Chummy MacGregor
Encyclopedia
John Chalmers MacGregor better known as Chummy MacGregor, a pianist and composer, was Glenn Miller
’s pianist from 1936-1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)", and "Slumber Song".
. Before joining with Glenn Miller, MacGregor played with Irving Aaronson
. He played in Glenn Miller’s first unsuccessful band in 1936-1937. He remained when Glenn Miller reformed the orchestra that would eventually become the most popular and successful big band. The band would achieve 23 no.1 hits from 1939 to 1943.
He was played by Harry Morgan
in "The Glenn Miller Story
" (1953) starring James Stewart and June Allyson, on which he was a consultant and technical advisor.
(1941) starring John Payne and Sonja Henie and Orchestra Wives
(1942) starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford as part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, both of which featured Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He is not seen in either movie except for a small scene at the piano when Miller is playing "Chattanooga Choo Choo
". He appeared uncredited in Sun Valley Serenade as part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He played the piano parts and solos for Cesar Romero in Orchestra Wives.
in 1944 on Brunswick and as V-Disc
320B, and was also recorded by Harry James
, Frankie Ford
, and Johnny Long; "Slumber Song" with Saul Tepper; "Doin' the Jive
" written with Glenn Miller in 1937; "Moon Dreams" with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
, which was covered by Miles Davis
on his Birth of the Cool
album; "Sold American
" with Glenn Miller; "Sometime" with Glenn Miller in 1939; "Solid As a Stonewall Jackson" with Jerry Gray
; "Mister-Lucky-Me" in 1943; "Simply Grand"; "If Not For You"; "The Technical Training Command" with Glenn Miller and Sol Meyer in 1943; and, "I Sustain the Wings", composed with Glenn Miller, Norman Leyden, and Bill Meyers for the NBC radio series which ran from 1943 to 1944. Chummy MacGregor also composed a series of songs with Charles Ives: "The Cage", "Berceuse", "Evidence", "Disclosure", "Down East", "Allegro", "The Camp Meeting", and "The Circus Band".
His composition "Moon Dreams" was recorded by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band and was released as a V-Disc, No. 201A, in October, 1944. Martha Tilton recorded "Moon Dreams" in 1942 for Capitol Records, which was co-founded by Johnny Mercer, the co-writer of the song. Herbie Mann
, Hal McIntyre
, Meredith D'Ambrosio, Gil Goldstein, Flavio Ambrosetti, Franz Koglmann, and Charlie Shoemake have also recorded the song.
His composition "Moon Dreams" was also featured in the 1988 motion picture 36 fillette.
"Moon Dreams" was also featured on the soundtrack collection Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music (2000), in a performance by Miles Davis, arranged by Gil Evans
. Miles Davis first performed the song in 1948 in concert in New York, a performance which appears on The Complete Birth of the Cool sessions collection.
In 2008, his composition "Moon Dreams" was featured in the Fox series The Simpsons
in the episode "Mypods and Boomsticks" in a performance by Miles Davis.
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
’s pianist from 1936-1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)", and "Slumber Song".
Career
He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1925 and was a member of Delta Tau DeltaDelta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
. Before joining with Glenn Miller, MacGregor played with Irving Aaronson
Irving Aaronson
Irving A. Aaronson was an American jazz pianist and big band leader.Born in New York, USA, Irving Aaronson learned piano from Alfred Sendry at the David Mannes School for music...
. He played in Glenn Miller’s first unsuccessful band in 1936-1937. He remained when Glenn Miller reformed the orchestra that would eventually become the most popular and successful big band. The band would achieve 23 no.1 hits from 1939 to 1943.
He was played by Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
in "The Glenn Miller Story
The Glenn Miller Story
The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration.-Plot:...
" (1953) starring James Stewart and June Allyson, on which he was a consultant and technical advisor.
Movie Appearances
He was in the Twentieth Century Fox movies Sun Valley SerenadeSun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
(1941) starring John Payne and Sonja Henie and Orchestra Wives
Orchestra Wives
Orchestra Wives is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second and last film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many swing era musicals because its plot is more serious and...
(1942) starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford as part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, both of which featured Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He is not seen in either movie except for a small scene at the piano when Miller is playing "Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
". He appeared uncredited in Sun Valley Serenade as part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He played the piano parts and solos for Cesar Romero in Orchestra Wives.
Compositions by Chummy MacGregor
A noted songwriter and arranger, he wrote the songs "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)" with the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1942, which was covered by Woody HermanWoody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
in 1944 on Brunswick and as V-Disc
V-Disc
V-Disc was a morale-boosting initiative involving the production of several series of recordings during the World War II era by special arrangement between the United States government and various private U.S. record companies. The records were produced for the use of United States military...
320B, and was also recorded by Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
, Frankie Ford
Frankie Ford
Frankie Ford is an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer.He is the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo, who named him Francis Guzzo. He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, where he still lives...
, and Johnny Long; "Slumber Song" with Saul Tepper; "Doin' the Jive
Doin' the Jive
Doin' the Jive is a 1938 song composed by Glenn Miller and pianist Chummy MacGregor. The song was released as a 78 single by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on Brunswick....
" written with Glenn Miller in 1937; "Moon Dreams" with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, which was covered by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
on his Birth of the Cool
Birth of the Cool
Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles twelve songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950...
album; "Sold American
Sold American
Sold American is a 1938 song composed by Glenn Miller with Chummy MacGregor and recorded for both Brunswick and RCA Bluebird."Sold American" was written in 1938 by Glenn Miller and John Chalmers "Chummy" MacGregor, the pianist in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The title was recorded on May 23, 1938 on...
" with Glenn Miller; "Sometime" with Glenn Miller in 1939; "Solid As a Stonewall Jackson" with Jerry Gray
Jerry Gray (Arranger)
Jerry Gray was an American violinist, arranger, composer, and leader of swing dance orchestras bearing his name. He is widely known for his work with popular music during the Swing era. His name is inextricably linked to two of the most famous bandleaders of the time, Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller...
; "Mister-Lucky-Me" in 1943; "Simply Grand"; "If Not For You"; "The Technical Training Command" with Glenn Miller and Sol Meyer in 1943; and, "I Sustain the Wings", composed with Glenn Miller, Norman Leyden, and Bill Meyers for the NBC radio series which ran from 1943 to 1944. Chummy MacGregor also composed a series of songs with Charles Ives: "The Cage", "Berceuse", "Evidence", "Disclosure", "Down East", "Allegro", "The Camp Meeting", and "The Circus Band".
His composition "Moon Dreams" was recorded by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band and was released as a V-Disc, No. 201A, in October, 1944. Martha Tilton recorded "Moon Dreams" in 1942 for Capitol Records, which was co-founded by Johnny Mercer, the co-writer of the song. Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, Hal McIntyre
Hal McIntyre
Hal McIntyre was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader....
, Meredith D'Ambrosio, Gil Goldstein, Flavio Ambrosetti, Franz Koglmann, and Charlie Shoemake have also recorded the song.
His composition "Moon Dreams" was also featured in the 1988 motion picture 36 fillette.
"Moon Dreams" was also featured on the soundtrack collection Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music (2000), in a performance by Miles Davis, arranged by Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
. Miles Davis first performed the song in 1948 in concert in New York, a performance which appears on The Complete Birth of the Cool sessions collection.
In 2008, his composition "Moon Dreams" was featured in the Fox series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in the episode "Mypods and Boomsticks" in a performance by Miles Davis.
Honors
He played piano on three landmark Glenn Miller recordings that were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: "Moonlight Serenade" (1939), "In the Mood" (1939), and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (1941).Sources
- Flower, John. Moonlight Serenade: A Bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1972.
- Simon, George Thomas. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1974.
- Simon, George T. Simon Says: The Sights and Sounds of the Swing Era, 1935-1955. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1971.
- Simon, George T. The Big Bands. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1967.