Wednesday’s Word Association: Choo-Choo-Choosing the "Real" Chattanooga...

 

It’s probably no surprise that the early Duke Ellington tune Choo Choo made me think of other Choo Choo songs! Kind of a “word association” thing, I guess!

In any event, I would think that the most famous of all choo choos is the Chattanooga Choo Choo, made famous by the Mack Gordon/Harry Warren song introduced by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in the 1941 movie “Sun Valley Serenade” from 20^th Century Fox.

Let’s listen to Glenn’s recording on Bluebird Records:

 

That recording was an enormous hit in 1941, becoming the first record to sell a million copies in about 15 years. It was even awarded the first official gold record, with a literal record spray painted with gold paint presented to Glenn as a publicity stunt!

But you know what? I find it a little hard to listen to! Here’s why…

Many years ago, I came across a Glenn Miller LP (shown above) which was a promo item for Salada Foods ("That's Salada Tea!") and it's something of a mishmash of recordings. Mostly studio cuts of Bluebird/Victor singles, but it also included a track by Glenn’s AAF band and two soundtrack recordings!

The first track on side one was the soundtrack recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo from “Sun Valley Serenade” – the whole shootin’ match! The band part with Tex Beneke and The Modernaires (plus Paula Kelly) and the song and dance routine with Dorothy Dandridge and The Nicholas Brothers!

Here’s a video of the number in question:

 

Now, what really caught my ear is that the band portion is an extended arrangement, much longer than the 78-rpm single version. It includes Tex whistling and whatnot.

But it’s the second instrumental chorus that's not included on the single version that blew me away! Specifically, the smooth-as-silk saxes, which I now know are Hal McIntyre on alto, Tex on tenor, and Ernie Caceres on baritone, with Wilbur Schwartz and Al Klink supplying the clarinet flourishes on that particular extra chorus - Wilbur also plays alto and Al also plays tenor in that awesome sax section! 

This extra chorus comes after the instrumental of the bridge of the song. You expect the vocal to start if you're conditioned by the single version, but there's a cool extra chorus!

It’s not hyperbole to say that the extra 20-something seconds of that extra chorus was instrumental (yes, I went there) in turning me into a big band (and Miller) fan so many years ago (although I prefer not to do the math)!

So, the commercial single version of Chattanooga Choo Choo, only having about three and a half minutes to work with, really sounds to me like just a condensed version of Jerry Gray's “real” arrangement, with about a minute missing!

And to really get into the weeds, I like how Tex sings "All aboard... get aboard..." on the soundtrack version vs. "Get aboard... all aboard..." on the single version! Yeah, I know!

There’s actually a handy transition in the full soundtrack version where it goes from the band part to the dance part, so some reissues cut the track there, which is fine. Then at some point, the true stereo tracks of the songs from "Sun Valley Serenade" were found and issued (Yes, stereo in 1941!). To me that gives us the definitive version of Glenn Miller and his Orchestra playing Chattanooga Choo Choo!

Let’s listen to that version:

 

Yup, that’s the goods!

I have a couple of notes on the video clip…

I love seeing the band in action and the interplay between the musicians.

I like how Hal McIntyre (already looking like a future star bandleader) mouths something to Tex right before he gets up and starts whistling and how Glenn directs Tex over to sing with the Modernaires.

You also see at what point Paula Kelly (my sneaky MVP of the recording) joins in! (See more about Paula and the Mods and the actual original A-side of the platter here!)

It’s cool to see Billy May and teenage Ray Anthony (still around at age 103!) in the trumpet section and Glenn’s good pal Chummy McGregor on piano. (Not to "dis" John Payne, the movie’s leading man who portrayed the band’s pianist - he’s cool) and everyone else.

And only a couple of reaction scenes of Milton Berle and thankfully no dialogue over the music with Lyn Bari, who's steaming because Mr. Payne is MIA (which lets Chummy sit in at this "rehearsal") along with perceived romantic rival Sonja Henie, although if you've seen any movie ever made, it's no spoiler as to whom John Payne winds up with!

I like how the band is on one section of a big soundstage and Dorothy and the Nicholas Brothers are right on there on the left with their choo choo!

And what a fun number by those three. Dorothy Dandridge is best remembered, if at all, for various issues she had, but what a bundle of looks and talent she was! It’s unfortunate that the times didn’t allow her to become as big a star as her talent warranted.

And the Nicholas Brothers are just phenomenal! It’s great that this number (as well as the Kalamazoo number from “Orchestra Wives”) captures them in undiluted form!

Plus, it's a lot of fun to hear the band playing the accompaniment music, including a snazzy tenor sax bit from Tex!

Here's a link to another video of the movie scene, with the stereo track synced in:

So, anyway, yeah, I choo-choo-choose the soundtrack version!