Hoagy Carmichael -composer-The following is excerpted from a biography written by John Edward Haase:-Hoagy Carmichael was born on November 22, 1899, in Bloomington, Indiana, the first child of Howard and Lida Mary Carmichael. His dad was an electrician while mom played piano for dances at local fraternity parties and at the silent movies with Hoagy tagging along and absorbing music from his mother. In 1916, the family moved to Indianapolis and when Hoagy was seventeen he came under the influence of a black pianist named Reginald DuValle, who gave him pointers on playing hot rag time and jazz. Carmichael sought out restaurants, night spots and brothels where he was allowed to sit in. He became a 'jazz mania' and listened to records and in 1919, took a trip to Chicago where he heard Louis Armstrong. He entered Indiana University, reveled in a growing passion for jazz and started his own group, Carmichael's Collegians and developed a reputation on campus and the region covering Indiana and Ohio. After Bix Beiderbecke came to Indiana University in the spring of 1924, the two became friends. Carmichael wrote his first piece, Free Wheeling, for Beidebecke who recorded it with his seven piece band for Gennett Records under the title, Riverboat Shuffle.Carmichael recorded Stardust on Halloween, 1927 as an up-tempo instrumental for Gennett Records and initially it was a dud. Hoagy earned his Bachelor's degree in 1925 and a law degree in 1926 at Indiana University. He practiced law in West Palm Beach, Florida but decided to give up law for good in favor of music. He left Indiana in 1929 and headed for New York City where he worked days for a brokerage house and wrote songs at night. He hung with the likes of Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong as well as Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden. He met the amazing Johnny Mercer and they began writing songs together. In January, 1929, the Mills Music company of New York published Stardust still as a wordless instrumental. Mitchell Parish, a lyricist working for Mills, added lyrics to the tune which was published by Mills in May of 1929. The tune still went nowhere. In May, 1930, bandleader Isham Jones recorded the song and slowed the tempo and this began the song's emergence as perhaps the greatest popular song ever written.
Carmichael was now writing songs destined to become standards, like Rockin' Chair (1930) and Lazy River (1931). From 1929 to 1934, Carmichael made 36 recordings for the Victor company, the nation's leading record label. He was recording with some of the great talents in jazz: Armstrong, Henry "Red" Allen, Beiderbecke, Goodman, Mildred Bailey and Teagarden. In 1931, Hoagy Carmichael was admitted to membership in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). With Beiderbecke's death in 1931, Carmichael began moving away from jazz toward the mainstream of songwriting.
In 1936, he married Ruth Meinardi of Winona Lake, Indiana. The couple had two sons, Hoagy Bix and Randy but the marriage ended in 1955. Carmichael moved to Hollywood and began working for Paramount. He teamed with lyriciast Frank Loesser for Two Sleepy People, Small Fry and Heart And Soul. In 1939, Carmichael teamed with Johnny Mercer for a Broadway musical, Walk With Music, his only foray into musical theater, but it closed quickly.
After a bit-part as a piano player in the 1937 film, Topper, he was given film roles in other movies, including To Have And Have Not (1942) in which Lauren Bacall introduced How Little We Know by Hoagy and Johnny Mercer and The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946. Carmichaels performance of Ole Buttermilk Sky in the film, Canyon Passage in 1945 helped to make that picture a success and in 1950, he had a role in Young Man With A Horn, a fictionalized life of his friend, Bix Beiderbecke.
In the 1940's, Carmichael's career featured his songwriting, his singing (he was recording for three labels), his movie acting and his radio appearances in his own series on three different networks. As an author, his first book of memoirs, The Stardust Road, was first published in 1946. Skylark, written with Johnny Mercer became a standard for vocalistsas well as jazz musicians. Another collaboration with Mercer, the 1951 film song In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening, earned Carmichael an Academy Award for best song. Although he continued to compose, he would have no more major successes as a songwriter. Rhythm and blues and rock and roll brought major changes in the public's taste in popular music in the 1950's. Desouite the changes, several of Carmichael's songs maintained a life of their own. Ray Charles made a huge hit and earned a Grammy award for his rendition of Georgia and in 1965, Carmichael's second book of memoirs, Sometimes I wonder, was issued. In the years that followed, Carmichael pursued television roles and in 1971, published a collection of songs he had written for children. In 1977, he married actress Wanda McKay and in 1979, Carnegie Hall held a tribute concert. In 1980, a stage production of Hoagy, Bix and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus, moved from England to the United States, playing in Indianapolis and Los Angeles.
After suffering a heart attack, Carmichael died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California on December 27, 1981. He was one of the first singer-songwriters in the age of mass media. Many of his melodies display the intsrumental influence of jazz and two of his greatest songs, Stardust and Skylark, reveal deep jazz influences: eloquent, lyrical, striking melodies that seem like Beiderbeckian solos captured for all-time.
song title: Ballad In Bluelyric by Irving Kahal
song title: Baltimore Oriolelyric by Paul Francis Webster
song title: Blue Orchidsmusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Come Easy Go Easy Lovelyric by Sunny Clapp
song title: Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chieflyric by Paul Francis Webster
song title: Ev'ntidemusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Georgia On My Mindlyric by Stuart Gorrell
song title: How Little We Knowlyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: I Get Along Without You Very Wellmusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: I Walk With Musiclyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Eveninglyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: Ivymusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Jubileelyric by Stanley Adams
song title: Judylyric by Sammy Lerner
song title: Lazy Rivermusic by Sidney Arodinlyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Lazy Boneslyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: Little Old Ladymusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Lyin' To Myselflyric by Stanley Adams
song title: Memphis In Junelyric by Paul Francis Webster
song title: Moon Country (Click Here for YouTube audio clip)
lyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: New Orleansmusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Ole Buttermilk Skylyric by Jack Brooks
song title: One Morning In Maylyric by Mitchell Parish
song title: Poor Old Joemusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Rockin' Chairmusic & lyric by Hoagy Carmichael
song title: Sing Me A Swing Song (And Let Me Dance)lyric by Stanley Adams
song title: Small Frylyric by Frank Loesser
song title: Skylarklyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: Stardustlyric by Mitchell Parish
song title: The Lamplighter's Serenadelyric by Paul Francis Webster
song title: The Nearness Of You (Click Here for YouTube audio clip: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)
lyric by Ned Washingtonsong title: The Old Music Master
lyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: The Rhumba Jumpslyric by Johnny Mercer
song title: Two Sleepy Peoplelyric by Frank Loesser
song title: Winter Moonlyric by Harold Adamson
