Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22,
1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and
bandleader. He is best known for composing the music for "Stardust",
"Georgia on My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and
"Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all
time.
American composer and author Alec Wilder wrote of Carmichael
in American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950 that he was the
"most talented, inventive, sophisticated and jazz-oriented" of the
hundreds of writers composing pop songs in the first half of the 20th century.
Hoagland Howard Carmichael, better known as Hoagy
Carmichael, was born on November 22, 1899, in Bloomington, Indiana. He was
raised in humble circumstances, supported by an electrician father, and by the
income his mother earned from playing the piano at silent movie showings and
local dances. Growing up, Carmichael was exposed to music not only through his
mother, but by listening to jazz artists in the African-American neighbourhood
of Bucktown.
A move to Indianapolis in 1916 led Carmichael to an
African-American pianist named Reginald DuValle, who became a mentor and an
instructor in jazz. Carmichael worked to develop his own jazz skills, leading a
jazz group while at Indiana University. During his time in college, he also
hired a band that featured cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who became a good friend.
Carmichael wrote his first song for Beiderbecke; originally
called "Free Wheeling," it was recorded as "Riverboat
Shuffle." Carmichael turned away from music to enrol in Indiana
University's law school, graduating in 1926. However, upon hearing a recording
of another of his songs, "Washboard Blues," Carmichael gave up on
practicing law to pursue a career in music.
By 1929, Carmichael
was writing songs in New York City. That same year, Mitchell Parrish penned
lyrics for a song that Carmichael had composed earlier, "Stardust,"
which became a hit in 1930. Today the song has been recorded more than 1,500
times—including by Louis Armstrong in 1931—and is a beloved standard.
Other well-known numbers that Carmichael worked on early in
his career include "Rockin' Chair," "Georgia on My Mind,"
"Up the Lazy River" and "Lazybones." On
"Lazybones," he worked with lyricist Johnny Mercer, who would become
a friend and frequent collaborator. In addition to having other musicians
interpret his songs, Carmichael also performed his own popular versions.
In 1936, Carmichael moved to California. The songs he wrote
for various films include "Heart and Soul," "The Nearness of
You" and "Two Sleepy People." In 1952, he and Mercer won an
Academy Award for their song "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the
Evening," from the movie Here Comes the Groom, starring Bing Crosby.
Carmichael also made onscreen appearances in films such as To Have and Have Not
(1944) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and The Las Vegas Story (1952).
As the 1950s progressed, Carmichael continued to write and
perform, but did not reach the same level of song writing success. Having
written one autobiography earlier in his career, The Stardust Road (1946), he
updated his memoirs with Sometimes I Wonder (1965). Carmichael took a break
from adult songs to publish a collection of children's tunes, Hoagy
Carmichael's Music Shop (1971).
Carmichael was selected to join the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1971. Divorced from his first wife—Ruth Meinardi, with whom he had two
children—in 1955, he married Wanda McKay in 1977. His many popular songs gave
him a steady income, so Carmichael was able to relax and play golf as he grew
older. He passed away at the age of 82 on December 27, 1981, in Rancho Mirage,
California.
(Info mainly from biography.com)
1 comment:
For Hoagy Carmichael – Classic Hoagy go here:
http://www93.zippyshare.com/v/nEc1Rzb9/file.html
1. Rockin' Chair
2. Two Sleepy People
3. Ole Buttermilk Sky
4. Hong Kong Blues
5. Lazy River
6. Memphis In June
7. Riverboat Shuffle
8. Huggin' and Chalkin'
9. New Orleans
10. Rampart Street Blues
11. I May Be Wrong
12. Georgia On My Mind
13. A Tune for Humming
14. Snowball
15. Don't Forget to Say No' Baby
16. Bessie Couldn't Help It
17. One Morning In May
18. Washboard Blues
19. Moon Country
20. Sing It Way Down Low
21. Mr. Music Master
22. Judy
23. Lazybones
24. Stardust
25. My Resistance Is Low
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