A Salute to the Golden Age of American Popular Music

We salute the music from Broadway, Hollywood, New Orleans, Tin Pan Alley and the "melody makers;" i.e. the bands and singers that brought the music to us via the radio, recordings and live events in the period from the 1920's to the 1960's. This is the golden period of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Larry Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy Van Heusen, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, etc.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Glenn Miller received the first ever gold record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo."


In 1942, Glenn Miller received the first ever gold record for selling a million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

As a music historian, I must share with you the truth about this famous train. Are you ready? It NEVER left track 29! The train never traveled between New York and Chattanooga. The train's run was between Cincinnati, Ohio and Chattanooga.

The song was introduced in 1941 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the song was featured in the movie "Sun Valley Serenade" and performed by Tex Beneke and the Modernaires. Harry Warren wrote the original music score, while Mack Gordon contributed the words. The song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo," traveled fast throughout the circles of Europe during World War II, and today it is an international favorite.


To buy a Glenn Miller CD or a copy of the "Sun Valley Serenade" click here

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