Origins & Evolution of "In the Mood"

[Posaunus]

There was a recent interesting thread about "In the Mood" which many of us have played all too often:
https://trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php? ... od#p127852

Joe Garland is often credited with composing this piece, but that's not quite true. He did copyright his version in 1938, but the tune existed in various forms long before that. My curious saxophonist friend Jeff dug into this, established a history, with audio recorded evidence of many versions from 1925 to 2007, and created a 2-CD set of these renditions.

Here's a list of the tracks on his first CD:

1. The first known recording of the main riff in “In the Mood” occurred in 1925, in Clarinet Getaway, recorded by a New Orleans band named Jimmy O'Bryant's Washboard Wonders. It was composed by Jimmy Blyth.
2. Tar Paper Stomp (aka Wingy's Stomp) by Joe (Wingy) Manone. They were a New Orleans band known as Barbecue Jones and His Hot Dogs. 1930.
3. Hot & Anxious, by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. 1931. Arranged by Horace Henderson.
4. Hot & Anxious, by the Don Redman Orchestra. 1932. Don had been the alto sax player with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.
5. There's Rhythm in Harlem, composed by Joe Garland, the sax player in the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, led by Lucky Millinder. 1935.
6. In The Mood, played by the Edgar Hayes Orchestra, with Joe Garland playing sax in that band. It was 1938, and Joe copyrighted the song then.
7. Hot String Beans, played by Joe Marsala and his band. 1938.
8. Jumpy Nerves, played by Wingy Manone's Band. 1939.
9. In The Mood, Joe Garland arranged, played by Artie Shaw. Recorded from a radio broadcast; not released on a record. 1938.
10. In The Mood, Joe Garland arrangement, by the Glenn Miller Band. 1939. Andy Razaf added lyrics,
11. In The Mood, by the Swingfield Big Band in 1940, with Joe Garland leading.
12. In The Mood by Ernst van t'Hoff's band in Germany. 1941.
13. In The Mood by the Four King Sisters. 1939.

It continues on, with the last cut on the second CD being:
32. In The Mood – The Swingin’ Fireballs (Germany) 2007

It's a kick to listen to these, and hear how the tune evolved over the years.

And I must admit that, however tired my bandmates may be of playing the classic Joe Garland / Glenn Miller arrangement, our audiences always love it! You can't argue with popularity, so (as soon as we can once more perform in public) ... play it again and again, and enjoy it!

[BGuttman]

There are a lot of old standards that seem to get played time and time again. Mostly because the audiences like them. There are a lot of lesser known songs from the Swing era that nobody seems to play much -- mostly because they are really trashy. When I played with my Senior Center bands we played a lot of them, but rarely. The standards kept coming back again and again.

In the Mood is a lot like Intermission Riff. Both are collections of riffs that probably have been around forever. Doesn't make them less beloved by the fans, though.

Thanks for the thread.