May 7, 1941

A SIGNATURE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SESSION

GLENN MILLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Wednesday, May 7, 1941
1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
RCA BLUEBIRD RECORDING SESSION
Victor Studios
1016 North Sycamore Street
Hollywood, California

Glenn Miller and his Orchestra arrived in California on March 25, 1941, to film the 20th Century Fox production Sun Valley Serenade. While in Hollywood to work at Fox, the band broadcast their Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade programs from the CBS Vine Street Theater and played an engagement at the Hollywood Palladium. They also did three RCA Bluebird recording sessions at the Victor Hollywood Studio. Their May 7 recording date was the first of the sessions, followed on May 26 and May 28. It was an epic afternoon that produced Glenn’s best-selling hit and the first “Gold Record.”

“FOR THE FOLKS OUT HOME”

On a Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade broadcast over CBS a few weeks earlier, Glenn introduced a new tune “for the folks out home” at his alma mater in Boulder, Colorado. Consequently, the easy swing number, Boulder Buff warranted recording and Glenn waxed it on May 7. Previously, University of Colorado Boulder graduate Eugene Novello had brought the song that he had written to Glenn’s attention. Firstly, Miller thought it had merit but asked his talented free-lance African American arranger Fred Norman to clean it up. Subsequently, the result was a swing classic that features the distinctive sound of Billy May’s muted trumpet, the tenor sax of Al Klink and Chummy MacGregor’s piano. Moreover, the band would continue to feature the pleasantly swinging Boulder Buff and at a faster tempo on its radio broadcasts into 1942.

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Bluebird B-11163
BOULDER BUFF
(Eugene Novello-Fred Norman)
Fred Norman arrangement
Score 542

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BOULDER BUFF

“A HEP LITTLE PIGGY”

Firstly, the flip side of Bluebird 11163 with Boulder Buff is proof that Glenn Miller’s arrangers could polish and present any silly novelty tune with swinging good taste. RCA, Columbia, and Decca were in stiff competition for record sales. Moreover, their popular bands and singers “covered” or recorded each-others’ hit records. Booglie Wooglie Piggy was such a tune. The novelty was within the clear domain of the Will Bradley and Ray McKinley band and issued by them on Columbia. Meanwhile, both Will and Ray were close Miller friends, and, of course, the spirited Ray and his drums went on to propel the Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Band and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Glenn once told them, “You guys sure have the boogie woogie market covered.” However, Glenn’s RCA Bluebird record gave them fierce competition. Furthermore, Jerry Gray’s arrangement well represents classic ’40s hepcat jive and the Miller style.

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Bluebird B-11163
THE BOOGLIE WOOGLIE PIGGY
(Ray Jacobs)
Vocal refrain by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly and the Modernaires
Jerry Gray arrangement

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THE BOOGLIE WOOGLIE PIGGY

ALL ABOARD ON TRACK 29

The first reaction of Glenn and the band to the Sun Valley Serenade novelty was that “it stinks.” However, they were wrong because Chattanooga Choo Choo went on to become Glenn Miller’s signature hit. Following the release of the movie and the end of the radio industry ban on ASCAP-licensed music, Choo Choo would top the Billboard charts for nine straight weeks. Moreover, its popularity occurred exactly when America entered World War II. Furthermore, on the December 25, 1941, Chesterfield program, the city of Chattanooga made Glenn and the band honorary citizens. But that was not all. On the February 10, 1942, Chesterfield program, RCA presented Glenn with the first “gold record.” Consequently, the gold record is on permanent display by the Glenn Miller Archives at the University of Colorado Boulder Heritage Center. Furthermore, our Glenn Miller Gallery also displays his other gold records, courtesy of Sony Legacy.

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Bluebird B-11230
CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO
(From the 20th Century-Fox film “Sun Valley Serenade”)
(Mack Gordon-Harry Warren)
Vocal refrain by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly and the Modernaires
Jerry Gray band arrangement
Bill Conway and Hal Dickinson vocal arrangement
Score 582

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CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO

CLASSIC MILLER BALLAD

20th Century-Fox featured I Know Why (and So Do You) as the expected hit tune for Sun Valley Serenade. Moreover, it is a beautiful score that presents listeners with a classic Miller ballad. Likewise, the famous Miller reed section introduces a smooth vocal by Paula Kelly and the Modernaires. In the movie, the tune appropriately introduces the audience to the band with a grinning Miller appearing to know how popular that they really were. In conclusion, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra would go on to enjoy a successful California tour before returning east in June 1941.

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Bluebird B-11230
I KNOW WHY (AND SO DO YOU)
(From the 20th Century-Fox film “Sun Valley Serenade”)
(Mack Gordon-Harry Warren)
Vocal refrain by Paula Kelly and the Modernaires
Jerry Gray and Bill Finegan arrangement

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I KNOW WHY (AND SO DO YOU)

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I KNOW WHY (AND SO DO YOU)

Dennis M. Spragg of the Glenn Miller Collections, American Music Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder, the author of the definitive and critically praised book Glenn Miller Declassified, is Glenn Miller’s authorized biographer and archivist. He also serves as Historian of the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society. Discover Glenn Miller: