List of songs written by Glenn Miller
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Glen_miller.jpg/220px-Glen_miller.jpg)
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 Forces Orchestra.
Compositions
"Moonlight Serenade"
Glenn Miller composed the music to "
It was released as a B-side to "Sunrise Serenade", written by Frankie Carle.[10]
The record reached number three on the Billboard magazine chart and was the number five record of 1939 in the year-end chart. The 1939 RCA recording was issued as a V-Disc 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[11] 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 by Brunswick with "Jungle Blues". Benny Goodman's Boys consisted of 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. Miller and Goodman lived in the same suite at the time in the apartments in The Whitby in New York whose number was 1411. 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'".[12] "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.[13][14]
"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, for Brunswick and again on June 27, 1939, for RCA Victor. A 78 was released in 1938 as Brunswick 8173 with "Dipper Mouth Blues".[15] 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 radio ad jingle of the 1930s for Lucky Strike cigarettes with 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.[16] "Sold American" was released as a single in the UK paired with "Moon Love" on the HMV label as BD5854.[17]
"Solo Hop"
"Solo Hop" was a Top Ten hit from the summer of 1935, according to the official Glenn Miller Orchestra web site.[18] Miller composed this for a pick-up band when he started recording for Columbia Records. "Solo Hop" included Bunny Berigan on trumpet, Claude Thornhill on piano, and Charlie Spivak on trumpet. It was released by Columbia as a single backed with "In a Little Spanish Town", label number CO-3058-D.[19] According to the tsort.info, a website that accesses 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 chart for five weeks.[20] George Simon, a friend of Miller, contradicts sources that say it was a top ten hit and says it was barely noticed by record buyers.[21]
"Introduction to a Waltz"
"
"Annie's Cousin Fannie"
"Annie's Cousin Fannie", which is sometimes listed as "
"Dese Dem Dose"
"
"When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ"
"
"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 Miller and 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 Miller from a June 20, 1938 NBC radio broadcast from the Paradise Restaurant in New York City with 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 with Miller and MacGregor. The song was arranged by Miller.[31] 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"
"
"Sometime"
"
"Boom Shot"
"
"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". 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.[39] Larry O'Brien and the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song on the 2006 album Steppin' Out.
"I Sustain the Wings"
"
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.[44] 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".[45] Teagarden sang and played 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.[46] The "Copyright Claimant" is listed as Steven D. Miller, Glenn Miller's adopted son. The copyright was renewed on January 10, 1979. 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, "
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 Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra performed the song on the Swing Shift program on December 4, 1944.
"Morning Mood"
Glenn Miller co-wrote "Morning Mood" with composer Bert Reisfeld as a trombone solo with piano forte accompaniment which was copyrighted by the Mutual Music Society on September 2, 1941, in New York based on the ASCAP database.[44][52] The royalty was split half to each. There are no known performances.[53]
"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.[54] 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 La Touche. The copyright was renewed on December 5, 1966, by Helen Miller and Ted Fetter.[55]
"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 three ways. Miller gave all of his royalty receipts to the Air Forces Aid and later to the Red Cross.[56] 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 Miller worked with vocalist Smith Ballew. It is score #62 in the Glenn Miller musical score library.[57] 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.[57] The lyrics were published in a Minneapolis newspaper on 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.[57] Arranger and clarinetist, Norman Leyden and other military personnel confirmed that the final name of this band was the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra before it was carved in stone at their memorial tree in section 13 at Arlington National Cemetery.[58][59]
"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.[57] 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 Miller wrote the music. The broadcasts were recorded.[57] 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 Miller with cornetist, composer, and bandleader Red Nichols. There are no known recordings.[60] The song was performed by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies.
"Tomorrow's Another Day"
"
"Harlem Chapel Chimes"
"
"Basin Street Blues"
Glenn Miller is credited with writing an additional verse for 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."[64]
References
- ^ "Moonlight Serenade". Theguitarguy.com. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ Simon 343
- ^ Carly Simon. Moonlight Serenade. Archived November 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Verve. Charlie Haden Quartet West, Haunted Heart.
- ^ Vladimir Bogdanov et al., All Music Guide to Soul. p 577
- ^ "Magic Sing Bobby Vinton - Directory". Magicsing.us. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ Steffen Hung (2006-11-13). "Deodato - Moonlight Serenade". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ "John Williams and the Boston Pops Orch. - Encore! - CD - zavvi UK". Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ [1] Archived 2009-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- William H. Honan (2001-03-10). "Frankie Carle, 97, Band Leader Who Wrote 'Sunrise Serenade'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Firestone, Swing, Swing, Swing, p.49
- ^ "Benny Goodman's Boys". Redhotjazz.com. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ Michel. "A Jazz Anthology". Jazz-on-line.com.
- ^ Flower 14
- ^ Flower 49
- ^ Flower 66,73
- ^ "Glenn Miller Orchestra – History". glennmillerorchestra.com.
- ^ Flower 1
- ^ "Song artist 8 - Glenn Miller". tsort.info.
- ^ Simon 68–69
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. pp. 1284–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ 426
- ^ Flower 388
- ^ a b "Dorsey Brothers Orchestra". Redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ Weber explains the origins of the song: "There was a very popular song at the time called 'Annie Doesn't Live Here Any More' and Glenn wrote a spin-off of this song called 'Annie's Cousin Fannie Is a Sweetie of Mine'. I don't know why Tommy and Jimmy recorded it so much. I can only guess they were looking for the 'right' combination for the song."
- ^ Jazz trumpeter Billy Butterfield and Andy Bartha later covered "Dese Dem Dose".
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1936. pp. 656–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80322-2. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ In 1936, Bob Crosby and his Orchestra, most of whose members played on the Randall version, performed this composition on the Ford V-8 Revue.
- ^ Flower, John. Liner Notes to the CD collection "Community Swing, Vol. 2, 1937-1938", Naxos Jazz Legends.
- ^ Flower 57
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. pp. 1448–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ The song was published by Robbins Music Corporation, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY. It was distributed in the UK by Francis, Day and Hunter.
- ^ Flower 540
- ^ Flower 48
- ^ Simon 234
- ^ a b Flower 428
- ^ Glenn Miller: The Secret Broadcasts, RCA Victor, 75605-52500-2, 1996.
- ^ Simon 356
- ^ Simon 344
- ^ "Solid! - Glenn Miller: The Secret Broadcasts". Parabrisas.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ Butcher, Geoffrey." Next to a Letter from Home: Major Glenn Miller's Wartime Band". Warner, 1994.
- ^ a b c "ASCAP ACE - Search". www.ascap.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2000. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Jack Teagarden and his Orchestra". Redhotjazz.com. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1944. pp. 1356–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1944. pp. 1356–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Nielsen Business Media (30 March 1946). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. pp. 32–.
{{cite book}}
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has generic name (help) - ^ Way, Chris. The Big Bands Go to War. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Mainstream Publishing, 1991: "Also on this show, Glenn introduced his very last composition, "I'm Heading for California"."
- ^ "I'm Headin' for California" was released on the 2010 CD "Glenn's Travels: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra" on Sounds of Yesteryear and on the 1998 CD "Glenn Miller Orchestra: A Tribute to Tex Beneke" on Halcyon Records in the UK.
- ^ Billboard, March 30, 1946, p. 33.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1941. pp. 1463–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Glenn Miller Archive, University of Colorado.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1939. pp. 1547–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d e Glenn Miller Archive. The University of Colorado at Boulder.
- ^ Air Force and Army staff, Washington DC and Arlington VA, 11-11-1994
- ^ Glenn Miller: America's Musical Hero, an exhibit, paper and news article by Kathy Shenkle, Arlington National Cemetery, 1992.
- ^ Edward F. Polic. Glenn Miller Archives, University of Colorado.
- ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1936. pp. 82–. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Dorsey Brothers Orchestra". redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-26. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- ^ Firestone, "Swing, Swing, Swing", p.71
- ^ "Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Basin Street Blues)". jazzstandards.com.