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 151-165 of 165 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D6VB-2085 10-in. 7/2/1946 You? So it's you! Four King Sisters Female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band leader  
Victor D6VB-2086 10-in. 7/2/1946 The coffee song (they've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil) Billy May Orchestra ; Four King Sisters Female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band leader  
Victor D6VB-2087 10-in. 7/2/1946 My honey's kiss Four King Sisters Female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band leader  
Victor D6VB-2088 10-in. 7/2/1946 Stone cold dead in the market (he had it coming) Billy May Orchestra ; Four King Sisters Female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band leader  
Victor D7VB-1346 10-in. 9/13/1947 I met my baby in Macy's Gordon Polk ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band songwriter  
Decca L 3091 10-in. 7/13/1942 Anchors aweigh Bob Crosby Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 3092 10-in. 7/13/1942 Over there Bob Crosby Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 4777 12/29/1947 Fightin' love Hoagy Carmichael ; Cass Daley leader  
Decca L 4778 12/29/1947 Grandma Teeter-Totter Hoagy Carmichael ; Cass Daley leader  
Decca L 6597 1/17/1952 I'll always be following you Sonny Burke Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 6598 1/17/1952 I wanna love you Sonny Burke Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 6599 1/17/1952 [Unknown title(s)] Sonny Burke Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 6600 1/17/1952 (Me with) Mambo on my mind Sonny Burke Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 6605 1/17/1952 Blacksmith blues Sonny Burke Orchestra arranger  
Decca L 11340 1/21/1959 Lean baby-3 Les Brown and his Band of Renown arranger  
(Results 151-165 of 165 records)

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

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104862

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