[Publius]

THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

HAROLD ARLEN

Composing wasn’t Hal’s cup of tea; he wanted to be a performer. Bent on a singing career, Hal considered arranging and piano playing to be the means to that end. Although his unique singing style and great sense of humor began to attract attention in the mid-1920s, his ability to arrange was still the draw. But Hal was determined to sing.

Bandleader Arnold Johnson liked the new sound that Harold Arlen was able to put into his orchestrations but understood that if he wanted Arlen the arranger, he would have to take Arlen the singer as well. As a member of the Arnold Johnson Band, Hal arranged several tunes for a revue called “The Great White Scandals” and even got to sing. However, the arrangement grind was becoming too much, and because singing was only incidental to the work he was doing, Hal left the band and struck out on his own as a single act in vaudeville. With a distinct style, his popularity began to grow and he was finally doing what he really loved.

”THE ALBUM OF MY DREAMS”

Although Hal lacked interest in song writing, he met with substantial success. In 1929, he composed “The Album of My Dreams” to lyrics by Lou Davis, and the song became a hit when recorded by Rudy Vallee.

Rudy Vallee: “The Album of My Dreams”

[mylife]

People are funny critters.

Miss Janice played the VFW hall last night.

Ribeye steak dinner and all.

A Noble attempt but she may do better at breakfast

[mylife]

Janice is good at threading themes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvinktDyaCg

[left that other site]

Van Morrison started out as an arranger too.

And we KNOW how that ended up! :-)

I like Harold Arlen a LOT! Thank you for your efforts. They ARE appreciated.