By John Edward Hasse, Wall Street Journal | Imagine a law-school graduate who works on Wall Street but ends up becoming one of America’s most beloved songwriters. That’s the improbable journey of Hoagy Carmichael, the man behind such timeless songs as “Georgia on My Mind,” “Skylark” and “Star Dust.” With melodies that are instantly recognizable yet uniquely his, Carmichael’s music has woven itself into the fabric of American culture.
Born Hoagland Carmichael, on Nov. 22, 1899, in Bloomington, Ind., he grew up with the dawn of a new century and the rise of ragtime. Like Duke Ellington, born the same year in Washington, Carmichael reveled in the vibrant rhythms of the era. An early mentor, Reginald DuValle, an African-American pianist from Indianapolis, advised him to “never play anything that ain’t right. You may not make any money, but you’ll never get hostile with yourself.” Carmichael took those words to heart, pursuing a musical voice that was distinctively “right” in its authenticity.
He earned a law degree from Indiana University but was increasingly drawn to music. By his 20s, jazz had fully captured his imagination, and he began composing pieces, such as “Riverboat Shuffle,” that reflected this new American idiom. In 1929, he moved to New York, where he worked in a brokerage firm by day and mingled with jazz musicians by night, recording as singer or pianist with such talents as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.
Carmichael’s foremost gift was melody, as “Star Dust,” “How Little We Know” and “The Nearness of You” attest. In jazz-influenced pieces like “Lazy River,” “Memphis in June” and “Baltimore Oriole,” he created themes that move through unexpected intervals, cover a wide vocal range, and reflect an instrumental influence. Even the movie song “Two Sleepy People” incorporates jazz phrasing. Many of his themes use few repeated notes, though “Rockin’ Chair” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well” are notable exceptions.
His two greatest pieces, “Star Dust” and “Skylark,” feature his most sophisticated lines. They sound as if Carmichael magically caught elegant improvisations of his friend and idol, cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, in midair and pasted them onto paper.
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Read more of Mr. Carmichael here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/opinion-hoagy-carmichael-at-125-a-stardust-sprinkled-songsmith/
Mr. Hasse is curator emeritus of American music at the Smithsonian. He is the author-producer of the book-and-three-CD set “The Classic Hoagy Carmichael.”
Photo: Hoagy Carmichael | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoagy_Carmichael#/media/File:Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1930 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.
From Wikipedia:
Carmichael composed several hundred songs, including 50 that achieved hit record status. He is best known for composing four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: “Stardust” (1927), with lyrics by Mitchell Parish, “Georgia on My Mind” (1930), with lyrics by Stuart Gorrell, “The Nearness of You” (1937), with lyrics by Ned Washington, and “Heart and Soul” (1938), with lyrics by Frank Loesser.
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Carmichael’s first major song with his own lyrics was “Rockin’ Chair,” recorded by Louis Armstrong and Mildred Bailey, and eventually with his own hand-picked studio band (featuring Beiderbecke, Bubber Miley, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Bud Freeman, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, and Gene Krupa) on May 21, 1930. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoagy_Carmichael
Opinion | Hoagy Carmichael at 125: A Stardust-Sprinkled Songsmith
