Overview

Billy May was a self-taught musician and arranger. In 1938, he received his first big break arranging and playing trumpet; first, for the Charlie Barnet band, and in 1940, the band of Glenn Miller. Settling in Hollywood in 1943, his first of many big breaks in radio was playing in Ozzie Nelson's band for the Red Skelton Show. Shortly thereafter, May was asked by Nelson to be musical director to his new show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He was also fortunate to play in the orchestra and write arrangements for John Scott Trotter on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall. Billy May's earliest collaboration with Frank Sinatra produced Don't Fence Me In for broadcast on December 23, 1944. Capitol Records paired Billy May and Alan Livingston to initiate a series of children's recordings with arrangements and compositions such as Bozo the Clown and the exceedingly popular I Taut I Taw a Putty Tat. As a band leader and arranger, his signature included the prominent saxophone section glissando (sliding, or slurping) effect, and highly imaginative arrangements. His last great project was the documentation on record of swing era music, commissioned by Time-Life, and completed in 1973. The discography covers Billy May as arranger and composer from 1944-1998, as sideman and arranger for others, his work on radio, television, movies, and international appearances, his road band, recordings, both domestic and foreign, and his transcriptions. Data is cross-indexed by song title and artist.

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9780313307393

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Reviews

Splendid! This is an astounding example of excellent work, with an incredible amount of details on the recordings and also on the surrounding: people, studios, etc...A gold mine for the researcher. -Michael Ruppli Series Editor of Greenwood Press Discographies

Splendid! This is an astounding example of excellent work, with an incredible amount of details on the recordings and also on the surrounding: people, studios, etc...A gold mine for the researcher. -Michael Ruppli Series Editor of Greenwood Press Discographies This discography has long been needed. Jack Mirtle has done an outstanding job. -Bill Peterson President American Federation of Musicians ?I can only say what a wonderful treasure this book is.?-Journal of the International Sinatra Society ?This book proved to be an eye-opener....The book goes beyond just being a look it up reference as the compiler was in touch with Billy and there are many occassions where correspondence is cited. It makes for good, and often fun, reading. Billy May is much more amazing to me today than he was yesterday, and that is going some.?-IAJRC Journal I can only say what a wonderful treasure this book is. -Journal of the International Sinatra Society This book proved to be an eye-opener....The book goes beyond just being a look it up reference as the compiler was in touch with Billy and there are many occassions where correspondence is cited. It makes for good, and often fun, reading. Billy May is much more amazing to me today than he was yesterday, and that is going some. -IAJRC Journal

Author Information

JACK MIRTLE is a musician and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, and the University of Calgary, Alberta. He belongs to the American Federation of Musicians, the International Trumpet Guild, and the Big Band Academy of America, and is the author of Thank You Music Lovers: A Bio-Discography of Spike Jones and His City Slickers, 1941-1965 (Greenwood, 1986).

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