"When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" | |
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![]() "When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" by Clark Randall featuring Glenn Miller, Brunswick 7415,1935. | |
Single by Clark Randall and his Orchestra | |
A-side | "Troublesome Trumpet" |
Released | 1935 |
Recorded | 1935 |
Genre | Big band, jazz |
Length | 2:52 |
Label | Brunswick |
Songwriter(s) | Glenn Miller |
"When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" is a 1935 big band and jazz song written by Glenn Miller. The song was released as a 78 single by Clark Randall and his Orchestra on Brunswick.
"When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" was released as a Brunswick 10inch 78 single in 1935 as Brunswick 7415 backed with "Troublesome Trumpet". [1]
"When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" was a novelty song composed and recorded by Glenn Miller in 1935 when he was a member of the Clark Randall Orchestra, which featured Bob Crosby, Gil Rodin, Nappy Lamare, and singer Frank Tennille, the father of Toni Tennille of the Captain and Tennille, whose pseudonym was Clark Randall. [2]
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. 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.
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. The recording is also on Bob Crosby & His Orchestra. Rarities No. 41, a vinyl LP album, catalogue number 41, which was released on Rarities Records, Copenhagen, Denmark, appearing as "When Icky Morgan Plays His Organ".
The personnel on this recording session were: Hilton Nappy Lamare, vocal on side A, "Troublesome Trumpet"; Clark Randall and his orchestra featuring: Clark Randall, vocal on side B, "When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ"; Charlie Spivak, Yank Lawson, trumpet; Glenn Miller, Larry Altpeter, trombone; Matty Matlock, clarinet/alto sax; Gil Rodin, alto sax; Eddie Miller, clarinet/tenor sax; Deane Kincaide, tenor sax; Gil Bowers, piano/organ; Hilton Nappy Lamare, guitar; Pete Peterson, string bass; and Ray Bauduc, drums. [3] The song was recorded in New York City on March 15, 1935. The matrix number is B 17048. The matrix number for "Troublesome Trumpet" is B 17047 so "When Icky Morgan Plays the Organ" was the B side. The song is listed as "Novelty Fox Trot with Vocal Interludes" with the songwriting credit by Glenn Miller.
Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombone player, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. His civilian band, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra were one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big band era. His military group, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was also popular and successful.
Ben Pollack was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, and Harry James. This ability earned him the nickname the "Father of Swing".
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George Robert Crosby was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younger brother of famed singer and actor Bing Crosby. On TV, Bob Crosby guest-starred in The Gisele MacKenzie Show. He was also a regular cast member of The Jack Benny Program, on both radio and television, taking over the role of bandleader after Phil Harris' departure. Crosby hosted his own afternoon TV variety show on CBS, The Bob Crosby Show (1953–1957). Crosby received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for television and radio.
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"Room 1411" is a 1928 instrumental composed by Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman and released as a Brunswick 78 by Benny Goodman's Boys. The song was Glenn Miller's first known composition and was an early collaboration between Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, who would become the most successful bandleaders of the Big Band Era during the 1930s and 1940s.
Annie's Cousin Fannie, which is sometimes listed as "Annie's Cousin Fanny", is a 1934 song composed by Glenn Miller and recorded by The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra for Brunswick and Decca Records. The Dorsey Brothers released two versions of the song in 1934 and 1935.
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Community Swing is a swing jazz instrumental composed and recorded by Glenn Miller and released as a Brunswick 78 single in 1937 by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.
"Harlem Chapel Chimes" is a 1935 jazz instrumental composed by Glenn Miller. The song was released as an A-side 78 single by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra.
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Stanley Aubrey Wrightsman was an American jazz pianist.
The Tune Twisters was an American jazz vocal trio founded in 1934 as The Freshmen by Andy Love, Robert "Bob" Wacker, and Jack Lathrop, who also played guitar. They were featured on radio broadcasts and recorded with jazz artists that included (i) Ray Noble in 1935, (ii) Bob Crosby in 1935, (iii) Glenn Miller in 1937, and (iv) Adrian Rollini in 1938. The Tune Twisters performed in the 1937 Broadway production, Between the Devil, singing "Triplets." The production ran from December 22, 1937, to March 12, 1938. During the audition, the Tune Twisters were known as the Savoy Club Boys. Lathrop was a member of the Tune Twisters in 1939 when they recorded the first radio jingle of its kind for Pepsi – "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel"). The trio also performed in two 1935 films, Sweet Surrender and Melody Magic, the latter directed by Fred Waller. Gene Lantham, in 1940, replaced Lathrop, who went on to become guitarist and vocalist with Glenn Miller.