Hoagy Carmichael

Howard Hoagland “Hoagy” Carmichael (b. Bloomington, November 22, 1899 – d. Rancho Mirage, California, December 27, 1981) – Songwriter, singer, pianist, actor, and bandleader. As a child, his most important musical influence was his mother Lida, who played piano for silent movies and parties. At age six, Hoagy started playing the piano and singing and got more serious about his craft in high school. During college at Indiana University, he formed an eight-member dance band called the Collegians, whose gigs helped put him through school. Although Carmichael completed law school at Indiana University in 1926 and eventually passed the Indiana boards, his passion for music trumped any possibility of a successful law career. Important influences early on were Reginald DuValle, who taught him the essence of jazz in Indianapolis around 1917; Bix Beiderbecke, who crossed paths with Hoagy in Chicago and inspired him to write “Man With a Horn” (1940); and Louis Armstrong, who met a college-aged Hoagy in Chicago and later popularized some of his songs. Providing vocals and the piano accompaniment, Carmichael recorded “Star Dust” at Richmond’s Gennett Records in 1927 and thus boosted his career. Following an unsuccessful attempt to make it in Hollywood, he moved in New York City in 1929, and his songs were adapted nicely into the up and coming swing style. With royalties pouring in, he tried his luck again in 1935 with a move to Hollywood, where he signed with Paramount for $1,000 a week and started his musical partnership with lyricist Johnny Mercer. Carmichael himself appeared in fourteen films—usually performing one of his songs. With the advent of rock-roll in the 1950s, his songwriting style fell out of favor; however, many of his tunes were already cemented into the standard repertory of jazz and American popular song. Among his many unforgettable contributions to the American Songbook are the aforementioned “Stardust” (1927), “Georgia on My Mind” (1930), “Heart and Soul” (1938), “Rockin’ Chair” (1930), “Skylark” (1941), and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” (1950).