"Serenade in Blue" is a 1942 big band song composed by Harry Warren, with lyrics written by Mack Gordon. It was introduced in the 1942 film Orchestra Wives by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, sung by Lynn Bari in the film but dubbed by Pat Friday.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released the song as an RCA Victor 78, 27935-A, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard pop singles chart. [1]
The RCA Victor recording by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra featured vocalist Ray Eberle [2] with backing vocals by The Modernaires. [3] This record was the year's eleventh-best selling recording in the United States according to Billboard magazine, after having spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard charts. [4]
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. His theme song was "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You". His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for standards such as "Opus One", "Song of India", "Marie", "On Treasure Island", and his biggest hit single, "I'll Never Smile Again".
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song that was written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade. It was the first song to receive a gold record, presented by RCA Victor in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and commercially successful dance orchestra of the swing era and one of the greatest singles charting acts of the 20th century. As of 2024, Ray Anthony is the last surviving member of the orchestra.
"That Old Black Magic" is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen (music), with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They wrote it for the 1942 film Star Spangled Rhythm, when it was first sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera Zorina. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 but lost out to "You'll Never Know".
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra made of their popular song "In The Mood" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Jazz critic Will Friedwald considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers who sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nicholas Brothers. It also features Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996, and was awarded the first Gold Record for sales of 1.2 million. Studio 20th Century Fox re-released the film in 1946 and in 1954 to tie-in with the biopic The Glenn Miller Story.
"Imagination" is a popular song with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen and the lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was first published in 1940. The two best-selling versions were recorded by the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in 1940.
Raymond Eberle was a vocalist during the Big Band Era, making his name with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. His elder brother, Bob Eberly, sang with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
Jack Sperling was an American jazz drummer who performed as a sideman in big bands and as a studio musician for pop and jazz acts, movies, and television.
"Five Minutes More" is a 1946 American pop song written by Sammy Cahn (lyrics) and Jule Styne (music). It is sometimes referred to as "Give Me Five Minutes More". It was featured in the movie Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, sung by Phil Brito, and was a number one hit record in 1946 for Frank Sinatra.
Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music.
For music from an individual year in the 1940s, go to 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)" is a popular song that was made famous by Glenn Miller and by the Andrews Sisters during World War II. Its lyrics are the words of two young lovers who pledge their fidelity while one of them is away serving in the war.
"A String of Pearls" is a 1941 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird that November, becoming a #1 hit. It was composed by Jerry Gray with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. The song is a big band and jazz standard.
"To You" is a 1939 song composed by Tommy Dorsey with Benny Davis and Ted Shapiro. The song was a top 10 hit on the Billboard charts.
"I Know Why " is a 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.
"Elmer's Tune" is a 1941 big band and jazz standard written by Elmer Albrecht, Dick Jurgens and Sammy Gallop. Glenn Miller and his Orchestra and Dick Jurgens and his Orchestra both charted with recordings of the composition.
"Juke Box Saturday Night" is a song written by Al Stillman and Paul McGrane that was recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in 1942 on RCA Victor with vocals by Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, and The Modernaires. The song was from the 1942 production Stars on Ice.
"The Lamplighter's Serenade" is a song written by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics). The construction of the song was unusual and did not conform to the normal AABA pattern. Instead, Carmichael used an ABA format that proved most effective.