bandleaders and singers often performed his songs in hopes of getting a column mention. Many of his songs were mediocre, but he did turn out a few hits, including LOVE LETTERS IN THE SAND and DROP ME OFF IN HARLEM.  Glenn apparently didn’t succumb to the temptation to favor Kenny, as he only recorded two of his songs, LAST NIGHT and ORANGE BLOSSOM LANE (plus CATHEDRAL IN THE PINES on the radio in 1938).

Actually, LAST NIGHT is a good song, ardently sung by Ray at the top of his register.  The arrangement takes its time, with a fine last chorus featuring the reeds and an unexpected stop-time coda.

Glenn had already taken us to the moon several times, with MOONLIGHT SERENADE, OH, YOU CRAZY MOON and BLUE MOONLIGHT. Now he went even further, going OUT OF SPACE.

Composer-arrangers Gene Gifford and Joe Bishop, of the Casa Loma and Isham Jones bands respectively, had collaborated on the melody in 1934 and both bands recorded it as an instrumental.  Winky Tharp, who lyricized other songs by both arrangers, also did so here. The words are serviceable, but OUT OF SPACE works better as a mood piece without lyrics.

SO MANY TIMES was co-composed by a bandleader, and a famous one at that – Jimmy Dorsey.  Though many other bandleaders tagged their names onto songs they recorded to grab a share of publishing royalties, Jimmy didn’t seem to be that type and he likely did have a hand in creating the few songs he is credited with, mainly IT’S THE DREAMER IN ME and I’M GLAD THERE IS YOU.  The other name on this song is one Don DeVito, a total unknown.

It’s a mournful little song, handled nicely by Mr. Eberle.  Brother Bob Eberly delivered the vocal on the Jimmy Dorsey Decca rendition, just one of many songs that were sung by both siblings with their respective orchestras.

After spending the spring and summer of 1939 totally in the New York-New Jersey area, Glenn was now getting out to the people to show them what they had been hearing on the radio. And they were certainly liking what they saw!