Billy May
Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for The Green Hornet (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Batman (with Batgirl theme, 1967), and Naked City (1960). He collaborated on films such as Pennies from Heaven (1981), and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return, among others. May wrote arrangements for many top singers, including Frank Sinatra, Yma Sumac, Nat King Cole, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Vic Damone, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mercer, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Jack Jones, Bing Crosby, Sandler and Young, Nancy Wilson, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrews Sisters and Ella Mae Morse. He also collaborated with satirist Stan Freberg on several classic 1950s and 1960s comedy music albums. As a trumpet player in the 1940s Big Band era, May recorded such songs as "Measure for Measure", "Long Tall Mama", and "Boom Shot", with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, and "The Wrong Idea", "Lumby", and "Wings Over Manhattan" with Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra. With his own band, he had a hit single, "Charmaine". In the 1950s he released several successful albums of his unique orchestral arrangements and compositions, including Sorta-May and Sorta-Dixie. |
Birth and Death Data: Born November 10, 1916 (Pittsburgh), Died January 22, 2004 (San Juan Capistrano)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1939 - 1959
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet, arranger, leader, composer, songwriter, vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-75 of 165 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-056488 | 10-in. | 10/14/1940 | Lumby | Charlie Barnet Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057610 | 10-in. | 11/8/1940 | Fresh as a daisy | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Jack Lathrop | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal trio | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057611 | 10-in. | 11/8/1940 | Isn't that just like love? | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Jack Lathrop | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057612 | 10-in. | 11/8/1940 | Along the Santa Fe Trail | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057613 | 10-in. | 11/8/1940 | Do you know why? | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057648 | 10-in. | 11/15/1940 | Somewhere | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057649 | 10-in. | 11/15/1940 | Yes, my darling daughter | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057661 | 10-in. | 11/22/1940 | A stone's throw from heaven | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057662 | 10-in. | 11/22/1940 | Helpless | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057663 | 10-in. | 11/22/1940 | Long time no see, baby | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-057664 | 10-in. | 11/22/1940 | You are the one | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058172 | 10-in. | 12/13/1940 | Anvil chorus | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058173 | 10-in. | 12/13/1940 | Anvil chorus | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058174 | 10-in. | 12/13/1940 | Frenesi | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058805 | 10-in. | 12/27/1940 | The mem'ry of a rose | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058806 | 10-in. | 12/27/1940 | I do, do you? (Do you believe in love) | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058807 | 10-in. | 12/27/1940 | Chapel in the valley | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058808 | 10-in. | 12/27/1940 | Prairieland lullaby | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058884 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | Ida! Sweet as apple cider | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058885 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | Song of the Volga boatman | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058886 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | The one I love (belongs to somebody else) | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band. with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058887 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | You stepped out of a dream | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band. with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058888 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | I dreamt I dwelt in Harlem | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-058889 | 10-in. | 1/17/1941 | Sun Valley jump | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-060911 | 10-in. | 2/19/1941 | When that man is dead and gone | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "May, Billy," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104862.
May, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104862.
"May, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Billy May
Discogs: Billy May
Allmusic: Billy May
Grove: Billy May
IMDb: Billy May
Britannica: Billy May
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: May, Billy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85072634
Wikidata: Billy May - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q713273
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/112757306
MusicBrainz: Billy May - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5146db52-8ac5-44e9-a89a-affdb76bbb0c
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