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 126-150 of 165 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-068789 | 10-in. | 1/8/1942 | Skylark | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068790 | 10-in. | 1/8/1942 | When the roses bloom again | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068791 | 10-in. | 1/8/1942 | Always in my heart | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068833 | 10-in. | 1/5/1942 | The president's birthday ball | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068834 | 10-in. | 1/5/1942 | Angels of mercy | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068835 | 10-in. | 1/8/1942 | Dear Mom | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068836 | 10-in. | 1/5/1942 | On the old assembly line | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-068837 | 10-in. | 1/5/1942 | Let's have another cup o' coffee | Ernie Caceres ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071190 | 10-in. | 10/20/1941 | Dreamsville, Ohio | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071191 | 10-in. | 10/20/1941 | Papa Niccolini (The happy cobbler) | Tex Beneke ; Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solos and mixed vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071192 | 10-in. | 10/20/1941 | Jingle bells | Tex Beneke ; Ernie Caceres ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solos and mixed vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071193 | 10-in. | 10/20/1941 | This is no laughing matter | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071860 | 10-in. | 2/18/1942 | Shhh, it's a military secret | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with female-male duet and mixed vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071861 | 10-in. | 2/18/1942 | Don't sit under the apple tree (with anyone else but me) | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071862 | 10-in. | 2/18/1942 | She'll always remember | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071863 | 10-in. | 2/18/1942 | The lamplighter's serenade | Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-071864 | 10-in. | 2/18/1942 | When Johnny comes marching home | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074740 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | That old black magic | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires ; Skip Nelson | Male vocal solo with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074741 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | Moonlight becomes you | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires ; Skip Nelson | Male vocal solo with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074742 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | Juke box Saturday night | Tex Beneke ; Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Marion Hutton ; Modernaires | Female-male vocal duet with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074743 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | Must be jelly ('cause jam don't shake like that) | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Modernaires | Male vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074744 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | I'm old fashioned | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Skip Nelson | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074745 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | A pink cocktail for a blue lady | Glenn Miller Orchestra ; Skip Nelson | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074746 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | Rainbow rhapsody | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
Victor | BS-074747 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | Sleepy town train | Glenn Miller Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "May, Billy," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104862.
May, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104862.
"May, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 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
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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