The Most Popular Big Band Hits Quiz

Answer: I'll Never Smile Again

This big hit almost never saw the light of vinyl. Carmen Marsten, the guitarist in Dorsey's band, knew Ruth Lowe, the song's composer and pestered Dorsey to record it. Dorsey initially passed it on to his friend Glenn Miller whose recorded version was an abject failure. Marsten did not relent. Dorsey tried a few more takes and liked none of them. Finally, Dorsey suggested that Sinatra sing the song with The Pied Pipers (Jo Stafford was a member of that quartet at the time) and offer a presentation that would appear that they were just singing casually around a piano at a friend's house. Click! A million seller!

Answer: Boo-hoo

Guy's brother, Carmen, wrote this song as he did for so many of the band's hits. He had the tune but was struggling with the lyrics for it. Originally, the title was "Let's Drink" to honor the end of prohibition a few years earlier. The beverage was too bitter! Then the title was "Gay Paree" with a new set of lyrics. Didn't work.

Then, Carmen was seeing off a lyricist friend, Edward Heyman, who was about to board a ship. He hummed the song to Heyman and as he was on the gangplank, Heyman turned back and yelled "boo-hoo". Those were the magic words to inspire Carmen and a hit was born. That's the story, anyway!

Answer: Amapola

Of the songs listed, "Amapola" was the first and biggest and set the formula by which the other songs would follow, thanks to staff arranger Tutti Camarata. This was "The Golden Formula" - a chorus by Bob Eberly, a chorus by Jimmy and the band and a concluding chorus by Helen O'Connell. "Green Eyes" and "Maria Elena" was a rare double sided hit record released right after "Amapola".

They were four week and six week #1's respectively. "Tangerine" was released a year later and also topped the charts for six weeks.

The words for "Amapola" were written by Albert Gamse, the music by Joseph M. Lacalle.

Answer: I've Heard That Song Before

The vocalist was Helen Forrest. The song was recorded on July 31, 1942, just a day before the American Federation of Musicians called for a ban on all recordings using musicians in a dispute over musician royalties. The strike would last until Sept. 18, 1943 for most record companies, until Nov. 11, 1944 for Victor and Columbia.

Back to the record itself, the composer Styne suggested that Forrest sing the song slowly as a torch singer might. James smiled slyly and then ran it off in a spirited up-tempo. A year later when Styne's jeans were jingling with his royalties, he knew he would never suggest music tempo to James again!

Answer: Daddy

"Daddy" was written by Bobby Troup. He was perhaps more famous as the songwriter who penned "Route 66" and as Dr. Early on the TV series "Emergency". Troup was attending U. of Pennsylvania at the time and a group called the Kurt Weil Quintet was performing the song regularly at The Embassy Club in Philadelphia. Apparently, Kaye heard the song, liked it and negotiated a contract with Troup for the rights to the song.

Answer: The Glory Of Love

The next line - "That's the story of, that's the glory of love". Helen Ward was Goodman's lead vocalist at the time and she sang on all of Goodman's 1936 #1 hits - and there were quite a few! "It's Been So Long", "Goody-Goody", "These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You" and "You Turned The Tables On Me" and of course, this song. Altogether, eighteen weeks worth of #1 hits! With so many other bands having records topping charts for ten and twelve weeks, it seems odd that the great Goodman's best was only six weeks.

Answer: Cocktails For Two

It is rather remarkable that Ellington's best known music today never made big dents on the charts when released. None of the other songs listed rose higher than #10 on the charts of the day. I'm speculating here but perhaps his stuff was deemed "too jazzy" for the era. Perhaps his records did not have national appeal and were only heard in areas where there was a significant Black population. Whatever, now they're classics!

Answer: My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time

This song was originally performed by Marion Hutton in the 1944 movie "In Society". If that version was ever released as a single, it went nowhere. Brown's version with Doris Day as the vocalist was the big hit. Day originally sang with Brown's band in 1940 but she left to start a family. Brown so coveted her voice for his band that he induced Day to return by offering to bring along her mother and young son whenever they were touring.

Answer: Beguine

"Begin The Beguine" was written by Cole Porter for his Broadway Revue "Jubilee" in 1935. The show was a rarity for Porter - a flop, and the song was more or less forgotten. One fellow remembered it though. Jerry Gray, Artie Shaw's arranger, liked it, fiddled around with the arrangement, persuaded Shaw to record it and bingo - an immortal hit.

In 1956, in a poll of Disc Jockeys, "Begin The Beguine" was voted the third favorite recording and the fifth favorite song of all time!

Answer: In The Mood

"In The Mood" began as a riff recorded in 1930 by Wingy Manone as "Tar Paper Stomp". He covered the song in 1939 under the title "Jumpy Nerves". In between, different arrangements of the same riff were recorded by Fletcher Henderson in 1931 ("Hot And Anxious") and in 1935 by The Mills Blue Rhythm Band ("There's Rhythm In Harlem"). Miller's version seems to have been a collaboration between himself, Joe Garland who was the leader of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and Eddie Durham who was the arranger for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.

I hope you enjoyed this quiz as much as I did in creating it. I was playing and listening to all these songs and many more while I was doing it!