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In addition to leading bands and playing the trombone, Glenn Miller composed music or lyrics to a number of songs. These and others were recorded by Miller with his pre-war civilian bands and his Army Air Force band.
Contents
- Moonlight Serenade
- Room 1411 Goin to Town
- Sold American
- Solo Hop
- Introduction to a Waltz
- Annies Cousin Fannie
- Dese Dem Dose
- When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ
- Doin the Jive
- Community Swing
- Sometime
- Boom Shot
- Seven O Five
- I Sustain the Wings
- I Swung the Election
- Wings on Parade The Flaming Sword of Liberation
- Im Headin for California
- Morning Mood
- After Tonight
- The Technical Training Command
- Jinky
- Lets Give Them a Break
- SHAEF Presents
- Chesterfield 1
- Chesterfield 2
- 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone
- Youre Breakin Me Down
- Tomorrows Another Day
- Harlem Chapel Chimes
- Basin Street Blues
- Before 1938
- After 1938
- Army Air Force Band 19431944
- Addenda
- V Discs
- References
Moonlight Serenade
Glenn Miller composed the music to Moonlight Serenade in 1935, with official lyrics added later by Mitchell Parish after two other sets of lyrics were written. "Moonlight Serenade" was Glenn Miller's theme for his radio programs between 1939 and 1942 (except for a brief period in 1941). This song has been covered from artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra to Barry Manilow. Also include folk rock singer Carly Simon jazz musician and Quartet West leader Charlie Haden, television and Broadway performer Carol Burnett (see the Artie Malvin reference at the end of the article), the doo-wop group The Rivieras, Toots Thielemans, Kurt Elling, jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, Bobby Vinton [5], Deodato[6], Count Basie and his Orchestra, Gene Krupa and his Orchestra [7], the Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler [8], John Williams [9] and Keith Lockhart [10], each conducting during their tenures with the orchestra. Ray Conniff [11], Paul Mauriat [12], and the rock group Chicago[13] also have their own versions of "Moonlight Serenade" on a 1995 3 inch CD single in Japan and on the album Night & Day Big Band (1995). "Moonlight Serenade" appears in the films Rumor Has It… (2005) and The Aviator (2004). Initially it was released as a B side, Bluebird B-10214-B, to the song bandleader Frankie Carle composed [14] and the Miller band covered called "Sunrise Serenade" in May, 1939 on Bluebird Records, a sub-label of RCA Victor. The record eventually made the Top Ten charts, reaching number three on Billboard where it stayed for fifteen weeks and was the number five record of 1939 in the year-end chart of the top records of 1939 compiled by Billboard. The 1939 RCA recording was also issued as a V-Disc, No. 39A, in November, 1943 by the U.S. War Department. The recording reached number twelve in the UK in March, 1954, staying on the chart for one week. In a medley with "Little Brown Jug" and "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade" reached number thirteen on the UK charts in January, 1976, where it stayed for eight weeks.
Room 1411 (Goin' to Town)
Room 1411 was composed with Benny Goodman in 1928 when Glenn Miller was part of "Benny Goodman's Boys", the instrumental was recorded on June 23, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois and was released as a 78, as Brunswick 4013 with "Jungle Blues". "Benny Goodman's Boys" consisted of an all-star ensemble that featured Glenn Miller on trombone, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, who is not on the "Room 1411" recording, Dick "Icky" Morgan on guitar, Bud Freeman on tenor saxophone, Harry Goodman on bass and tuba, Fud Livingston on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Wingy Manone on trumpet, Jimmy McPartland on cornet, Ben Pollack on drums, Vic Briedis on piano, Harry Goodman on bass and tuba, and Benny Goodman on clarinet, saxophone, and cornet. On the January, 1928 recording sessions, the band was referred to as "Benny Goodman's Boys with Jim and Glenn". The band continued to record in 1928 and 1929. Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman lived in the same suite at the time in the apartments in The Whitby in New York whose number was 1411. The title of the composition derives from the apartment number. In Hear Me Talkin' To Ya: The Story Of Jazz As Told By The Men Who Made It (1955) by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, Jimmy McPartland recalled how the title originated: "[A]fter a couple of weeks we moved into the Whitby Apartments, where Gil Rodin, Dick Morgan, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller had a suite. We all moved into that, practically the whole band. ... The number of that apartment was 1411. And that is how that title came up, Room 1411, by Benny Goodman's Boys." Goodman played baritone saxophone "on the more straight-ahead Chicago-style 'Room 1411'". "Room 1411 (Goin' to Town)" is Glenn Miller's first known composition. Two versions of the instrumental were released. The recording was reissued in 1949 as part of the Brunswick Collectors' Series as Brunswick 80029A. The recording is available on the Red Hot Jazz website: http://www.redhotjazz.com/bgb.html.
Sold American
Sold American was composed in 1938 by Glenn Miller and John Chalmers "Chummy" MacGregor, the pianist in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The title was recorded on May 23, 1938 on Brunswick and again on June 27, 1939 for RCA Victor. A 78 was released in 1938 as Brunswick 8173 with "Dipper Mouth Blues". In 1939, a new recording was released as a Bluebird 78 A side, 10352A, with "Pagan Love Song". The title is based on an American Tobacco Company (ATC) radio ad jingle of the 1930s for Lucky Strike cigarettes featuring a tobacco auctioneer chant delivered by North Carolina tobacco auctioneer Lee Aubrey "Speed" Riggs which ended with the phrase, "Sold, American!", stressing that American only purchased the highest quality tobacco for its cigarettes. The song was performed live by Glenn Miller on March 8, 1939 and broadcast on the radio from a remote at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. "Sold American" was released as a single in the UK paired with "Moon Love" on the HMV label as BD5854. The 1938 recording, Matrix number B 22974-1, was also released as Conqueror 9489, Okeh 5131, Vocalion 5131 and was reissued by Biltmore Records as 1108 in the 1949-1951 period.
Solo Hop
Solo Hop was a Top Ten hit from the summer of 1935 according to the official Glenn Miller Orchestra webpage. Glenn Miller composed this for a pick-up band when he started recording for Columbia Records. "Solo Hop" featured Bunny Berigan on trumpet, future bandleader Claude Thornhill on piano and future bandleader Charlie Spivak on trumpet. It was released by Columbia as a single backed with "In a Little Spanish Town", label number CO-3058-D. According to the tsort.info, a leading website in accessing Billboard chart statistics, based on the research of Billboard chart analyst Joel Whitburn, "Solo Hop" reached number seven on the Billboard chart in 1935, staying on the charts for five weeks. George Simon, a friend of Glenn Miller's, contradicts sources that say it was a top ten hit and says it was barely noticed by record buyers.
Introduction to a Waltz
Introduction to a Waltz was an instrumental composition written with Jerry Gray and Hal Dickinson in 1941 that was never commercially recorded for Bluebird. Two airchecks were issued, one from December 11, 1941 on LPT-6700 from a Chesterfield Broadcast. The other is from March 20, 1942, also from a Chesterfield Broadcast issued on LPT-3001. "'Introduction to a Waltz' has quite an introduction – 187 bars to be exact, with 8 bars of 'waltz' near the end of the tune." The performances featured Billy May on trumpet, Tex Beneke on tenor saxophone, Chummy MacGregor on piano, and Moe Purtill on drums. Jerry Gray and his Orchestra released a version of the instrumental backed with "V Hop" in 1951 as a Decca 45, 27869, and as a 78, from the album A Tribute to Glenn Miller, Decca DL 5375. Larry O'Brien and the Glenn Miller Orchestra also recorded the instrumental on the 2006 album Steppin' Out. The Jack Million Band also recorded the instrumental on their album In the Mood for Glenn Miller, Volume 1 in 2006.
Annie's Cousin Fannie
Annie's Cousin Fannie, which is sometimes listed as Annie's Cousin Fanny or as Annie's Cousin Fannie is a Sweetie of Mine from 1934, was written for the Dorsey Brothers Band, which featured lyrics, was recorded three times, first on June 4, 1934 in New York when Glenn Miller was part of the band and released on Brunswick as 6938 b/w "Judy" and on Decca as the A side to the Decca 117 78 that featured "Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jibe" as the B side. The record also appears as "Annie's Cousin Fannie is a Sweetie of Mine" sung by Kay Weber, one of the first female singers of the Big Band Era, and Glenn Miller, who had discovered her. The Dorsey Band recorded three different versions of the song in June and August, 1934, released on Brunswick and later on Decca.
Dese Dem Dose
Dese Dem Dose was composed by Glenn Miller in 1935 for the Dorsey Brothers Band, was recorded in New York on February 6, 1935, and was released as a 78 on Decca paired with "Weary Blues" as Decca 469. Ray McKinley, then a drummer in the Dorsey Brothers band, recalled: "Glenn did write a few things for us. I remember one thing called 'Dese, Dem and Dose' that he wrote and we recorded. He used to carry a little organ around with him to work on." (Simon, page 65) Ray Noble and his American Dance Orchestra performed "Dese Dem Dose" as part of a medley, "Dese Dem Dose/An Hour Ago This Minute/Solitude", on April 17, 1935 live at the Rainbow Room in New York which was recorded and broadcast and released in 2008 on the live CD by Galaxy Music, The Rainbow Room New York Presents (UPC: 617917441026). Glenn Miller was in the Ray Noble orchestra at the time on trombone. Glenn Miller also appeared with the Ray Noble Orchestra that year in the Hollywood movie musical The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935).
When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ
When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ was a novelty song composed with lyrics and recorded by Glenn Miller in 1935 when he was a member of the Clark Randall Orchestra, which featured Bob Crosby, Gil Rodin, and singer Frank Tennille, the father of Toni Tennille of the Captain and Tennille, whose pseudonym was Clark Randall. The unique title of the song comes from the "icky" slang expression that Dick Morgan, an eccentric member of the Ben Pollack orchestra used. Dick Morgan was the banjo and guitar player in the Ben Pollack band, who also used a realistic replica of a python in his act with the Pollack band.[15] George Simon recalled how the song came about: "Glenn composed one of the songs, "When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ, Look Out!" — dedicated to his good friend Dick Morgan, who had played guitar in Pollack's band." Miller recorded ten songs with the Clark Randall orchestra in March, 1935. "Icky Morgan" was released as a Brunswick 10 inch 78 single in 1935 as Brunswick 7415 backed with "Troublesome Trumpet". The song appears on the 2001 compilation album Bob Crosby and His Orchestra: And Then Some, Parts 1 and 2 of the Complete Discography on Halcyon, HALC 142, and the 2005 compilation series The Glenn Miller Story, Vol. 1-2 on Avid Entertainment.
Doin' the Jive
Doin' the Jive was composed by Glenn Miller and Chummy MacGregor in 1937 and recorded for Brunswick on November 29, 1937, and released as Brunswick 8063 with "Humoresque" and as Vocalion 5131 with "Dipper Mouth Blues", was a song with lyrics that introduced a new dance, "the Jive": "You clap your hands/And you swing out wide/Do the Suzie Q/ Mix in a step or two/Put 'em all together/And you're doin' the jive". There is dialogue between Glenn Miller and Chummy MacGregor. The solos are by Jerry Jerome on tenor sax and Irving Fazola on clarinet. A second version was released with Tex Beneke in the dialogue with Glenn Miller from a June 20, 1938 NBC radio broadcast from the Paradise Restaurant in New York City featuring Gail Reese on lead vocals. Simon reviewed the song in March, 1938, in Metronome magazine describing it as "much swing, fun, and good Kitty Lane singing." The band contributes vocals along with Glenn Miller and Chummy MacGregor. The song was arranged by Glenn Miller. Belgian bandleader Emile Deltour, under the pseudonym Eddie Tower, recorded a version on November 10, 1940 which was released as a Telefunken 78 single, A10232. [Best of Big Bands: Evolution of a Band, Glenn Miller, Sony, 1992.]
Community Swing
Community Swing was composed by Glenn Miller in 1937 and recorded on June 9, 1937 on Brunswick and released as a 78, 7923, with "Sleepy Time Gal". The instrumental featured Mannie Klein on trumpet, Hal McIntyre on clarinet, and Eak Kenyon on drums. The 78 release on Vocalion in the UK, S-127, B-21236-1, was reviewed in the February, 1938 issue of the British classical music magazine Gramophone: "'Community Swing' as a composition is more on the lick-and-answer principle... But even here one finds Miller's penchant for quality and richness of tone, and the same nice, clean straightforward phrasing." Paul Eduard Miller reviewed the composition in the August, 1937 issue of Down Beat: "Miller's own tune, is a snappy arrangement, ensemble for the most part." [Best of Big Bands: Evolution of a Band, Glenn Miller, Sony, 1992.]
Sometime
Sometime was a pop ballad with lyrics and music composed by Glenn Miller with Chummy MacGregor in 1939 and sung by Ray Eberle according to John Flower. The published musical score, copyrighted on September 27, 1940, lists the composers as Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, and lyricist Mitchell Parish. "Sometime" was performed for radio broadcast and two airchecks have been released of the song. "Sometime" was first performed on March 5, 1939 at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. The song was also performed at the Meadowbrook on March 26, April 7, and April 18, 1939, which recording was released as Victor LPM/LSP 2769 and 6101, Glenn Miller On The Air, and RCA RD/SF 7612. The announcer introduced the song as follows: "Now comes a number that was originated right here in the band. Glenn and Mac the piano player got together and wrote it. Ray Eberle sings it. The title: 'Sometime'." This song is different from the Gus Kahn and Ted Fiorito song of the same name from 1925 and the 1918 Rudolf Friml and Rida Johnson Young song. [Glenn Miller: The Broadcast Archives: Volumes 1 and 2. Avid Entertainment, 2005.]
Boom Shot
Boom Shot was composed by Glenn Miller with Billy May. May is credited as his first wife, Arletta May, because Billy May had signed an exclusive composer's contract with Charlie Barnet that forbade him for writing anything for Miller under his own name. This song was written in 1942 and recorded for the Twentieth Century Fox movie Orchestra Wives. "Boom Shot" is shown being played in the movie in two scenes, once on the jukebox in the soda shop, then during the dance scene featuring Harry Morgan with Ann Rutherford although it is uncredited on the soundtrack for the film. The title comes from the wide-angle, mobile camera shot used to film the scene, known as a boom shot. The arrangement is by George Williams. Ray McKinley and the New Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song as "Boomshot" on the 1959 RCA Victor LP album Dance Anyone?, LPM-2193. In 2006 the Jack Million Band recorded Boom Shot on the album In the Miller Mood Vol. 2.
Seven-O-Five
Seven-O-Five or "7-0-5" or "705" was an instrumental composed by Glenn Miller, arranged by Jerry Gray, and performed with the Army Air Forces Training Command Band in several different versions and was recorded for release as a V-Disc. A V-Disc test pressing was made from the November 10, 1945 recording of "7-0-5" with the matrix code VP 375 D7TC-7335. The title "7-0-5" refers to the number of the score in the Glenn Miller music library. Each score had a number in the system that Miller and his arrangers devised. It was published as "Rock and Ride". The other titles that were used for the composition included "Goofin' Off" and "Jivin' the Blues". No title was decided upon so the score number was retained. "7-0-5" was performed, recorded, and broadcast on the I Sustain the Wings radio program, Program No.15, on May 5, 1944 and on November 10, 1945. Larry O'Brien and the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song on the 2006 album Steppin' Out.
I Sustain the Wings
I Sustain the Wings was composed by Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, Norman Leyden and Bill Meyers. This was the theme music for the radio program that was broadcast weekly on Saturday on NBC from June, 1943 to June 10, 1944 by the Army Air Force Band under the direction of Captain Glenn Miller. The radio show was initially on CBS. Glenn Miller was the host and conductor on the show, which also featured Ray McKinley, Jerry Gray, Johnny Desmond, and the Crew Chiefs, until June 10, 1944 when Harry Bluestone became the conductor. The Latin Sustineo Alas, "I Sustain the Wings", or "Keep 'Em Flying", was the motto of the U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. The I Sustain the Wings radio series continued until November 17, 1945. Major Glenn Miller and the American Band of the Allied Expeditionary Force also made recordings for the BBC and the Office of War Information (OWI) from October 30 to November 20, 1944 at Abbey Road Studios in London that were broadcast over the American Broadcasting Station in Europe to Germany in a program called Music for the Wehrmacht or The Wehrmacht Hour. General James H. Doolittle, Commanding General of the US 8th Army Air Force, told Miller: "Captain Miller, next to a letter from home your organisation is the greatest morale-builder in the European Theater of Operations."
The song also contained lyrics. The opening lines are: "For the land that I love, I sustain the wings/ In the sky above where they fight to victory/ There's a plane in the sky, and the song it sings/ Is the freedom cry and a pray'r for you and me." The sheet music for the composition appeared in the 1943 songbook Glenn Miller's Dance Folio published by the Mutual Music Society in New York.
I Swung the Election
Glenn Miller is credited with writing the song I Swung the Election which was recorded by Jack Teagarden and his Orchestra in 1939. Jack Teagarden recorded the song on July 19, 1939 in New York and released it as a 78 single as Columbia 35206 b/w "Aunt Hagar's Blues" and as a V-Disc, No. 823B, issued in January, 1948, with the composer on the label listed as "Glenn Miller". Teagarden sang and played the trombone on the recording.
Wings on Parade: The Flaming Sword of Liberation
Wings on Parade was a "musical work" posthumously copyrighted on September 21, 1951 as a "piano solo" by Glenn Miller. The alternate title is The Flaming Sword of Liberation which was copyrighted on July 15, 1944 and published by the Mutual Music Society.
The song was performed on July 9, 1944 by Captain Glenn Miller and the American Band of the Supreme Allied Command for radio broadcast.
I'm Headin' for California
Based on the ASCAP database, I'm Headin' for California was written by Glenn Miller with Arthur Malvin, a member of the Crew Chiefs, copyrighted on September 21, 1944 and published by the Chappell Co., Inc. The song was released as a 78 single, RCA Victor 20-1834, b/w "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke in 1946 and as an HMV 78, BD 5956, in the UK in 1947 b/w "Texas Tex". The Billboard issue of March 30, 1946 lists Glenn Miller and Arthur Malvin as the composers: "Mated is a pleasant plattering of 'I'm Headin' for California,' a rhythmic ditty with Arthur Malvin, the band's romantic voice, and the late maestro authored after the fashion of 'Chattanooga Choo Choo.'" The recording was reviewed in the Billboard Data and Reviews section: "An infectious rhythm ditty fashioned along the same lines as 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' and cut in crisp manner by the ex-G.I. gang now led by Tex Beneke, who is joined by the harmonies of the Crew Chiefs, a mixed crew, for this lively chant....It's spry syncopating with the throaty singing of Tex Beneke assisted by the finely blended voices of the Crew Chiefs."
The song was first performed by the dance band of the AAF orchestra and sung by Ray McKinley when Glenn Miller was in England in 1944. The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band performed the song on December 4, 1944 on the Swing Shift program.
Morning Mood
Glenn Miller co-wrote Morning Mood with composer Bert Reisfeld as a trombone solo with piano forte accompaniment which was copyrighted on September 2, 1941 by the Mutual Music Society in New York based on the ASCAP database. The royalty was split: ½ to each. There are no known performances.
After Tonight
The song After Tonight was copyrighted as a musical composition on December 5, 1939 with "melody" by Glenn Miller and words by Ted Fetter in New York, published by the Robbins Music Corporation. The song was published in the June, 1940 issue of Radio and Television Mirror on pages 23–24. Broadway lyricist Ted Fetter co-wrote the lyrics to the 1940 standard Taking a Chance on Love with Vernon Duke and John Latouche.
The Technical Training Command
The Technical Training Command was a theme song written for the AAFTC Orchestra and used at the close of early I Sustain the Wings radio programs in 1943. The theme was dropped after six weeks. Recordings of each performance exist. The composers are Captain Glenn Miller, John Chummy MacGregor, and Private Sol Meyer. The song contained lyrics. The opening line is: "Who keeps the planes on high/ Blazing across the sky/ Who checks 'em when they land/ The Technical Training Command." The royalty was split: 1/3 each. Glenn Miller gave all of his royalty receipts to the Air Forces Aid and later to the Red Cross. The sheet music for the composition appeared in the 1943 songbook Glenn Miller's Dance Folio published by the Mutual Music Society in New York.
Jinky
Jinky was composed in 1933 when Glenn Miller worked with vocalist Smith Ballew. It is score #62 in the Glenn Miller musical score library. The song was performed by Smith Bellew and His Orchestra in 1933 but not recorded.
Let's Give Them a Break
Let's Give Them a Break was performed once in October, 1937 but was not recorded. The lyrics were published in a Minneapolis newspaper 3–30 October 1937. The song was presented to the local Community Fund organization.
SHAEF Presents
SHAEF Presents was written as a theme for the "American Band of the AEF" program which aired on the Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme (AEFP) radio network in 1944. It was not used. It was composed by Captain Glenn Miller and arranged by Sgt. Jerry Gray. SHAEF was the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. There are no recordings of the score.
Chesterfield #1
Chesterfield #1, also referred to as "Fast One", was incidental music for commercial breaks written in 1941 for the "Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade" radio program. It was performed on 10 Chesterfield shows. The score number is 617. These broadcasts were recorded. The song was broadcast on the following Chesterfield radio shows: June 18, 1941, June 19, 1941, June 24, 1941, June 25, 1941, June 26, 1941, July 1, 1941, July 2, 1941, July 3, 1941, and July 8, 1941.
Chesterfield #2
Chesterfield #2 was incidental music performed twice on the Chesterfield radio show in 1941. Harold Dickinson of The Modernaires shares credit for the vocal part while Glenn Miller wrote the music. The broadcasts were recorded. The song was broadcast on the following Chesterfield radio shows: June 18, 1941 and June 19, 1941.
125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone
125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone was copyrighted in 1927 as Glenn Miller's 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone by the Melrose Brothers Music Company: The House That Blues Built, 177 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois. The score was published in the UK in London by Herman Darewski Music Pub. Co., in 1941. The songbook was softcover and measured 6 3/4 X 10 inches. It consisted of 22 pages. Glenn Miller is pictured on the cover in a black and white photograph. The cover illustration is signed with the initials N.E.K. The rear cover has ads for other Melrose Brothers Music Company publications including ones for Dixieland, Book of Blues, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Jelly Roll Morton. In the publisher's forward it discussed the art of playing jazz, mentioning "Glenn Miller, feature trombonist of Ben Pollack's Victor Recording Orchestra, and author of this book, is recognized everywhere as a finished artist." The back cover contained the description: "Glenn Miller is a feature trombonist with Ben Pollack's Victor Recording Orchestra. Professional musicians everywhere recommend this book. Price: $1.00." The sheet music was advertised in the 1928 Billboard, Volume 40, Page 202. "The Jazz Breaks are works of recognized Jazz artists who have made national reputations. JAZZ BREAKS. Benny Goodman's 125 Jazz Breaks for Sax and Clarinet. $1.00. GLENN MILLER'S 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone. $1.00." An ad for the sheet music also appeared in the 1928 Metronome, Volume 44, Page 42.
You're Breakin' Me Down
You're Breakin' Me Down is a musical composition by Glenn Miller with jazz cornetist, composer, and bandleader Red Nichols. There are no known aural recordings of the composition. The song was performed by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies.
Tomorrow's Another Day
Tomorrow's Another Day is a song Glenn Miller composed in 1935 for the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. Glenn Miller copyrighted the song with the U.S. Library of Congress on January 23, 1935. The Dorsey Brothers released the song as an A side 78 single in 1935 on Decca Records, 515A, Matrix # 39346. The B side was "I've Got Your Number" written by Bonnie Lake. The song, arranged by Glenn Miller, was recorded on February 6, 1935 in New York. Kay Weber was the vocalist. Glenn Miller was not on the recording session.
Harlem Chapel Chimes
Harlem Chapel Chimes is a song Glenn Miller composed in 1935. The song was recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra on February 6, 1935 in New York and released as a 78 single. Two versions were released: 39337-A was released on Brunswick in the UK as 02149 backed with "Weary Blues", while 39337-C was released on Decca as BM-02149. Glenn Miller was not on the studio recording session. The Dorsey Brother's version was arranged by Glenn Miller.
Basin Street Blues
Glenn Miller is also credited with writing an additional, new verse for the song Basin Street Blues in 1931, written in 1928 by Spencer Williams. Miller arranged the song for a February 9, 1931 recording under the direction of Benny Goodman in New York with the Charleston Chasers which was released as a 78 single as Columbia 2415-D and Okeh 41577. Miller wrote the following additional verse to the song in collaboration with Jack Teagarden, which subsequently was incorporated in later recordings of the song:
"Won't you come along with me, To the Mississippi, We'll take a boat to the land of dreams, steam down the river to New Orleans. The band's there to greet us, Old friends there to meet us. Where the rich and the poor folks meet, let me take you down to Basin Street."
Jack Teagarden explained how the lyrics were co-written with Glenn Miller in 1931:
"I was home in New York the evening before the 'Basin Street Blues' record date when Glenn called me from his apartment in Jackson Heights. ‘Jack, I think we could do a better job if we could put together some lyrics and you could sing it. Want to come over and see what we can do?’...We finally finished the job sometime early in the morning. Next day, we cut the record. It’s been the most popular I’ve ever done! The lyrics were later included with the sheet music, but it never carried our names."
Before 1938
The first authenticated recordings made by Glenn Miller were in 1926. In the fall of 1926, Earl Baker, a cornetist, made recordings on cylinders using the Edison Standard Phonograph recording device, making the first recordings of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Fud Livingston. Miller and Goodman were both in the Ben Pollack and his Californians band at that time. The Ben Pollack band was in Chicago, Illinois, to make studio recordings for Victor. The Baker cylinders are available on the album "The Legendary Earl Baker Cylinders", released by the Jazz Archives record label as JA43 in 1979. The songs performed included "Sleepy Time Gal", "Sister Kate", "After I Say I'm Sorry", and "Sobbin' Blues".
After 1938
Harry Warren and Mack Gordon songs for Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives: (Harry Warren and Mack Gordon were songwriters under contract with Twentieth Century Fox from 1940 to 1943.[21] During that time period they composed the songs for Miller's movies for Fox.)
Army Air Force Band, 1943–1944
Songs that were in the civilian band and Army Air Force band libraries include:
A disc released in 2010 is called "The Final - His Last Recordings" and collects Miller's last known recorded performances (November, 1944) plus bonus spoken bits for the radio program "Music for the Wehrmacht", starring Major Miller with German speaker Ilse Weinberger. The album also contains a September 1944 interview and - as final track - the BBC radio announcement of Miller's disappearance.
Addenda
In sharing air time with the Andrews Sisters for the early Chesterfield Shows, the Miller band had nine minutes to present its music. Miller instituted medleys of "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" into the band's broadcasts to enable it to play as much as possible. This medley tradition continued into the Army Air Force band's radio programming.
Sample "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" medley:
June 19, 1940 Cincinnati, Ohio (Chesterfield Show)
Old: The Touch of Your Hand (arranged Jerry Gray)
New: Basket Weaver Man (written by Joe McCarthy and Walter Donaldson) (arranged Jerry Gray)
Borrowed: The Waltz You Saved For Me (arranged Jerry Gray) (Borrowed from bandleader Wayne King, written by Gus Kahn, Wayne King and Emil Flindt)
Blue: Blue Danube (arranged Jerry Gray) (written by Johann Strauss, Jr., 1867)
V-Discs
Glenn Miller Army Air Force Orchestra
V-Disc 12-A None - D3MC 125 1942 RCA Victor studio recording At Last V-Disc 12-B None - D3MC 125 1942 RCA Victor studio recording Moonlight Mood V-Disc 39-A VP 75 Theme Song 1939 RCA Bluebird studio recording Moonlight Serenade V-Disc 39-B VP 151 Fox Trot 1940 RCA Bluebird studio recording My Melancholy Baby V-Disc 65-A VP 264 - D3MC 286 29 Oct 43 Spoken Introduction V-Disc 65-A VP 264 - D3MC 286 29 Oct 43 Star Dust V-Disc 65-B VP 266 - D3MC 288 29 Oct 43 St. Louis Blues March V-Disc 91-A VP 267 - D3MC 289 29 Oct 43 Stormy Weather V-Disc 91-B VP 265 - D3MC 287 29 Oct 43 Buckle Down Winsocki V-Disc 91-B VP 265 - D3MC 287 29 Oct 43 El Capitan V-Disc 123-A VP 416 - D3MC 482 10 Dec 43 Goin' Home V-Disc 123-A VP 416 - D3MC 482 10 Dec 43 Honeysuckle Rose V-Disc 123-A VP 416 - D3MC 482 10 Dec 43 I Sustain the Wings (uncredited; segue introduces My Blue Heaven) V-Disc 123-A VP 416 - D3MC 482 10 Dec 43 My Blue Heaven V-Disc 123-B VP 333 1939 RCA Bluebird studio recording In the Mood V-Disc 144-A VP 415 - D3MC 481 10 Dec 43 The Squadron Song V-Disc 144-A VP 415 - D3MC 481 10 Dec 43 Tail End Charlie V-Disc 144-B VP 441 - D4MC 10 11 Dec 43 I Sustain the Wings (uncredited; segues introduce Don't Be That Way and Blue Champagne) V-Disc 144-B VP 441 - D4MC 10 11 Dec 43 Don't Be That Way V-Disc 144-B VP 441 - D4MC 10 11 Dec 43 Blue Champagne V-Disc 183-A VP 563 - D4TC 100 21 Jan 44 Embraceable You V-Disc 183-A VP 563 - D4TC 100 21 Jan 44 G. I. Jive V-Disc 201-A VP 618 – D4TC 125 21 Jan 44 Moon Dreams V-Disc 201-B VP 64 Sweet 1942 RCA Bluebird studio recording Sleepy Town Train V-Disc 223-A VP 686 – D4TC 189 20 May 44 Everybody Loves My Baby V-Disc 223-A VP 686 – D4TC 189 20 May 44 Stompin' At The Savoy V-Disc 223-B VP 655 – D4TC 157 21 Jan 44 Stealin' Apples V-Disc 242-A VP 703 – D4TC 198 20 May 44 A Fellow On A Furlough V-Disc 242-A VP 703 – D4TC 198 20 May 44 Guns In The Sky V-Disc 242-B VP 687 – D4TC 190 20 May 44 Poinciana V-Disc 281-A VP 724 – D4TC 211 3 Jun 44 Chattanooga Choo Choo V-Disc 281-A VP 724 – D4TC 211 3 Jun 44 Sun Valley Jump V-Disc 302-B VP 702 – D4TC 197 20 May 44 In the Gloaming V-Disc 302-B VP 702 – D4TC 197 20 May 44 Deep Purple V-Disc 334-A VP 752 – None 10 Jun 44 My Buddy V-Disc 334-A VP 752 – None 10 Jun 44 Farewell Blues V-Disc 352B, VP 977 - 1940 RCA Victor studio recording Missouri Waltz V-Disc 352B, VP 977 - 1940 RCA Victor studio recording Alice Blue Gown V-Disc 381-A VP 685 – D4TC 188 13 May 44 I've Got A Heart Filled With Love V-Disc 421-A VP 725 – D4TC 212 3 Jun 44 Holiday For Strings V-Disc 466-A VP 1325 – XP 34617 13 May 44 Wang Wang Blues V-Disc 466-A VP 1325 – XP 35617 3 Jun 44 Bye Bye Blues V-Disc 482-A VP 1334 – D5TC 297 13 May 44 I Can't Give You Anything But Love V-Disc 482-A VP 1334 – D5TC 297 27 May 44 Little Brown Jug V-Disc 504-A VP 1330 – XP 34644 27 May 44 The Army Air Corps Song V-Disc 504-A VP 1330 – XP 34644 27 May 44 I Hear You Screamin' V-Disc 522-A VP 1444 – D5TC 556 29 Oct 43 St. Louis Blues March V-Disc 533-A VP 1312 – D5TC 275 29 Apr 44 Peggy the Pin Up Girl V-Disc 533-A VP 1312 – D5TC 275 6 May 44 Songs My Mother Taught Me V-Disc 587-A VP 1632 – D5TC 1542 27 Oct 45 Passage Interdit V-Disc 587-A VP 1632 – D5TC 1542 10 Nov 45 Why Dream? V-Disc 601-A VP 1630 – D5TC 1459 27 Oct 45 Symphony V-Disc 842-B J 560 – ND7TC – 1464 17 Nov 45 In The MoodNavy Releases (duplicated as Marine Corps releases in green color)
Navy 3-A Everybody Loves My Baby 20 May 44 Navy 3-A Stompin' At The Savoy 20 May 44 Navy 3-B Stealin' Apples 21 Jan 44 Navy 22-A A Fellow On A Furlough 20 May 44 Navy 22-A Guns In The Sky 20 May 44 Navy 22-B Poinciana 20 May 44 Navy 61-A Chattanooga Choo Choo 3 Jun 44 Navy 61-A Sun Valley Jump 3 Jun 44 Navy 82-B In The Gloaming 20 May 44 Navy 82-B Deep Purple 20 May 44 Navy 114-A St. Louis Blues March 29 Oct 43 Navy 114-B Moon Dreams 21 Jan 44 Navy 160-A Moonlight Serenade Theme Song 1939 RCA Bluebird studio recording Navy 160-B Don't Be That Way 11 Dec 43 Navy 160-B Blue Champagne 11 Dec 43 Navy 161-A I've Got A Heart Filled With Love 13 May 44 Navy 161-B Goin' Home 10 Dec 43 Navy 161-B Honeysuckle Rose 10 Dec 43 Navy 161-B My Blue Heaven 10 Dec 43 Navy 201-A Holiday For Strings 3 Jun 44 Navy 246-A Wang Wang Blues 13 May 44 Navy 246-A Bye Bye Blues 3 Jun 44 Navy 264-A The Army Air Corps Song 27 May 44 Navy 264-A I Hear You Screamin' 27 May 44Unissued V-Discs (test pressings only)
29 Oct 43 Spoken Introduction (breakdown) VP 264 - D3MC 286 29 Oct 43 Star Dust (breakdown) VP 264 - D3MC 286 20 Nov 43 (The End Of A) Perfect Day VP 1310 – D5TC 273 20 Nov 43 Blue Room VP 1310 –D5TC 273 10 Dec 43 Holiday for Strings, part 1 VP 1189 - D5TC 125 10 Dec 43 Holiday for Strings, part 2 VP 1189 - D5TC 125 29 Apr 44 Here We Go Again VP 1311 – D5TC 274 6 May 44 In An Eighteenth Century Drawing Room VP 1310 – D5TC 273 6 May 44 Blue Orchids VP 1311 – D5TC 274 27 Oct 45 The Old Refrain NVP 1632 – D5TC 1542 10 Nov 45 Song Of The Volga Boatmen VP 375 – D7TC 7335 10 Nov 45 7-0-5 VP 375 – D7TC 7335 17 Nov 45 Moonlight Serenade None 17 Nov 45 My Blue Heaven None