Hope You’re In The Mood For Music

The best song of the 20s, Al Jolson’s immortalized “Swanee”, came out in 1920 and gradually grew in popularity over the decade until it became the household favorite for every party. The “Roaring Twenties” were known for their exuberance and vigor. The 20s were a time when life was a party and everyone was just along for the ride. Unfortunately, it all came crashing down, quite literally, when the New York Stock Exchange prices collapsed across the board in October 1929. This led the 1930s to be riddled with the ramifications of the Great Depression. Adding the Holocaust and the start of World War II to this decade shows just how dark this time was in our history. As is often the case when times get hard, people tried to distract themselves from what was going on around them. Music was the perfect distraction from the darkness that had enveloped the decade.

That is why, “In The Mood” by Glenn Miller gained immediate popularity after its recording in 1939 and became the most popular song of the 30s, according to Digital Dream Door. Glenn Miller accomplished in a year what took Jolson a decade to do. He also managed to get “In The Mood” on National Public Radio’s (NPR) 100 most important American musical works of the 20^th century list, an achievement that Jolson’s “Swanee” failed to realize.

In fact, Miller went far above and beyond what Jolson did with “Swanee”. This song gave him the popularity and proclaimed title “King of Swing”. Now just like how Jolson did not write “Swanee”, Glenn Miller did not come up with “In The Mood”. However, it would be foolish to say that the credit should not all be or mostly given to Miller for this masterpiece. No, he did not compose the piece, Joe Garland did that. But, without Miller the piece would have been an utter failure. In fact, it was. The Hayes band initially did a recording for “In The Mood” in February of 1938 with Decca Records (a full 18 months before Miller’s recording). Later that same year, Artie Shaw, a renowned bandleader and “King of the Clarinet” took a stab at the song, lengthening the piece slightly in the hopes of drawing more attention to it. He failed. Finally, after two failed attempts to get the song up and running, Glenn Miller worked his magic. Increasing the pace of the song and altering the solos, “In The Mood” soared to the top of the charts for 13 straight weeks and even made it into a film, Sun Valley Serenade.

Now, I may have presented the facts in a way that indicate that Glenn Miller deserves the credit for the popularity of the song. However, that is not entirely true. There is a distinct riff that keeps reoccurring throughout the piece. It can be identified by its notable four beat call and response pattern. This riff, while delightful to the ear, is a bit controversial in determining who deserves credit for this catchy tune. In the song “Tar Paper Stomp” by Wingy Manone, the same riff can be heard just in a different tone. The same thing goes for Fletcher Henderson’s “Hot and Anxious” except the difference here is that the riff is slowed down. Just to add to the list, “There’s Rhythm In Harlem” by the Mills Blue Rhythm Band took that riff and sped it up in an almost unrecognizable fashion. Clearly, Glenn Miller was not the first one to use this musical theme. As people were nonchalant in their attitudes towards copyright during this time period, Miller was able to take the musical idea and throw it into his own work. Yes, there were slight alterations, but the question still stands. Is Glenn Miller really the “King of Swing” or just a simple copycat with enough fame to shoot him to the top? Whatever he is, Miller ushered in one of the best musical pieces of the 20^th century and for that I thank him.