[Dixielandjazz] More On "In The Mood" and Miller

[Bill Haesler]

Kevin Yeates wrote [in part]:
> On the off-chance there are other lurkers like myself who are not as 
> well informed, all this talk of "In the Mood" reminded me
> of "Tar Paper Stomp".  It was writen well before "In the Mood" and 
> really drives home the looseness of the
> copyright laws at the time. One can say that "Tar Paper Stomp" 
> inspired "In the Mood", but I personally think there is a bit mroe > than
> "inspiration" from "Tar Paper Stomp" in "In the Mood".

Dear Kevin,
As you may have expected, this one came up on the list a few years ago.
At that time I prepared a summary of the history of "In The Mood".
Here is an update of it, but be warned, it is very long.
Kind regards,
Bill.

Some chronological facts regarding the evolution of the “In The Mood” 
riff, up to the Glenn Miller 1939 versions.
1.  “Tar Paper Stomp [Wingy’s Stomp]” (Joe Manone).  Rec. Barbecue Joe 
Hot Dogs. 28 Aug 1930.
2.  “Hot And Anxious” (Horace Henderson). Rec. Fletcher Henderson Orch. 
19 March 1931. (The familiar ‘In the Mood’ riff is only used once.
3.  “There’s Rhythm In Harlem” (Joe Garland). Rec. Mills Blue Rhythm 
Band. 9 July 1935.
4.  “In The Mood” (arr. Joe Garland). Rec. Edgar Hayes Orch. 17 Feb 
1938. (I do not have this so do not know who gets composer credit or 
whether it expands on the now-familiar riff.)
5.  In June 1938 “In The Mood” was copyrighted by reedman/arranger Joe 
Garland.
6.  “Jumpy Nerves” (Manone-Dale). Wingy Manone Orch. 26 April 1939.
(Pianist Jimmy Dale was a composer, ASCAP member and an arranger for 
music publishers from 1929. On this version Wingy follows the 1930 “Tar 
Paper Stomp” pattern where the ‘In The Mood’ theme is stated twice. 
Maybe Wingy was making a point by recording it again at this time. But 
why rename it? In his autobiography (1948) Wingy wrote about his 
compositions and included the comment: " 'Tar Paper Stomp' which was 
later 'In The Mood', and I got robbed out of it."
7.  “In The Mood” was also played and broadcast by Gene Krupa (Nov 
1938) and Artie Shaw (several times in Dec 1938).  In 1974 George Simon 
wrote that Joe Garland had originally given his arrangement to Artie 
Shaw but that Artie could never recorded it because it was longer that 
the usual 3 minute 20 seconds maximum for a 78 disc. I have one of the 
long Shaw broadcast versions on LP/CD. Glenn Miller rearranged the tune 
by cutting out the 32 bar parts in Garland’s arrangement and 
concentrating on the 12 bar riff.)
8.  “In The Mood” (credit unknown) Van Alexander Swingtime Band. Aug 
1939.
9.  In July 1939, according to Andy Razaf in 1992, at Glenn Miller’s 
invitation Razaf provided ‘lyrics’ to “In The Mood" which were the 
basis for the ‘fills’ characteristic of Miller’s version.)
10.  First appearance on the Miller orch 'playlist': Friday 28 July 
1939 (Some discos list 26 July). Glen Island Casino, New Rochelle, NY.
This 4.50 minute performance (which I have) has been reissued.
11.  “In The Mood” (Andy Razaf-Joe Garland). Rec. Glenn Miller Orch for 
Victor in NY. 1 Aug 1939.
On 23 Aug 1939 Miller closed at the Glen Island Casino after a 
record-breaking season before a packed out 1200 fans. "ITM" was 
featured.
12. The tune was next featured publicly by Miller at a special free 
ASCAP swing concert at Carnegie Hall NY on 6 Oct 1939.
Paull Whiteman, Fred Waring and Benny Goodman shared the bill, with 
Miller closing the concert. The Miller and Goodman segments are on 
LP/CD which I have. Miller introduces it with "Now, our latest 
recording,  “In The Mood”.
13. The next Miller public performance was on Thurs 16 Nov 1939 at 
Meadowbank Ballroom, Cedar Grove, NJ part of which was broadcast on 
WJZ. They apparently closed with “In The Mood”  with 5 endings.

It therefore seems that until Ed Garland’s arrangement, and his 
naming/copywriting of “In The Mood”, earlier recordings only stated the 
familiar riff briefly.
Wingy  Manone certainly set it all in motion in 1930. But where he got 
the riff from from we may never know. Probably from when he was a kid 
in New Orleans.

Further to the above "In The Mood" summary a local researcher mate of 
mine, the late Mike Sutcliffe, drew my attention to a longish article 
by Tom Myrick in the Summer 1991 IAJRC Journal (which I had all the 
time!).
Mr Myrick covers basically what I have summarised above.
However, two additional items from his article may be of interest,
* Andy Razaf's lyrics are on the sheet music of "In The Mood" published 
by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.
[Does any DJMLer have them?]
* On the Al Donahue orch version of "In The Mood" (recorded for 
Vocalion on 8 Nov 1939 - 4 months after the first Miller outing) 
vocalist Paula Kelly sings the Razaf lyrics on record for the first 
time. [Does anyone have this?] Although Ms Kelly was to join Glenn 
Miller's orch in March 1941 neither she, nor anyone else, got to sing 
on a Glenn Miller version of "In The Mood".
Mr Myrick's IAJRC article also mentions that, in a 1972 interview by 
George W Kay at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Wingy Manone says [in 
part], "'Tar Paper Stomp" was my tune and I didn't copyright it. That 
was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. That tune was later 
developed into "In The Mood". Glenn Miller got the credit and promised 
to pay me but he was killed overseas in the war."
Mr Myrick also quotes from Variety (4 Dec 1940):
    UNTANGLE 'IN THE MOOD'.
Joe Garland, also Wingy Manone, Collect In Settlement.
   Mixup over the song "In The Mood" was settled last week when its 
writer, Joe Garland, was paid approximately $3,500 in back royalties 
and Wingy Manone, Bandleader, received about $500 to settle his claim 
of infringement. Garland is sax player and sub-leader of the Louis 
Armstrong Band. "In The Mood", as recorded by Glenn Miller, is one of 
the records generally credited with helping to shove that band to the 
top last year.
   Argument and subsequent legal troubles came about when Manone filed a 
claim against Garland and the Lewis Music Co., claiming that "Mood" 
infringed on his "Tar Paper Stomp". Lewis transferred its rights to the 
song to Shapiro-Bernstein supposedly because it wasn't in a position to 
cope with Manone's claim. Transferring the rights, however, somehow 
confused the respective companies on how much was owed Garland in 
royalties on the tune. He enlisted legal aid of Goldfarb,Mirenberg & 
Vallon to represent him.

Now to the lyrics.
I have two versions of the lyrics for “In The Mood”.

First set:
"In The Mood". (1939. Andy Razaf-Joe Garland)
“Who's the lovin' daddy with the beautiful eyes
What a pair o' lips, I'd like to try 'em for size
I'll just tell him, "Baby, won't you swing it with me"
Hope he tells me maybe, what a wing it will be
So, I said politely "Darlin' may I intrude"
He said "Don't keep me waitin' when I'm in the mood"

First I held him lightly and we started to dance
Then I held him tightly what a dreamy romance
And I said "Hey, baby, it's a quarter to three
There's a mess of moonlight, won't-cha share it with me"
"Well" he answered "Baby, don't-cha know that it's rude
To keep my two lips waitin' when they're in the mood"

In the mood, that's what he told me
In the mood, and when he told me
In the mood, my heart was skippin'
It didn't take me long to say "I'm in the mood now"

In the mood for all his kissin'
In the mood his crazy lovin'
In the mood what I was missin'
It didn't take me long to say "I'm in the mood now"

Second set (which I recall from when I wuz a youth in the 40s):
The Andrews Sisters version - according a Google reference.
“In The Mood.”
“Mr. What-ya-call-em what you doin' tonight
Hope you're in the mood because I'm feeling just right
How's about a corner with a table for two
Where the music's mellow in some gay rendezvous
There's no chance romancin' with a blue attitude
You got to do some dancin' to get in the mood

Sister What-ya-call-em that's a kindly idea
Something swing-a-dilla would be good to my ear
Ev'rybody must agree the dancin' has charm
When you have the certain one you love in your arms
Steppin' out with you will be a sweet interlude
A builder-up with that will put me in the mood

In the mood - that's it I got it
In the mood - your ear will spot it
In the mood - oh, what a hot hit
Be alive and get the jive
You've got to learn how

Hep, hep, hep - hep like a hepper
Pep, pep, pep - hot as a pepper
Step, step, step - step like a stepper
We're muggin' and huggin'
We're in the mood now

Mr. What-ya-call-em all you needed was fun
You can see the wonders that this evenin' has done
Your feet were so heavy 'til they hardly could move
Now they're light as feathers and you're right in the groove
You were only hungry for some musical food
You're positively, absolutely in the mood

Sister What-ya-call-em I'm indebted to you
It all goes to show what good influence can do
Never felt so happy and so fully alive
Seems that jammin' jumpin' is a powerful jive
Swingeroo is giving me a new attitude
My heart is full of rhythm and I'm in the mood

In the mood that's it 'cause I got it and I'm
In the mood your ear will spot it when you're
In the mood bobbity bop a diddly-bop-a-bop-a
Be alive and get the jive
You've got to learn how

Hep, hep, hep, you're hep like a hepper full of
Pep, pep, pep, you're hot as a pepper and you
Step, step, step, step step like a stepper
We're muggin' and now we're huggin'
'Cause we're in the mood.”

The plot thickens!!!
The words for the first set of "In The Mood" match exactly those on an 
Andrews Sisters Laser LP I have, which (based on the backing band) is 
probably from the 1950s. My early research indicated that the Sisters 
sang "In The Mood" with the Glenn Miller band on his Chesterfield Show, 
and is on a 2CD set featuring 'The Andrew Sisters with the Glenn Miller 
Orchestra' [from Dec 1939-March 1940]. I now  have this CD. No vocal!
So, did the girls ever record  “In The Mood” during the 40s? I have 
been unable to find evidence of this.
The Andrews Sisters left Decca in early 1951 and split up in 1953. They 
reunited in 1956, signed with Capitol and recorded for this company up 
to 1958. They then recorded for Dot in 1963-64 but broke up again in 
1966 when Laverne took ill. She died the next year.
The Laser LP I have is probably from the Dot sessions, based on the 
style of the band and the recording sound.
The still unanswered questions are:
Which set of lyrics did Andy Razaf actually write?
Where did the second set of lyrics come from? Who wrote them? Did the 
Andrews Sisters ever sing them? If not, then who did?
I have a reference to an Andrews Sisters recording: 7 July 1952  "In 
The Mood" (L6837) Decca 28482. Released 1953.
But I have yet to hear it.

That is all I have at the moment.
Bill Haesler.