Today in Music (1939): Glenn Miller “Moonlight Serenade” charted

Moonlight Serenade Glenn Miller

Writer(s): Glenn Miller (music), Mitchell Parish (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 29, 1939 Peak: 3 PM, 6 HP, 9 GA, 12 UK (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 12.2 video, 59.34 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Glenn Miller was born in 1904 in Iowa. He began life as a professional musician playing trombone with Boyd Senter’s band in 1921-22. He was with Ben Pollack’s band from 1926-28 as the musical director and then worked with Benny Goodman, Red Nichols, and the Dorsey Brothers before becoming a key member of Ray Noble’s first American band in 1935. He became a band leader in 1938 and after that endeavor flopped, he started fresh in 1939. SS The new band was notable for its “trademark clarinet-reed sound.” SS They did a version of Frankie Carle’s “Sunrise Serenade” which charted in April 1939, reaching #7. PM For the flip side, the band recorded a song Miller originally composed as “Now I Lay Me Down to Weep” in 1935 while working with Noble. SS Miller created the song “as an exercise in harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration.” SS Miller had started using the song in 1938 as his radio theme for NBC Blue Network, although its title wasn’t known to the public. SS In 1939, Robbins Music, who had bought the melody, tasked Mitchell Parish, who’d written the words for “Stardust,” to lend his lyrical talents to the song. It was originally called “Wind in the Trees” but Abe Olman, the professional manager at Robbins, suggested titling the new song “Moonlight Serenade” to complement the band’s cover of “Sunrise Serernade.” SS “Moonlight Serenade” features the distinctive arranging style of Miller and Wilbur Schwartz on clarinet. TY2 Music historian Steve Sullivan says no band’s theme song was more beloved than Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade,” although his later song, “In the Mood,” would become the definitive Glenn Miller classic. SS Miller himself said, “’Moonlight’ is my baby and still my favorite in the book.” SS Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 136. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 187-9. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 243. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 309. Related Links: First posted 1/31/2024.