Glenn Miller's Sun Valley Serenade released 70 years ago this week

Do you remember the film Sun Valley Serenade? It  is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Lynn Bari and Milton Berle and released 70 years ago this week.

Sun Valley Serenade is best known today for the participation of The Glenn Miller Orchestra. Chattanooga Cho Cho was written for this fim.









The music list:

•"Chattanooga Choo Choo"

(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyric by Mack Gordon
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Sung by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and The Modernaires, then danced and sung by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, however Southern audiences never saw this part two of "Chattanooga."
Copyright 1941

•"I Know Why (and So Do You)"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyric by Mack Gordon
Performed by John Payne and Sonja Henie
Sung by Lynn Bari (dubbed by Pat Friday) and The Modernaires, then John Payne
Copyright 1941

•"It Happened in Sun Valley"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyric by Mack Gordon
Performed by "first band"
Sung by Lynn Bari (dubbed by Pat Friday), later sung by entire Glenn Miller orchestra including all vocalists except Ray Eberle
Copyright 1941

•"The Kiss Polka"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyric by Mack Gordon
Performed over opening credits by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, then by singing ensemble later in movie
Copyright 1941

•"At Last"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra as an instrumental after "In The Mood" sequence,
and at end of movie in ice-skating sequence
Copyright 1942

•"Moonlight Serenade"
(uncredited)
Music by Glenn Miller
Performed as instrumental by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Copyright 1939

•"In the Mood"
(uncredited)
Music by Joe Garland
Arranged by Eddie Durham
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Tenor Sax Battle between Tex Beneke and Al Klink
Hot Trumpet Solo by Billy May
Copyright 1939

•"The Farmer in the Dell"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra at Ellis Island

•"She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played as part of the score when Milton Berle skis erratically down the slopes

•"Jingle Bells"
(1857) (uncredited)
Music by James Pierpont
Played as part of the score when Milton Berle skis erratically down the slopes

Reissue of Count Basie-Frank Sinatra classic album

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On September 6, 2011, Concord Records will reissue both of these recordings in a single collection, the two Jersey boys...Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings. Under license from Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), the 20-song compilation is enhanced via digital restoration and remastering, and includes brand new liner notes from music journalist and historian Bill Dahl that provide historical context for these pivotal recordings. Also included are original anecdotes from Quincy Jones, who produced It Might As Well Be Swing.


"By the early 1960s, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie had already cemented their respective reputations as two of the most versatile and enduring entertainers of the 20th century. When these two titans united in the studio for recordings on Reprise — Sinatra’s own label, which he’d launched at the start of the decade — the results were historic. The first album was simply titled Sinatra-Basie: An Historical Musical First, a 1963 release that climbed to the top five on Billboard’s pop album charts over the course of a 42-week run. A year later, It Might As Well Be Swing rose to #13 during a 31-week stretch on the same charts."


“It’s virtually impossible to imagine a more swinging combination than Frank Sinatra — the premier pop vocalist of an adoring generation — and the mighty orchestra of Count Basie,” says Dahl in his liner notes. “Such a scintillating summit meeting actually unfolded not once but twice in the studio. This collection brings together both of these historic album-length collaborations, first out on the label Sinatra founded, Reprise. It’s a thoroughly satisfying soiree.”

Dahl provides background information about the history of Basie’s orchestra in the decades leading up to the two recordings. He also discusses Sinatra’s transition from Capitol to Reprise and the artistic freedom that came with it, as well as Neal Hefti’s arrangements for both albums, Quincy Jones’ production of the latter, and brief annotations of every song in the collection.

“Another memorable collection between the Chairman and the Count would soon be recorded for posterity by Reprise, [with Jones] arranging and conducting 1966’s Sinatra at the Sands,” says Dahl. “But even performing for those hip high rollers in Vegas couldn’t top what Sinatra and Basie accomplished during these two studio collaborations. This was musical history in the making, as fabulously fresh and frisky now as it was back then. Let the swinging commence.”





TRACK LIST

Pennies from Heaven

Please Be Kind

(Love Is) The Tender Trap

Looking at the World Thru Rose Colored Glasses

My Kind of Girl

I Only Have Eyes for You

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Learnin’ the Blues

I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

I Won’t Dance

Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)

I Wish You Love

I Believe in You

More [Theme from Mondo Cane]

I Can’t Stop Loving You

Hello, Dolly! (from Hello, Dolly!)

I Wanna Be Around

The Best Is Yet To Come

The Good Life

Wives and Lovers


To order CLICK HERE

Pennies From Heaven

Remember Bea Wain...one of the best of the big band vocalists

In my earlier television advertising career, I had a young man named Wayne Baruch visit to present an idea for a television program he wanted to produce. Having been a fan of both the great NBC radio announcer Andre Baruch and the lovely band singer, and his wife, Bea Wain, I mentioned that his name reminded me of them. As you guessed, Wayne replied that they were his parents. Bea was born in 1917 in New York, and is best known for singing on the "Hit Parade" and her time with Larry Clinton and his orchestra. Their version of "Deep Purple" is one of my all time favorite big band recordings.


In an interview a few years ago, Bea described the unusual circumstances that launched her band vocalist career with Larry Clinton; " He heard me on the Kate Smith show. He didn't see me. Actually, it was very strange, because . . . I had a call and went to the phone and this man said, 'My name is Larry Clinton. I'm starting a band and I'm looking for a girl singer and I would like you to make some sides with me.' Which was really cuckoo,'cause I said to myself, 'He never saw me. He never really heard me, it was just a few bars. And he told me to meet him at RCA Victor the next week, he was recording, and he sent me a tune to do, and I did it. And the first time I saw him was when I walked in the studio."


"It was very strange, though, that he sent the tune to me," she remarked. "It was True Confession. That was the name of the song. And he asked me on the phone to tell him what key I was going to do it in. And I called him and told him, and he said, 'Okay, I'll see you Tuesday at RCA." Following the recording session, she would remain with the band. "Oh, I sort-of took it for granted that we would go further." Quickly, she was the band's star attraction. Wain had four #1 hits:"Cry, Baby. Cry," "Deep Purple", "Heart and Soul" and her signature song, "My Reverie."

Wain stayed with Clinton only a year-and-a-half before deciding to go solo in early 1939. She recorded several titles under her own name and received much critical acclaim. The recording ban of 1942 marked the end of her commercial recording career. She continued to sing, perform, and appear on radio, however, throughout the 1940s. She later moved to Florida, where she worked as a disc jockey alongside her husband, radio announcer André Baruch (he died in 1991) and later as "Mr. & Mrs. Music" on WMCA New York.. The couple eventually settled in Beverly Hills during the late 1970s where we believe she still resides.



Here is the Larry Clinton orchestra with Bea Wain (a later hi-fi version was made in the 50's with Helen Forrest) and "Deep Purple."

More Bea Wain;

                                         

"From Gershwin to Garland - A Musical Journey with Richard Glazier" on New York's WNET

Richard Glazier and WNET's Denise Richardson

Richard Glazier, the marvelous pianist, e-mailed us today a reminder that his "From Gershwin to Garland - A Musical Journey with Richard Glazier" will air on New York's WNET Thirteen this Sunday.

Richard writes; "WNET, a PBS flagship station and NYC's Channel 13, is broadcasting my TV show, "From Gershwin to Garland - A Musical Journey with Richard Glazier", on Sunday, August 14th, at 10:30 AM and 5:30 PM.  I'm proud to say it's one of WNET's pledge programs for August, and I will be seen playing the piano and talking to WNET's wonderful host Denise Richardson during four breaks during the program.  My good friend, Steinway & Sons President for the Americas, Ron Losby, was interviewed for the final segment.  

At the highest pledge level , $275, the thank you gift is two tickets to a concert I'll give at Steinway Hall NY in the fall.        

If you live in the New York area, please be sure to tune in and, if possible, pledge your support (at any level) for this great PBS station.  If you  know someone who lives in NYC, please tell them about the program too, and ask them to tell their friends!  I'll send out a reminder about the date and airtime when it gets closer."

The Top Ten Glenn Miller tunes?

Major Glenn Miller

Our fellow big band fan George Spink of Los Angeles...and the Moderator of the terrific website " Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo!" asked his audience for their top ten Miller favorites... Here they are:


From Joel R:
1. Along the Santa Fe Trail, 2. St. Louis Blues March, 3. Holiday for Strings, 4. Speak Low, 5. Stardust, 6.My Buddy, 7. Long ago and Far Away, 8. Going Home, 9. Blue Champagne, 10. Stormy Weather

From Gregg S:
1.The Woodpecker Song, 2.Little Brown Jug, 3. Moonlight Serenade, 4. Have You Got Any Gum,Chum?, 5.A String of Pearls, 6. Chattanooga Choo Choo, 7. Don't Sit Under the AppleTree, 8 I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo, 9.In The Mood, and 10. That Old Black Magic.

From Jack F:
1. Moonlight Serenade, 2. Moonlight Cocktails, 3.Serenade in Blue, 4.String of Pearls, 5. Pennsylvania 6-5000, 6. I Know Why, 7. Skylark, 8.In The Mood, 9.Tuxedo Junction. 10. At Last.

From Marty D:
1) In the Mood, 2) Moonlight Serenade, 3) Elmer's Tune, 4) Juke Box Saturday Night, 5) Pennsylvania 6500, 6) Moonlight Cocktail, 7) Tuxedo Junction, 8) String of Pearls, 9) Chattanooga Choo Choo, 10) Little Brown Jug

From Rick Busciglio:
1.Moonlight Serenade 2. String Of Pearls 3. In The Mood 4. Sunrise Serenade 5. At Last 6. Tuxedo Junction 7. Begin The Beguine 8. St. Louis Blues March 9. Little Brown Jug 10. That Old Black Magic
The favorites ...common on four of the five lists are Moonlight Serenade, String of Pearls and In The Mood.
Thank you to George, Joel, Gregg, Jack and Marty for sharing.
Care to share your list? Send to Swing and Big Band Examiner
Please visit:

George Spink
Los Angeles
Moderator - Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo! Group
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/millermood/

The Warwick Valley Jazz Festival Aug. 18-21

Warwick Valley Jazz Festival August 18-21, 2011

http://www.warwickvalleyjazzfest.com/