| Hoagy Carmichael |
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Biography | ||
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Born: November 22, 1899 Hometown: Bloomington, Indiana Instrument: Pianist/Composer Music Training: His mother was a piano player Bands and Orchestras: Signature Song: "Stardust" Hoagy Carmichael biography: He was the son of a part-time electrician father and a piano playing mother. Young Hoagy would tag along as his mother played for various local church, social and circus functions absorbing as much as he could about the music his mother played. After the family settled in Indianapolis in 1916 Hoagy came under the influence of an African-American piano player by the name of Reginald DuValle. Duvalle gave him the following advice: "Never play anything that ain't right." After finishing high school Hoagy enrolled at the University of Indiana where according to his own memoirs he majored in girls and hot music. It was here that his professional music career got started when he formed the group Carmichael's Collegians. The group played both on campus and throughout the Indiana and Ohio region. When a young cornetist out of Davenport, Iowa Bix Beiderbecke came to Indiana University in the spring of 1924 Carmichael booked him for a series of fraternity dances. He also wrote for him his first musical composition "Free Wheeling" which Beiderbecke eventually recorded for Gennett Records under the new title "Riverboat Shuffle." A few years later Carmichael also got a chance to record for Gennett Records. The recording was an up tempo version of a song he had written called "Star Dust." In 1925 he finally got his Bachelor's degree from Indiana and the following year his Law degree. He moved to West Palm Beach, FL where he hung out his shingle and began his law practice, but that lasted until he heard a recording of his composition "Washboard Blues" which caused him to change his mind and pursue a full time career in music. In order to achieve his goals he left Indiana and moved to New York City where he worked for a brokerage house while he wrote songs at night and made the acquaintance of musicians like the Dorsey brothers, Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. He also met another hopeful young composer, from Savannah, Ga, by the name of Johnny Mercer. The duo began writing songs together including the big 1933 hit "Lazy Bones." In 1929 Mills Music Company of New York published "Star Dust." Later that year Mills had lysricist Mitchell Parrish add lyrics to the melody, but still the song did not attract attention. It wasn't until bandleader Isham Jones recorded a slow version of the tune that it began to attract attention. During this period he also wrote jazz standards "Rockin Chair" and "Lazy River." In 1931 he was admitted into ASCAP. In 1936 he got married and moved to Hollywood. There he teamed with lyricist Frank Loesser to write such songs as "Two Sleepy People," "Small Fry," and "Heart and Soul." After a bit part as a piano player in the movie Topper he received roles in other movies like To Have and Have Not, How Little We Know, The Best Years of Our Lives 1946, Canyon Passage 1945, which helped garner him a hit with his rendition of "Ole Buttermilk Sky," and Young Man with a Horn 1950 a movie loosely based on the life of his friend Bix Beiderbecke who had passed away in 1931. During the 1940s his career took numerous paths as movie actor, radio star, recording artist and author. A collaboration with Johnny Mercer on "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" earned him a Oscar in 1951. The change in music tastes which took place during the 1950s marked the end of his success as a composer, however, many artists of the new music genre would draw on his compositions of the past for material. Ray Charles won a Grammy for his rendition of "Georgia," The Platters, as well as, Billy Ward and the Dominoes hit the charts with "Star Dust" as did the Cleftones with "Heart and Soul." During the late 50s he had numerous television roles including a dramatic role on the western Laramie. In 1971 he published a collection of songs for children called Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop. Died: December 27, 1981
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