December 7, 2014 by djwein

Good-bye 1940

Mickey McMickle, Johnny Best, Ray Anthony, Billy May (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Jack Lathrop (g,vcl); Trigger Alpert (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Bill Finegan, Jerry Gray (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – December 13, 1940, 1:30-5:50 PM

058172-1 Anvil Chorus – Part 1 (JG arr) Bluebird 10982-A

058173-1 Anvil Chorus – Part 2 (JG arr) Bluebird 10982-B

058173-2 Anvil Chorus – Part 2 (JG arr) Bluebird (Canada) 10982-B

058174-1 Frenesi (BF arr) Bluebird 10994-A

058174-2 Frenesi (BF arr) first issued on LP

RCA Victor Studios, New York – December 27, 1940, 1:00-4:00 PM

058805-1 The Mem’ry of a Rose (RE vcl) Bluebird 11011-A

058806-1 I Do, Do You ? (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 11020-A

058807-1 Chapel in the Valley (RE vcl) Bluebird 11029-B

058808-1 Prairieland Lullaby (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 11011-B

Now the top band in the land, it’s strange that Glenn Miller recorded relatively infrequently in the last months of 1940. From October through year’s end, he waxed only 20 numbers, quite a drop-off from 1939. With their comfortable perch at the Café Rouge, it would seem that the time to commission and rehearse new numbers would be available. For whatever reason, this was not the case.

The first session in December came on Friday, the 13^th, but it proved to be a lucky Miller date. Not so for Count Basie – he had a Columbia session that same day and superstitious musician Lester Young refused to show up, getting himself fired from the band.

With the ASCAP radio ban looming on January 1^st of the New Year, Glenn wisely concentrated on selections that would fit under the new BMI or public domain-only restrictions. The short session of December 13^th consisted of a real oldie and a BMI newcomer. ANVIL CHORUS, a swing version of the familiar choral theme from Verdi’s 1853 opera, Il Trovatore, was needless to say, in the public domain!

Jerry Gray penned the lengthy arrangement (even though Glenn got the label credit!), which was first broadcast in October. It ran seven minutes and was taken at a very slow tempo. This was too long even for a two-part 78, so it was sped up and several sections were edited, resulting in a five-minute jazz opus.

Note that this 45 reissue correctly credits Jerry Gray as the arranger.

The band is in fine fettle, booted along by Moe Purtill and Trigger Alpert. Beneke, Ernie Caceres and Billy May get short solos, but the star here is the tightly routined band and Moe, who is heard in a lengthy drum spot on Part 2. The repeated riffs go on just long enough, leading to a neat coda. Later performances by both the civilian and AAF bands would lengthen the drum solo, making it nearly a percussion feature. The alternate take of Part 2 is easily identified by a fat trumpet clinker near the end.

FRENESI, on the other hand, was written by Mexican composer Alberto Dominguez in 1939 and became a popular hit there. Bandleader Artie Shaw heard a local band play it while on a vacation and brought it home to record instrumentally in March 1940 with his new swing-pus strings band. Though the A-side, ADIOS MARIQUITA LINDA, was expected to be the hit, FRENESI, the B-side, took off and became nearly the biggest success Shaw would ever have.

1940 sheet music with ASCAP lyric.

English lyrics were hastily added by Leonard Whitcup, an ASCAP lyricist, and several additional recordings were made. The song’s American publisher, Southern Music, then switched their affiliation to BMI and a new set of English lyrics by Ray Charles (not the singer of that name) and S.K. Russell were attached. Glenn avoided the whole lyric question by recording the number as an instrumental ballad, slowing it down from Shaw’s rhythm-rumba tempo.

1941 sheet music with BMI lyric.

The saxes lead off with the insinuating melody, first by themselves and then with the clarinet lead. Tex Beneke picks it up, followed by lovely muted trumpets. Johnny Best takes an open trumpet solo, continued by Mickey McMickle on muted horn. More reed sounds and then the full band brings it home. This Bill Finegan chart is a leisurely beauty, though Artie Shaw’s landmark version is hard to beat. The title FRENESI means “frenzy” in English. Neither of these famous recordings suggest that at all!

After these two winning discs, the Miller band’s final session for 1940 produced four pretty forgettable sides, which made no stir whatsoever, either artistically or commercially. All the tunes were written by composers and lyricists who had done right by Glenn in the past.

There are some pleasant arranging touches and Ray Eberle does his usual consistent job, but not one of the songs standa out especially. THE MEM’RY OF A ROSE, by Jimmy Kennedy (of MY PRAYER fame) and Richard Young, has the fusty-sounding lyric of a Civil War-era ballad.

I DO, DO YOU sounds a little more up-to-date, written by Lew Quadling, who had penned A MILLION DREAMS AGO earlier in the year. Also returning was Leon Rene, writer of WHEN THE SWALLOWS COME BACK TO CAPISTRANO. CHAPEL IN THE VALLEY was not much of a follow-up, though it tries to suggest the melody and lyric of the earlier song.

PRAIRIELAND LULLABY at least has an interesting lineage. It was written by Victor Young, one of Glenn’s comrades in the 1926 Ben Pollack band. Young had risen to become a top radio, recording and film composer/conductor. The song was part of the score for a Paramount musical travelogue short, Arizona Sketches, with an added lyric by Frank Loesser (of THE LADY’S IN LOVE WITH YOU).

Victor Young

Bill Finegan’s pleasant arrangement drags Ray Eberle onto a saddle again, for yet another lope through the Western tumbleweeds. He sings throughout and is in especially relaxed form, riding 1940 off into the sunset.

As Bluebird’s top-selling band, Glenn certainly had a say in the material he was given to record. It appears that he was becoming aware that he should concentrate on better songs in the future and not favor those published and plugged by friends or even his own publishing firm, at least not until they had better product to promote.

1941 would feature a higher quality of material and result in many memorable recordings, plus new sounds arriving in the Glenn Miller vocal department!

November 30, 2014 by djwein

Long Time No See, Baby

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 15, 1940, 1:45-4:45 PM

057648-1 Somewhere (RE vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10959

057649-1 Yes, My Darling Daughter (MH & Band vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10970

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 22, 1940, 1:30-4:30 PM

057661-1 A Stone’s Throw from Heaven (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 11063

057662-1 Helpless (RE vcl, JG arr) Victor 20-1600

057663-1 Long Time No See, Baby (MH vcl, JG arr) Victor 20-1563

057663-2 Long Time No See, Baby (MH vcl, JG arr) first issued on LP

057664-1 You Are the One (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 11020

The war in Europe was having less effect on America than the war between ASCAP and BMI that had also been brewing since 1939. The American Society of Composers and Publishers had been issuing warnings to the radio networks that they would shortly be increasing song royalty charges by an enormous amount. In retaliation, broadcasters formed a competing royalty agency, Broadcast Music Incorporated. Since ASCAP had nearly every major songwriter and music publisher under their umbrella, they weren’t overly worried about competition from BMI. The new agency tried signing up composers who went underneath ASCAP’s radar, like country, blues and Latin writers, even amateurs.

By the end of 1940, BMI had built up a rather meager catalog, but it would have to do. When the ASCAP deadline of January 1, 1941 came around, the products of BMI and the public domain would have to suffice for all music broadcast by NBC and CBS. The smaller Mutual network signed early with ASCAP, so they had no worries. To make matters worse, the networks decreed that BMI tunes had to be interspersed with ASCAP songs starting on October 10, 1940, to get listeners used to the new music. For each half-hour music broadcast, four of the usual eight tunes played had to be from BMI or elsewhere.

Ancient, out-of-copyright composers like Stephen Foster and Eddie Leonard suddenly became popular again, as did classical song adaptations (which were already a familiar occurrence). Tchaikovsky and Debussy were now hot tickets! South American music, also newly popular, got a big boost when the song libraries of Ernesto Lecuona and Alberto Dominguez were raided for melodies and new BMI-friendly English lyrics were added.

Glenn Miller’s recorded output would shortly begin reflecting the new radio rules, since Glenn certainly wanted to get his records played on the air. His own Mutual Music publishing arm signed with BMI and he corralled any of his arrangers and musicians who also wrote songs.

The short session of November 15^th consisted of two ASCAP compositions, one a flop and the other a huge hit. SOMEWHERE is a bland song from of all things, an ice skating revue, the Ice Capades of 1941. It was written by distinguished songwriters Peter DeRose and John Latouche (the lyricist of Cabin in the Sky), but is forgotten as soon as it’s heard. The band and Ray do their usual professional job, but why Glenn singled the number out for recording is a mystery.

On the other hand, YES MY DARLING DAUGHTER is a knockout from start to finish. Jerry Gray’s kicky arrangement, Marion’s vocal and 16 supercharged bars by seldom-featured Al Klink combine to produce a winning record. Dinah Shore and the Andrews Sisters also got big sales from their discs.

Another session a week later produced four neglected sides, familiar only to Miller completists and all BMI products. A STONE’S THROW FROM HEAVEN is a lovely melody unfortunately saddled with a clichéd lyric. Three unknowns composed it – Bob Ray, Jan Burton and Irving Green. Ray Eberle sings the song nicely and Bill Finegan wrapped it in a fine arrangement, but nothing came of it.

YOU ARE THE ONE is yet another dull, undistinguished ballad. It was a rare collaboration between John Scott Trotter, conductor of Bing Crosby’s Kraft Music Hall radio series and Carroll Carroll, head writer for the show. Likely Glenn’s friendship with Bing resulted in this recording.

Moe Purtill, Johnny Best, Jack Lathrop, Ernie Caceres

Miller had been using guitarist Jack Lathrop as an occasional vocalist. Now he gave him a tryout as a composer, recording and publishing two of his songs. Both tunes got a fair amount of airplay, but they went nowhere. Oddly, neither record was issued at the time, a very rare occurrence for Glenn’s output. If RCA had not been desperate for new product during the 1942-44 recording ban, they might have languished in the vaults forever.

HELPLESS is a sweet little tune, well sung by Ray and the record is a forgotten treat. LONG TIME NO SEE, BABY had definite possibilities, a jaunty, hip number with Marion at her best and Tex grooving on sax. The record’s delayed release did it no favors.

LONG TIME was issued in 1943 on Victor with HERE WE GO AGAIN, a product of the last Miller dates, as the flip side. HELPLESS was paired in early 1944 with a timely reissue of the 1942 WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME and has the distinction of being the last “new” Glenn Miller civilian band recording to be issued on Victor 78s.

Marion Hutton

For some reason, Glenn had lately been featuring Marion Hutton less frequently on records and broadcasts. On the Chesterfield airings, Marion and Ray would get one number apiece, but at the Café Rouge, she’d usually get just one vocal per half-hour program, while Ray would sing three. Her lone vocal on the November 22^nd session would be her last with Miller for a long time.

Meanwhile, the trumpet section, having been in a state of flux since Clyde Hurley left in May, finally settled into a personnel configuration that would remain intact for long time. The rest of the band was firmly set, so now Glenn had the musicians he wanted, most of whom would stay until the band broke up.

Now he needed more popular records. Glenn’s hit-making ability seemed to be on the blink as 1940 wound to its conclusion, but the next session would be a step in the right direction.

November 24, 2014 by djwein

Isn’t That Just Like Love?

RCA Victor Studios, New York – November 8, 1940, 1:30-4:30 PM

057610-1 Fresh As a Daisy (MH, TB, JL vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10959

057611-1 Isn’t That Just Like Love ? (JL vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10936

057612-1 Along the Santa Fe Trail (RE vcl) Bluebird 10970

057613-1 Do You Know Why ? (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10936

Marion Hutton, in the first of several colorful Chesterfield promotions, 1940.

Romance was running rampant in the Glenn Miller family during the fall of 1940. Marion Hutton and Ray Eberle got married (not to each other). Also tying the knot was Glenn’s personal manager, Don Haynes, to Polly Davis, Glenn’s secretary/office manager.

FRESH AS A DAISY is a rarity for Miller – an honest-to-goodness current Broadway show tune, from Cole Porter’s Panama Hattie. Starring Ethel Merman, the rowdy show ran over a year, but produced no lasting hits. Coincidentally, DAISY was sung in the show by Betty Hutton, Marion’s sister! The Miller record is warbled by the trio of Marion, Tex and Jack Lathrop. A Porter “list” song, along the lines of LET’S FALL IN LOVE and YOU’RE THE TOP, it has none of the wit of the earlier numbers.

There isn’t much that Glenn can do with the wordy opus, except let the singers sing and then wrap it up. One obvious lyric change – for the line, “mild as a cigarette,” Glenn’s Chesterfield broadcast versions substituted, “mild as a Chesterfield.” Gotta keep the sponsor happy!

Radio stars Jack Benny and Fred Allen had an on-air “feud” going on in the late 30s and early 40s that spilled over from their starring programs to other shows and finally, to the movies. Love Thy Neighbor was the cinematic version of the quarrel, starring Benny, Rochester, Allen and lovely Mary Martin, thrown in for songs and romantic complications.

In addition to the new songs by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, Mary Martin also performed MY HEART BELONGS TO DADDY, which had put her on the Broadway map a few years earlier.

Jack Lathrop croons ISN’T THAT JUST LIKE LOVE, which was sung in the film by the Merry Macs vocal group. It’s pleasant, but not nearly long enough. Tex barely gets started on his solo after the vocal and is cut short by the sudden coda. As with a number of the rhythm tunes Glenn recorded during this period, there was plenty of room for an additional chorus or more.

DO YOU KNOW WHY takes its time, at a comfortable ballad tempo. It’s a superior song, aside from the questionable “until the cows come home” lyric line. Once again, Ray Eberle gets a better showcase in Bill Finegan’s plush arrangement than Frank Sinatra’s on the rather formulaic Tommy Dorsey disc. Sinatra is in great form, however. For those Miller detractors that complain about Glenn’s fast ballad tempos, let it be noted that the Dorsey recording is taken more rapildy, as are many of the other 1940 Frank/Tommy records.

Back to the prairie again for ALONG THE SANTA FE TRAIL, a tie-in with the epic motion picture, Santa Fe Trail. This was a fanciful retelling of the pre-Civil War hunt for abolitionist John Brown. Brown was portrayed by Raymond Massey and historical figures Jeb Stuart, George Custer and Kit Carson were enacted by Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan and Olivia DeHavilland. The story was mostly historical hogwash, but the film was exciting and very successful.

The title song was woven through the musical score and became quite popular. Composer Will Grosz was by now dead for nearly a year, but apparently was still turning out hits! Veteran lyricist Al Dubin wrote the words and this right combination resulted in a first class recording of a lovely song. There’s nothing formulaic about this (uncredited) Miller ballad chart, which frames Ray Eberle at his very best.

While events within the Miller band were running smoothly and successfully, the outside world was steadily encroaching on America’s isolationist bubble. War news from Europe was getting increasingly worse and the nation’s first peacetime draft was enacted at the end of October 1940, Closer to home, another war was brewing between the radio networks and ASCAP that would have more immediate effects on Glenn and the orchestra.

November 22, 2014 by djwein

A Nightingale Sang

Mickey McMickle, Charles Frankhauser, Zeke Zarchy, Johnny Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Jack Lathrop (g,vcl); Trigger Alpert (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, The Four Modernaires {Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein, Bill Conway, Ralph Brewster} (vcl); Bill Finegan; Jerry Gray (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – October 11, 1940, 1:45 PM-4:55 PM

056479-1 Make Believe Ballroom Time (Mods vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10913

056479-2 Make Believe Ballroom Time (Mods vcl, JG arr) RCA Victor EPA-5035

056480-1 You’ve Got Me This Way (MH vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10906

056481-1 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10931

056481-2 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (RE vcl, BF arr) RCA Victor PR-125

056482-1 I’d Know You Anywhere (RE vcl, BF arr) HMV 45 EP 7EG-8224

056482-2 I’d Know You Anywhere (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10906

Happiness is a season at the Café Rouge! That thought likely went through the minds of the Glenn Miller musicians when they settled in for a three-month residency at The Hotel Pennsylvania, as they had done the preceding winter. Traveling on the road may be exciting, with the accolades of fans ringing in their ears every night, but having a chance to relax, get the laundry done and eat regularly had its charms, too.

The band’s only record session in October 1940 also had its charms. The story behind the first number waxed, MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM TIME, is an interesting one. WNEW Radio in New York City initiated one of the first regular “disc jockey” programs with Martin Block’s Make-Believe Ballroom in 1935. Since so much live music was available on the air, few though that listeners would take to a program of recorded music. Also, the record companies weren’t too keen on having their discs played on the air for free. They preferred customers to buy the record or pay for jukebox plays.

Glenn & Martin Block at the WNEW microphone. In the background are Clyde Hurley, Moe Purtill, Rollie Bundock & Willie Schwartz.

Block’s show was a huge and instant success and his relaxed, laid-back speaking style was a novelty in an age of stentorian announcers. In 1936, Charlie Barnet’s new band recorded MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM, by the popular black songwriting duo of Paul Denniker and Andy Razaf. The vocal was handled by the “Barnet Modern-Aires,” and was designed to be used as an on-air theme. With vocals at the beginning and end, the lengthy instrumental mid-section provided space for Block’s announcements.

Strangely, this recording was not specially made for Martin Block’s personal use, but was issued by RCA-Bluebird as a regular commercial release, so home collectors had the ability to recreate the popular program at home, if they so desired.

By 1940, apparently it was felt that a more up-to-date theme recording was needed, so Glenn (at his own expense!) agreed to produce a replacement. This time, Martin wisely cut himself in for a share of the song royalties, by collaborating on the lyrics with Harold Green and Mickey Stoner (who had written FAITHFUL TO YOU, which Glenn had waxed). The Four Modernaires, by this time, veterans of the Paul Whiteman band, returned to add a bit of continuity to the new recording. This momentary collaboration with Miller would eventually reap big rewards for the Mods.

The Modernaires’ autographs, from January 1940, when they were still with Paul Whiteman.

The new song was as catchy as the first one, and Jerry Gray crafted a bouncy arrangement featuring the singing foursome and solos by Johnny Best and Tex Beneke. Newly arrived, bassist Trigger Alpert brings an extrovert personality to his instrument, boosting the rhythm section immeasurably. The alternate take, first issued on an EP in the late 50s, likely by mistake, has noticeable differences in the solos and some rare clinkers by the band.

No clinkers are to be heard on A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE, an all-time Miller classic and his first recording to allude, though glancingly, to World War II, then entering its second year in Europe. Offering a nostalgic look back to peacetime London, it was written by British songwriters Eric Maschwitz (aka Holt Marvell) and Manning Sherwin. Featured in the West End revue, New Faces, the song became a hit in England before repeating its success in the States.

Bill Finegan outdid himself with this exquisite arrangement. Willie Schwartz trills the introduction like a songbird and Ray Eberle enters, offering one of his most assured vocals. Tex Beneke is as smooth as butter and Ray and Willie’s clarinet return for a dynamic finish. Perfection from beginning to end! It’s also one of Glenn’s longest 78s, clocking in at three minutes and thirty-five seconds. The alternate take, first released on a compilation LP set in 1961, is almost indistinguishable from the master take.

The other two selections, though not reaching the heights of NIGHTINGALE, were goodies. YOU’VE GOT ME THIS WAY and I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE originated in the Kay Kyser film, You’ll Find Out, which is best known today for the one-time teaming of horror stars Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. In 1940, however, the hugely popular Kay Kyser band brought in the movie admission shekels.

Kyser, reportedly the only band whose financial success made Glenn jealous, was then shifting from a corny style to a smoother, more swing-oriented sound. Kay made nine films with his orchestra, more than any other Swing Era group. He always got the best songwriters to work on his pictures – You’ll Find Out boasted a fine score by Johnny Mercer and Jimmy McHugh.

YOU’VE GOT ME THIS WAY is full of typically Mercerian wordplay. Harry Babbitt sings it smoothly with Kyser, the Pied Pipers try to be overly hip on the Tommy Dorsey rendition and our Marion Hutton chirps it charmingly with Miller. Ernie Caceres can be heard again anchoring the sax section on baritone, a welcome addition to an increasing number of arrangements. At only two minutes and twenty seconds, Jerry Gray’s score could have benefited from an extra chorus with some solos.

The film’s love ballad, I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, gets the distinctive Miller mid-tempo ballad treatment. Arranger Bill Finegan wrote a nice brass modulation to Eberle’s vocal, which finds the singer in a cheerfully eager mood. Tommy Dorsey’s record is taken at an even faster tempo, with Frank Sinatra in typically efficient mode. Ray’s more callow approach seems to suit the song a little better, though Ginny Simms also did a great rendition with Kyser.

Though Glenn and the band were now stationed in the New York area, an entire month would go by before the band’s next record date. They would cut more show and movie songs, plus another swipe at the wide open range!

November 19, 2014 by djwein

Falling Leaves

Mickey McMickle, Charles Frankhauser, Zeke Zarchy, Johnny Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds); Chummy MacGregor (p); Jack Lathrop (g,vcl); Tony Carlson (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Bill Finegan (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – September 3, 1940, 11:00 AM-5:00 PM

055579-1 Yesterthoughts (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10893

055580-1 Falling Leaves Bluebird 10876

055581-1 Shadows on the Sand (RE vcl) Bluebird 10900

055582-1 Goodbye, Little Darlin’, Goodbye (RE vcl) Bluebird 10931

RCA Victor Studios, New York – September 12, 1940, 9:00 AM-1:30 PM

056106-1 Five O’Clock Whistle (MH & band vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10900

056107-1 Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar (JL vcl) Bluebird 10876

056107-2 Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar (JL vcl) first issued on LP

056108-1 Ring Telephone, Ring (RE vcl) Bluebird 11042 (gold label)

056108-2 Ring Telephone, Ring (RE vcl) Bluebird 11042 (silver label)

Once again, a road tour interrupted Glenn Miller’s recording schedule. They didn’t go too far, though – some dates in Pennsylvania and Boston, two engagements at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City (including Labor Day weekend) and – wonder of wonders! A three-day vacation, from August 23-26.

Back in the studio on September 3^rd, the band sounds refreshed and relaxed on an all-ballad session. As it turns out, all the songs were written by musicians who had crossed Glenn’s path before.

Though he had been dead for 16 years, composer Victor Herbert contributed the first song, YESTERTHOUGHTS. Actually written as a piano piece in 1900, lyricist Stanley Adams now added words, as Al Dubin had done in 1939 for Herbert’s INDIAN SUMMER. The previous song was an enormous hit; YESTERTHOUGHTS not so much, but it drew respectable attention. Raymond Scott and Jimmy Dorsey also waxed it, but the Miller recording got the most jukebox plays.

Bill Finegan arranged a beautiful introduction, followed by a richly scored chorus, played by the reeds and Glenn, with his horn tightly muted. Ray Eberle enters and does well by the lyric, which is not up to the level of INDIAN SUMMER. It would have played better as an instrumental, which was the case for the next tune.

FALLING LEAVES was a big success for its composer, pianist Frankie Carle, then featured with Horace Heidt’s band. Carle had given Glenn a huge hit with SUNRISE SERENADE and this new composition made for one of Miller’s most memorable renditions. It’s a beauty of a theme, starting with an arresting out-of tempo intro that suggests a clutch of leaves swiftly gliding to the ground. The reeds joyously sing the melody and then Tex Beneke uncorks a lovely half-chorus solo. Sadly, the arranger isn’t credited in any of the discographies.

Another arresting introduction leads into SHADOWS ON THE SAND, a mournful tale of love betrayed, well, nearly so, by another deceased composer, Will Grosz. Grosz had published IN AN OLD DUTCH GARDEN in 1939, which Glenn recorded. Stanley Adams wrote these words too, as he had for YESTERTHOUGHTS. Apparently Adams liked to work with collaborators who wouldn’t talk back! Eberle handles the song slowly and with feeling. By comparison, Frank Sinatra sounds rather blasé on the competing Tommy Dorsey version.

It’s back to cow country for the last number, GOODBYE, LITTLE DARLIN’ GOODBYE. Cowboy star Gene Autry is credited with this one, along with popular 1920s singer Johnny Marvin, who likely wrote the whole thing. Marvin was a longtime pal of Autry’s and crafted songs for dozens of Autry westerns. Ray handles this sad-saddle ballad smoothly and quite wistfully.

Glenn and the boys then played a week’s engagement at the RKO Keith Theater in Boston, then swung back to New York for more records. This time, Ray shared the microphone with two other familiar voices.

Bill Finegan’s FIVE O’CLOCK WHISTLE chart brings Marion Hutton front-and center and showcases that new “Lunceford lope” feel that the band was employing occasionally. It’s a groovy, hep number, written by neophyte songwriters Josef (later Joseph) Myrow, Kim Gannon and Gene Irwin. Myrow and Gannon would have many hits to come, including others for Miller – MOONLIGHT COCKTAIL and ALWAYS IN MY HEART. WHISTLE was also recorded by Duke Ellington, Erskine Hawkins, Count Basie (as a marvelous Lester Young feature) and Ella Fitzgerald. Marion is a bit more polite than Ivie Anderson and Ella, but the Miller version holds its own against such formidable competition. Ernie Caceres’ rollicking baritone sax anchors the reeds and Beneke’s tenor solo is a winner.

The next song is a distinct letdown, for Glenn, that is. BEAT ME DADDY, EIGHT TO THE BAR was a huge hit for the Will Bradley band (as an epic, uptempo two-sided 78) and the Andrews Sisters. Glenn’s conception is a decided runner-up. The catchy theme originated with drummer Ray McKinley of the Bradley ensemble and was expanded into a full-fledged song by Don Raye and Hughie Prince. (On the published song sheet, McKinley used his wife’s name, Eleanore Sheehy, for some reason).

Raye and Prince parlayed the number into a franchise of boogie-woogie- flavored blockbusters – BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY, BOUNCE ME BROTHER WITH A SOLID FOUR, RHUMBOOGIE, ROCK-A-BYE THE BOOGIE. COW COW BOOGIE and SCRUB ME MAMA WITH A BOOGIE BEAT.

Chummy MacGregor liked to play in boogie style, so it’s natural he would lead off and conclude the Miller version. Jack Lathrop sings the number rather blandly and this slowed-down arrangement generates little heat, except for Ernie Caceres’ piercing clarinet solo.

Ray Eberle makes his sole appearance for this session on RING TELEPHONE, RING, an oddly affecting ballad by Peter Tinturin and Buck Ram, whose names have appeared here before (as writers of TWILIGHT INTERLUDE and BOOG-IT). Beneke plays one of his loveliest melody choruses, and Ray sings the somber lyrics in an appealingly yearning fashion. The song did not achieve popularity, but someone must have remembered it, as it was revived and recorded again in 1947 by Kay Kyser with Harry Babbitt. This record also holds the distinction of being one of the very few Miller numbers where two different takes of the song were issued on 78.

Once more, a month would go by before the next recording date. The Miller band would play more East Coast engagements, before finally settling in on October for another fall/winter New York residency at the Hotel Pennsylvania’s Café Rouge.

Some new faces would appear on the bandstand for the October 11^th session at RCA Victor!

November 2, 2014 by djwein

A Handful of Stars

Same personnel as June 13th.

RCA Victor Studios, New York – August 8, 1940, 11:15 AM-3:15 PM

05501-1 The Call of the Canyon (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10845

05502-1 Our Love Affair (RE vcl) Bluebird 10845

05503-1 Crosstown (JL vcl) Bluebird 10832

05504-1 What’s Your Story, Morning Glory? (TB vcl) Bluebird 10832

RCA Victor Studios, New York – August 14, 1940, 11:00 PM-2:00 AM & 3:00-5:00 AM

055515-1 Fifth Avenue (MH & TB vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10860

055516-1 I Wouldn’t Take a Million (RE vcl) Bluebird 10860

055517-1 A Handful of Stars (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10893

055518-1 Old Black Joe (GM, ChM arr) Bluebird 10913

Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa and then back to New York – the Glenn Miller band came off the road in early August 1940 for two recording sessions after nearly two months without a new disc being waxed. Song-wise, we first head out west again for THE CALL OF THE CANYON, with cowboy Ray in the saddle. Billy Hill, writer of so many Western hits, crafted this one for Gene Autry, who featured it in Melody Ranch, a 1940 Republic musical.

Autry’s Republic movies were usually pretty cheap endeavors, but this one got a budget boost, along with co-stars Jimmy Durante and Ann Miller, both somewhat out of sync with the rural setting. The film was a hit, and gave its name to Autry’s radio series and his later movie studio.

Glenn’s recording boasts an attractive Bill Finegan arrangement and a lovely opening solo by Tex Beneke. Ray sounds a bit strained and less effective than Frank Sinatra on the Tommy Dorsey rendition. The Miller chart is more imaginative than Dorsey’s, so you pays your money and you takes your choice!

OUR LOVE AFFAIR is another movie song, from the overblown Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland blockbuster, Strike Up The Band. The film costars bandleader Paul Whiteman as himself; Whiteman actually mentions Glenn in the dialogue, referring to Miller as one of the newer bands!

MGM’s all-around music guru Roger Edens wrote it, with lyrics by Arthur Freed (of SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN fame). Freed was then transitioning from songwriter to film producer and would soon lead the Freed Unit at the studio, turning out some of the finest film musicals of the next two decades.

It’s a sweet little song, handled well by Glenn and Ray, who sounds much happier than on the preceding track. In the film, the song acts as a lead-in to a sappy (and endless) sequence with real pieces of fruit dressed as members of a miniature symphony orchestra – no kidding!

CROSSTOWN is a forgettable novelty number, which brings Jack Lathrop back to the microphone. Composer Nat Simon struck it big with POINCIANA and with his collaborators James Cavanaugh and John Redmond had also written THE GAUCHO SERENADE, recorded by Glenn earlier in the year.

Now something really special, WHAT’S YOUR STORY, MORNING GLORY?, composed by pianist-arranger Mary Lou Williams (of the Andy Kirk band) and trumpeter Paul Webster (of the Jimmie Lunceford band). Versatile lyricist Jack Lawrence crafted a lyric to fit the meandering, bluesy melody and he sang it on the premiere recording by Andy Kirk in 1938. It sat around until mid-1940, when apparently Webster promoted an instrumental recording by the Lunceford band.

A few months later, it got to Glenn, who waxed it here with Tex Beneke on the vocal. The unfortunately uncredited arranger takes a fresh approach, giving the band a groovy “Lunceford lope,” with solos by Beneke and Johnny Best, along with Tex’s appealingly plaintive voice.

gm morning gloryy Post-Swing Era, the song was deservedly resurrected by Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’ Day and Julie London, among others.

Back to movie songs again for the August 14^th session, this time from 20^th Century Fox and superstar Shirley Temple’s last film there. Young People had Shirley as a 12-year-old vaudeville veteran, who, along with adoptive parents Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood, leaves show business for life in a small midwestern town. The stuffy townspeople turn up their collective noses to these “show folk,” in extremely nasty ways, it must be added, until a local disaster allows the newcomers to show their worth. Personally, I would have told the smug residents to buzz off and headed back to Broadway on the first train, but that’s not how these films worked.

The picture was not too successful and Fox, seeing the handwriting on the wall as Shirley was reaching the awkward age, unceremoniously dumped her. The movie holds up well today, with fine performances all around and a superlative song score by veterans Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, teamed here for the first time. They would go on to write a batch of sensational songs for Fox musicals, including the scores for Glenn’s two films and the Oscar-winner, YOU’LL NEVER KNOW.

Unfortunately, neither of the Young People songs is handled especially well by the Miller vocalists. This might be due to the fact that this session was held in the middle of the night, between 11 PM and 5 AM! Both Marion and Ray sound pretty pooped on FIFTH AVENUE and I WOULDN’T TAKE A MILLION. Also, the Marion-Tex jive dialogue routine was starting to wear out its welcome and this turned out to be the last record that featured it.

Ray literally runs out of voice on the line, “the twinkle in your eyes” and the band sounds pretty enervated, too. An hour-long break was taken midway in the proceedings and this may have recharged the guys, as the next tune, A HANDFUL OF STARS, is an all-around winner. Versatile Jack Lawrence also wrote these lyrics, to Ted Shapiro’s melody. Few music aficionados are aware that this standard song came from an MGM B-musical, Hullabaloo, which reteamed Wizard of Oz co-stars Frank Morgan and Billie Burke.

gm handful A new, more “mature” sound on Miller ballad arrangements started developing with THE NEARNESS OF YOU and now is heard on A HANDFUL OF STARS. Credit is due to arranger Bill Finegan, who wrote both. It’s a richer, slower, more thoughtful approach, providing a sympathetic frame for Ray Eberle’s vocals. A more congenial tempo and subtler backing now replace the relentless pumping rhythm of MOON LOVE and OH, YOU CRAZY MOON.

On his Chesterfield show, Glenn had a regular feature titled, “From the Album of Musical Favorites.” These included such ancient melodies as GOIN’ HOME, FLOW GENTLY SWEET AFTON, I’LL TAKE YOU HOME AGAIN KATHLEEN and Stephen Foster’s JEANNIE WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAIR and OLD BLACK JOE. Only the last of these was recorded by Victor, almost as an afterthought at the end of the August 14^th date.

Jointly arranged by Glenn and pianist Chummy MacGregor (like their DANNY BOY effort), the chart might have been around since the early days of the band. It’s a simple one-chorus performance of the theme, with MacGregor’s piano tinkling sweetly throughout.

Having these vintage public domain numbers in the band book would soon come in handy, as the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP), was starting to rumble with dissatisfaction over radio royalties paid for performances of songs they controlled. Before too long, nearly all post-World War I pop music would be off-limits for airplay, affecting everyone from Kate Smith to Duke Ellington to Glenn Miller.

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October 28, 2014 by djwein

A Million Dreams Ago

Mickey McMickle, Charles Frankhauser, Zeke Zarchy, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds) Chummy MacGregor (p); Jack Lathrop (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d)’ Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton (vcl); Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan, (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, Chicago, IL – June 13, 1940, 1:00-5:25 PM

053130-1 When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano

(RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10776

053131-1 A Million Dreams Ago ((RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10768

053132-1 Blueberry Hill (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10768

053133-1 A Cabana In Havana (MH vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10776

053134-1 Be Happy (MH vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10796

053135-1 Angel Child (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10796

053135-2 Angel Child (RE vcl, BF arr) first issued on LP

On the road since the April 28^th recording date, Glenn and the band now headed further west than they had ever been. After another week in the DC area, they turned the band bus up and down the East Coast on the spring college prom circuit, then south to North Carolina, up north to Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, arriving in Chicago on June 11. A studio session came two days later.

Glenn hadn’t recorded in Chicago’s Victor facilities since his Ben Pollack sideman days in 1928. One can wonder how he felt returning there as a top bandleader. It is too bad that the song selection for this date wasn’t better – three of the six numbers were not truly worthy of the hottest band in the land.

Personnel-wise, the main change was the loss of hot trumpeter Clyde Hurley, who left in early June. Hurley had not been particularly inspired by the band and soon was playing with Tommy Dorsey. Charlie Frankhauser replaced him and hung around for a while. Johnny Best took on most of the jazz solos.

Oddly, two of the songs on this date were revived successfully in the early rock ‘n roll years of 1956-57 – WHEN THE SWALLOWS COME BACK TO CAPISTRANO by Pat Boone and BLUEBERRY HILL by Fats Domino. Both had connections to Louis Armstrong. The composer of SWALLOWS, Leon Rene, has also written Louis’ theme song, WHEN Its SLEEPY TIME DOWN SOUTH and Satchmo had recorded BLUEBERRY HILL in 1949. His slow, bluesy interpretation likely influenced Fats Domino to similarly revive it.

Getting back to Miller, WHEN THE SWALLOWS COME BACK TO CAPISTRANO is handled in typical Miller fashion. Ray Eberle sounds OK, if a bit less relaxed than on the previous session. A pleasant, though not particularly memorable rendition. The tune’s background is actually more interesting than the song itself, memorializing the yearly springtime return of the swallow flocks to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California.

BLUEBERRY HILL was a top hit for Glenn, but truth to tell, is nothing special as a record. Composer Vincent Rose had been a well-known bandleader-songwriter in the 1920s, turning out WHISPERING, AVALON and LINGER AWHILE early in the decade. Fifteen years later, he caught fire again with THE UMBRELLA MAN and now, BLUEBERRY HILL.

Though he was reputed to be slower at turning out arrangements than Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan penned all the charts on this date, for the first and only time. A MILLION DREAMS AGO originated in the Dick Jurgens band, as had the earlier hit, CARELESS. It was composed by the same trio – bandleader Jurgens, singer Eddy Howard and lyricist Lew Quadling and proved to be nearly as popular.

After a lovely reed intro, Beneke plays the first chorus in a most mellow fashion. With above-average lyrics to work with, Ray turns out a fine vocal. Marion Hutton isn’t so lucky with her two songs, however. In interviews, she later complained that Ray got the good numbers and she was stuck with the “crap songs.” Two cases in point – A CABANA IN HAVANA and BE HAPPY.

In a Latin-swing vein, CABANA is an attempt to cash in on earlier hits, SAY SI-SI and especially, Johnny Mercer’s witty WEEK-END OF A PRIVATE SECRETARY (which Marion had sung on radio earlier in the year). Unusual in that era, the composers, Mabel Wayne and Tot Seymour were women. Wayne specialized in Latin-tinged songs like IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY, IN A LITTLE SPANISH TOWN and RAMONA; lyricist Seymour was more eclectic, penning the words to swing tunes CROSS PATCH and NO OTHER ONE.

The words to A CABANA IN HAVANA are just wordy, not witty. Marion has a hard time getting them all out at a fast tempo. The only part of the disc that pleases is the section after the vocal, where Finegan’s writing and Beneke’s sax take some pleasant liberties.

As mentioned earlier, BE HAPPY is another mindless ditty, written by the unlikely trio of songwriter Henry Nemo, bandleader Louis Prima and Harlem arranger Edgar Battle. After the opening vocal, there is a nice passage for the trombones and a fine Beneke solo, but then Marion comes back to chirp another inane chorus. Oh, well – at least the whole record is only a fraction over two minutes in length!

Lastly, the “crap song” virus infects Ray Eberle, who is saddled with ANGEL CHILD, a tired-sounding number that might have been fresh in 1922. Not surprisingly, that’s when it was written by vaudevillians Georgie Price, Benny Davis and Abner Silver. Why this vintage non-hit was revived here is anyone’s guess. Maybe Glenn, who was getting into music publishing, had a hand in its reappearance?

After the session ended, once again the band went back on tour through the Midwest. A two-week July engagement at the Panther Room of Chicago’s Hotel Sherman was the only respite from a constant schedule of one-nighters. Recording sessions took a back seat, until the second week of August.

October 26, 2014 by djwein

PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Zeke Zarchy, John Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, Al Klink (reeds) Chummy MacGregor (p); Jack Lathrop (g); Rollie Bundock (b); Maurice Purtill (d); Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Beneke, Lathrop (vcl); Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan, Miller (arr).

RCA Victor Studios, New York – April 28, 1940, 1:00-5:45 PM

048963-1 Pennsylvania 6-5000 (JG arr) Bluebird 10754

048964-1 Bugle Call Rag (GM arr) Bluebird 10740

048965-1 The Nearness of You (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10745

048966 W.P.A. (TB & Band vcl, BF arr) rejected & unissued

048967-1 Mister Meadowlark (JL vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10745

048967-2 Mister Meadowlark (JL vcl, JG arr) first issued on LP

048968-1 My Blue Heaven (BF arr) Bluebird 10994

Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, DC – that was the Glenn Miller band’s road itinerary since it concluded its engagement at the Café Rouge on April 4^th. Since they were broadcasting their thrice-weekly Chesterfield shows from DC, they couldn’t venture too far from the nation’s capitol during April.

Returning briefly to New York and RCA Victor at the very end of the month, Glenn scored with one of his best-ever record dates. Every record was a winner, though the one unissued number will always remain a cipher.

Who (even today) doesn’t know that PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000 is the phone number of New York’s Pennsylvania Hotel? This most famous of phone numbers commemorates Glenn’s engagements at the hotel’s Café Rouge and will still connect you, though it is now written as 736-5000.

Earlier in 1940, Jerry Gray had written an arrangement of THE DIPSY DOODLE for one of Glenn’s radio medleys. Glenn liked catchy riff tunes and thought the countermelody that Jerry had inserted might make a good number on its own. That was the genesis of PE6-5000, which became one of the band’s catchiest riff tunes. The title, chanted by the band and signaled by the sound of a ringing telephone helped make the record memorable. Having been with the band for just a few months, Jerry Gray was already proving his worth.

On the jazz side, trumpeter Johnny Best contributes a lengthy, well-constructed solo, Beneke is his usual dependable self on tenor and Moe Purtill provides rhythmic support. As if the title riff isn’t enough to carry the piece, the increasing volume of the repeated rising and falling riffs at the end were guaranteed to send fans into swing nirvana.

BUGLE CALL RAG was an oldie in the band book, dating back at least to 1938, in the frenzied up-tempo mode that Glenn was starting to pull away from, as evidenced by the dancier pulse of PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000. Miller’s chart is very different from the dainty, refined one he penned in 1935 for Ray Noble’s band.

Still, the fans did dig the killer-dillers and this one’s a doozy, giving Moe Purtill a trademark workout. Aside from brief explosions from Glenn, Tex and Ernie Caceres, it’s all Moe and band riffs. Often, the Miller band’s jazz numbers came off as constrained in the studio, with live versions being looser and more effective. In this case, the record is a fine representation of the band’s hot style, with an imaginative Purtill solo.

Introduced by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922, BUGLE CALL RAG was composed by band members Jack Pettis and Elmer Schoebel, with lyrics by Billy Meyers. The NORK was one of the most influential early white New Orleans jazz bands. Members also contributed FAREWELL BLUES, ECCENTRIC, PANAMA and TIN ROOF BLUES to the Dixieland repertoire, though many swing bands like Tommy Dorsey, Bob Crosby and Benny Goodman performed them as well.

Big change of pace – THE NEARNESS OF YOU, a classic song given a classic treatment. Composed by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington, it’s a great vehicle for an inspired Bill Finegan ballad arrangement. The Miller Sound leads off, with Tex leading into one of Ray Eberle’s best-ever vocals. He is totally assured, even reaching smoothly for the high notes; the lush accompaniment makes for a memorable interpretation.

We shall never know how the next record sounded, since the masters were rejected and destroyed. The song, W.P.A., written by Jesse Stone, referenced the Roosevelt New Deal program that provided jobs for the jobless. The term was an acronym for the Works Progress Administration, which employed three million men and women at its peak, including many minority workers, handling public works, road construction and infrastructure projects. Needless to say, the program came under enormous criticism by the Republicans, as did nearly all of FDR’s New Deal legislation.

The song, too, came under heavy criticism from left-wing groups (and record producer John Hammond) for its lyrics lightly kidding the cushy jobs in the program, which portrayed minority workers as working as little as possible. That image was far from the truth. Ironically, composer Jesse Stone was himself black, with a resume that included arranging and writing for many Harlem bands, including his own.

In any case, the American Federation of Musicians condemned the song and no recordings were issued on RCA or Columbia. Apparently, Decca didn’t get the memo, as they released 78s by Jan Savitt and Louis Armstrong with the Mills Brothers with little protest.

Moving on to MISTER MEADOWLARK, a delightful Walter Donaldson melody with hip lyrics by old friend Johnny Mercer. Johnny always enjoyed writing about birds – BOB WHITE and SKYLARK, for example. Johnny made a charming disc of MISTER with Bing Crosby and while never a huge hit, it was also covered by Glenn, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Artie Shaw and Woody Herman.

The Miller version also marks the vocal debut of Jack Lathrop, the band’s new guitarist. In the 30s, Lathrop was a member of the Tune Twisters vocal group, who sang with Glenn and Ray Noble under the nom-de-disque of the Freshmen. Miller also employed the Twisters on his 1937 Decca date, so when the time came to replace Richard Fisher, whom he had never hit it off with, Glenn brought in Lathrop on April 26^th. Figuring he had acquired a singer as well as a guitarist, Miller put him right to work. Jack’s voice had an impish quality, perfect for light tunes like this one and he acquits himself well. Jerry Gray wrote the cheery arrangement.

Last up was another oldie in the band book, Bill Finegan’s chart of MY BLUE HEAVEN, which had been played on the air as early as March 1939. Walter Donaldson (again) and George Whiting wrote it in 1927 and it provided a huge hit for crooner Gene Austin. In 1935, Jimmie Lunceford recorded the grooviest version ever, with a super-hep vocal by the Lunceford Trio.

Glenn swings for the rafters here and he plays a very assured full-chorus solo, followed by a hectic one from Tex. Moe brings it home, concluding one of the band’s best hot swing records.

Finishing up this lengthy date at 5:45 PM, the band took a dinner break, then headed right up to Harlem for an 8 PM to 2 AM performance at the Savoy Ballroom (with a break from 10 PM to midnight), which brought in 4,000 screaming fans. Heading right back onto the road the next day, we wouldn’t catch the band in a recording studio again until mid-June and at a new venue!

October 18, 2014 by djwein

Fools Rush In

RCA Victor studios, New York – March 30, 1940, 1:00-5:00 PM

048482-1 Boog-It (MH vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10689

048483-1 Yours Is My Heart Alone (BF arr) Bluebird 10728

048484-1 I’m Stepping Out With a Memory Tonight (RE vcl) Bluebird 10717

048485-1 Alice Blue Gown Bluebird 10701

048486-1 Wonderful One (JG arr) Bluebird 10701

048487-1 Devil May Care (RE vcl) Bluebird 10717

RCA Victor studios, New York – March 31, 1940, 2:00-6:30 PM

048488-1 April Played the Fiddle (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10694

048489-1 Fools Rush In (RE vcl) Bluebird 10728

048490-1 I Haven’t Time To Be a Millionaire (TB vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10604

048490-2 I Haven’t Time To Be a Millionaire (TB vcl, JG arr) first issued on LP

048491-1 Slow Freight (BF arr) Bluebird 10740

After the February 24th RCA session, five weeks would pass before the Glenn Miller band returned to the studio. They weren’t traveling; New York was their home base, as they were in the midst of a three-month residency at the Hotel Pennsylvania. Non-stop work kept them too busy for much else. Two nightly evening sessions at the Cafe Rouge, three Chesterfield shows a week plus rehearsals and an additional two-week killer gig at the Paramount Theater (36 stage shows!) had the band panting for relief.

The strain finally got to Glenn, who collapsed from exhaustion and the flu on February 27th, the day before the Paramount opening. He was hospitalized for over a week, returning to the bandstand on March 6th. During his absence, friends Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Charlie Barnet and Dick Stabile led the band at the Paramount. Charile Spivak and Claude Thornhill brought their bands to fill in for Glenn at the Pennsylvania while the band was doing their Chesterfield radio programs.

The Andrews Sisters join Glenn on the Chesterfield show, early 1940.

The Andrews Sisters, costars of the Chesterfield show, also appeared with the band at the Paramount. Cab drivers likely made a bundle, constantly ferrying the orchestra all over the city. Once he returned to lead his band, Glenn thanked all the friends who helped him out in a special appearance on the Paramount stage.

Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Dick Stabile and Charlie Barnet join Glenn on the Paramount stage.

The Sisters finished their 13-week contract for the radio program on March 21 and weren’t renewed. The sponsors decided that Miller could carry the show by himself; also, Glenn was scheduled to take the band on the road in April and the gals were going on their own road trip to Hollywood. Coordinating the two schedules to include three live joint programs a week was an impossibility.

The wildly successful (and profitable) Paramount engagement concluded on March 12 and the Cafe Rouge-Hotel Pennsylvania residency would end on April 4. Health restored, Glenn was ready to take the band back into the studio for two sessions to get some new tunes on wax for the fans. Ten numbers on two consecutive days were completed – six good popular songs and four instrumentals.

Once again, Glenn used Marion Hutton sparingly, assigning her just a single vocal. BOOG-IT originated in the Cab Calloway band, written by Buck Ram, who had also composed UTT DA ZAY and CHOP CHOP CHARLIE CHAN for Calloway. Though Ram was Jewish, he specialized in “hep” novelties for black artists like the Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald and later, the Platters. Lyricist Jack Palmer also regularly wrote for the Calloway and Jimmie Lunceford bands, penning THE JUMPIN’ JIVE and HI-HO TRAILUS BOOT WHIP. The new dance described in the lyrics consisted of gesturing with your hands “like shinin’ a window, but you ain’t got no window, so you just picture a window and BOOG-IT!” Miss Hutton likely danced her tuchus off while performing the number in person! On record, the band adds vocal punctuations and handclaps, along with swinging solos by Hal McIntyre on alto and fat-toned trumpeter Clyde Hurley.

Marion steps away from the microphone for a gorgeous Bill Finegan instrumental arrangement of YOURS IS MY HEART ALONE, the most popular melody from Land of Smiles, a Viennese operetta by Franz Lehar, composer of The Merry Widow. Published in 1929, it was introduced by tenor Richard Tauber who made the first recording in German. Several British singers and bands went on to popularize the song in a rather stiff English translation by veteran lyricist Harry B. Smith. In a revised form, it was republished and recorded in 1940 by Glen Gray & Kenny Sargent, Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman & Helen Forrest and Glenn, who did it strictly instrumental. Taken at a brisk tempo, the reeds sing out in the first chorus, muted brass in the second, capped by a liquid tenor sax passage by Tex Beneke. The mutes come off for the last chorus, as filigrees by Finegan wrap around the melody. A lovely, underrated recording!

Ray Eberle shows up for I’M STEPPING OUT WITH A MEMORY TONIGHT, by Herb Magidson and Allie Wrubel, an uncelebrated team who nevertheless wrote a pile of hits – GONE WITH THE WIND, MUSIC MAESTRO PLEASE, I’LL BUY THAT DREAM, THE MASQUERADE IS OVER and others. The Miller Men give it a pleasant performance all around, with an efficient Eberle vocal and a distinctive Beneke solo.

Back to instrumental territory, for two lovely waltzes, ALICE BLUE GOWN and WONDERFUL ONE. A musty favorite from the 1919 Broadway score of Irene, ALICE BLUE GOWN was built around a topical reference to the color Alice Blue, an azure fabric tint favored by Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of former President Teddy Roosevelt. Long favored as a fashion trendsetter, Ms. Longworth popularized the hue for female attire. The Harry Tierney musical about a poor Irish shopgirl who breaks into high society was a massive hit, as was the song.

RKO remade the story in 1940, with British stage star Anna Neagle as Irene, including a lavish Technicolor sequence that showed off the famous gown in all its glory. Though a number of hot renditions had been done by Red Nichols (including Glenn in the personnel) and Ben Pollack, the Miller 78 plugged the new film and the song’s original waltz tempo. Bill Finegan’s richly detailed arrangement shifts the melody from section to section and then to Beneke’s plush saxophone.

WONDERFUL ONE originated in the 1922 Paul Whiteman band, then creating its first sensation of the nascent Jazz Age. Crafted by Whiteman and arranger Ferde Grofe, the beautiful melody was as far from jazz as you could get, but still became an instant hit. Jerry Gray treats the number simply and effectively, with softly muted brass and reeds. The coda is especially lovely.

We return to the present for the last tune of the day, DEVIL MAY CARE, written by familiar Miller contributors Johnny Burke and Harry Warren. It’s a quality pop song, which sounds like it might have been arranged by Glenn. Ray Eberle sings in a comfortable range for a change and the tempo in slow enough to allow him to give some meaning to the words. There is a very pleasant trombone choir in the final chorus before the full band finishes it off.

Glenn and the boys were back in the studio the very next day with more new songs, including two from Bing Crosby’s latest film, If I Had My Way. Though some of the movie’s music looked back to the Gay 90’s, these tunes by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Monaco were right up to date. APRIL PLAYED THE FIDDLE is a very endearing number, sung in rather lackluster fashion by Bing, but handled much more cheerfully by Glenn and Ray.

gm april

Bing sounds half-asleep singing I HAVEN’T TIME TO BE A MILLIONAIRE in the film; Tex Beneke doesn’t bring much more connection to his rendition, sounding as if he’s reading the lyrics for the first time, which could very well have been the case! Despite this, the band and altoist Ernie Caceres deliver the tune in a jaunty fashion.

Johnny Mercer and Rube Bloom next deliver a classic standard, FOOLS RUSH IN, a major hit from day one. Glenn’s recording is iconic, with Eberle and the band combining for a straightforward, yet totally memorable rendition. The Tommy Dorsey-Frank Sinatra version was nearly as big a hit as Glenn’s. Incidentally, Tommy was still dogging Glenn’s heels. Of the ten tunes on these March Miller sessions, Dorsey had competing records out of six of them.

Our BOOG-IT friend Buck Ram also composed SLOW FREIGHT, first recorded by Benny Carter’s orchestra in January 1940. Glenn quickly picked up on it, hoping for another hit in the TUXEDO JUNCTION vein. Even the title was reminiscent of the earlier number. Though the record went nowhere, it’s a more interesting and varied composition than JUNCTION. To maximize the similarity, Glenn again had Mickey McMickle playing it straight on muted trumpet, in conversation with the groovier Clyde Hurley, who uses a different-sounding mute for his horn.

No rest for the weary – with the New York gigs completed, the road beckoned for the Glenn Miller band. Another month of travel would pass before RCA Victor welcomed them back – and they wouldn’t be traveling by SLOW FREIGHT!

October 5, 2014 by djwein

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

Legh Knowles, Clyde Hurley, Mickey McMickle, Johnny Best (tp); Glenn Miller, Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy, Frank D’Annolfo (tb); Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, 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 – February 19, 1940, 1:00-4:30 PM

047067-1 Imagination (RE vcl) Bluebird 10622

047068-1 Shake Down the Stars (RE vcl) Bluebird 10689

047069-1 I’ll Never Smile Again (RE vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10673

047070-1 Starlight and Music (RE vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10684

RCA Victor Studios, New York – February 24, 1940, 2:00-5:15 PM

047093-1 Polka Dots and Moonbeams (RE vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10657

047094-1 My, My (MH vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10631

047095-1 Say It (RE vcl, BF arr) Bluebird 10631

047096-1 Moments in the Moonlight (RE vcl) Bluebird 10638

047097-1 Hear My Song, Violetta (RE vcl) Bluebird 10684

047098-1 Sierra Sue (RE vcl, JG arr) Bluebird 10638

Two Glenn Miller record sessions during the latter half of February 1940 produced ten record sides, all popular songs of the day. Nine of them had vocals by Ray Eberle, with one brief look-in from Marion Hutton. Churning out the commercial pops kept the music publishers happy; and several of these songs were hits, though not necessarily for Glenn!

IMAGINATION, by the prolific Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, was a major Miller success and became a standard. It’s a sweet, charming song well handled by Ray and the band. Unusually, there is no band intro, we are plunked right into the song, performed at a relaxed, medium tempo.

And who wrote the next song, SHAKE DOWN THE STARS? Jimmy Van Heusen again, this time with lyricist Eddie DeLange. The lyrics paint a pretty grim picture of thwarted love, but Miller gives it a more hopeful feel. A bluesy, Lunceford-style introduction sets the mood and Eberle’s vocal is plaintively effective.

I’LL NEVER SMILE AGAIN is known far and wide as a huge record hit for Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers. Their innovative, hushed chamber group approach with celeste backing was a fresh sound for the time and well suited the mournful song. In fact it was Sinatra’s first hit with the band. (Songwriter Ruth Lowe later wrote Frank’s theme song, PUT YOUR DREAMS AWAY.)

The story given at the time was that Ruth Lowe wrote it in the aftermath of her young husband’s death. Later it was reported that she had actually written it earlier. Whatever the case, the song certainly struck a chord with listeners. Glenn got to it first, though. He recorded it two months before Tommy attempted it in April 1940. That first Dorsey recording was unissued; a remake a month later first hit the charts in July and was Number One for 12 weeks.

Glenn had a real head start, but his Bluebird disc was a major disappointment. Getting the standard Miller treatment, the song comes across as nothing out of the ordinary; it needed special handling, as Tommy realized. Strangely, Glenn apparently sensed that the song had hit potential. On a March 4^th broadcast, he took pains to introduce the song’s radio debut with a prediction that it would be a big hit. It was, but not for him!

STARLIGHT AND MUSIC, which concluded the February 19^th session, is another forgettable recording. The song is unmemorable and it gets a decent performance, but that’s about all that can be said. Writers Maurice Hart, Al Hoffman and Walter Kent sound like nobodies, but Hoffman later wrote the score for Walt Disney’s CINDERELLA and Kent composed I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS and THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER.

The February 24^th date opened with another Miller 78 hit, POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS. Whaddya know, once again the composers were Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen. In the wrong hands, the cheerful lyric, referencing a “pug-nosed dream,” could border on treacle, but Glenn (and Dorsey-Sinatra) handled it well.

The lovely melody became a jazz standard, with Lester Young, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Evans and Johnny Hodges among those who performed it in later years.

Paramount Pictures must have had some kind of deal with RCA and/or Glenn, as Miller regularly recorded songs from their musicals. Here come two more, MY! MY! and SAY IT. The great Frank Loesser and Jimmy McHugh teamed up for these tuneful numbers from Buck Benny Rides Again, a Jack Benny musical Western. It featured his radio cast, taking place on his fictitious Nevada ranch that was a sketch favorite on the air. Benny was so popular at the time that the film was one of the Top Ten moneymakers of 1940!

MY! MY! was a familiar catchphrase of Benny’s sidekick, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, making it an appealing title hook for a song. Rochester sang it in the film, but here Marion takes her only vocal on these two sessions. Following Miss Hutton is the first recorded Miller solo by newcomer Ernie Caceres. This talented Mexican jazzman came to Glenn from Jack Teagarden’s band and was an important addition to the band’s jazz contingent with his spiky solos on alto and baritone sax, clarinet and even the occasional vocal.

gmsay it Eberle takes a nicely relaxed vocal on SAY IT, the film’s lovely ballad. It’s a song that should have become a standard. Ray is even more hushed and effective on a broadcast version of the song a few weeks later, part of a Something Old/New/Borrowed/Blue medley.

Society bandleader Richard Himber co-wrote the next song, MOMENTS IN THE MOONLIGHT. Himber apparently was a leader who actually wrote the songs he is credited with, including his popular theme song, IT ISN’T FAIR. Lyrics were provided by Irving Gordon and Al Kaufman. Their other hits include UNFORGETTABLE, BLUE PRELUDE and Duke Ellington’s PRELUDE TO A KISS.

It’s a pleasant number taken at the perfect medium tempo, but pitched at the high end of Ray Eberle’s range, giving his voice a strained quality. It took a long time before Glenn began to lower Ray’s keys, allowing him to sing at a more comfortable pitch. Tex Beneke peeks in briefly before the windup.

HEAR MY SONG, VIOLETTA had a strange lineage. It was a popular German ballad by composers Othmar Klose and Rudolf Lukesch, introduced in 1936. Somehow it made it’s way to these shores; Buddy Bernier and Bob Emmerich provided the English lyrics. It became a moderate hit, with recordings by Glenn, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey and Van Alexander. Later, in 1947, Irish tenor Josef Locke recorded it (with new lyrics by Buddy Pepper) in tango tempo and it practically became his theme song.

Glenn treats the melody as a fast ballad and Ray sings it unadorned, with slightly suspect intonation. The band swings it a bit in the final chorus, with nice cymbal work by Moe Purtill.

Finally, the six-tune February 24^th session wraps up with SIERRA SUE, another Miller excursion into Western territory. Subtitled “A Song of the Hills,” it was written by Joseph B. Carey back in 1916. Dusted off 24 years later, it became the title song of a Gene Autry musical Western. Gene Krupa and Casa Loma also waxed it and it was performed by such diverse talents as soignee cabaret singer Doris Rhodes and jazzman Bud Freeman!

Though the term “country-western music” didn’t exist in 1916, the tune is a typical prairie ballad, played in citified style by Glenn, who throws in some “boo-wah” brass phrases before Eberle’s vocal.

Ten songs in five days – that was a lot of recording in such a short time for Glenn. It’s worth noting that of these ten, Tommy Dorsey would also record eight of them, all after Glenn did! It might simply be coincidence, but Tommy was feuding with Glenn at the time over money matters and it’s not unlikely that Dorsey wanted to cut into Glenn’s Bluebird record sales (at 35 cents a copy) by cutting the same songs for the prestigious full-priced (75 cents) Victor label.

More than a month would pass before we next join the band in the studio and a lot would happen in the interim!

COMMUNITY SWING

David Weiner's musings on music, movies & all that jazz

Glenn Miller