Elmer's Tune - Peggy Lee And The Benny Goodman Orchestra

[Gunner3210]

This is too old for me.

[vcjmp]

My ultra-cool dad used to sing this to me.

[kapariz44]

Just like Charlie & his Orchestra :)

[glowee123]

I'm 13 years old and I'm practically the only one in my school that listens to this kind of music. It's catchy!!!

[AlbertBroughton]

Is that Gene Kruper on drums? I just love his slightly off beat single shots. And of course I delight in Peggy Lee's singing ....

Al.

[zamusicza]

My absolute favorite Peggy Lee song.

[bobareebop]

True creativity (with a little whimsy) in the lyrics.

[redshark618]

what makes a gander meander?

favorite line

[TheEldoradoKid]

I get a kick out of the "kick in a chicken line" ha ha!

[bandrunner57]

Who was Elmer??

[bzhall1985]

@bandrunner57

Elmer Albrecht was the man who wrote the music and Jerry Gray arranged for words.

[ReinaTigressa]

This was my grandmother's favorite song!! She used to play it for me on her organ when I was a little girl. How wonderful to find it online.

[2LV2]

You ever get the feeling that the world got so overcrowded that your birth date got bumped up and maybe thats why you feel so out of place???

[brerfox71]

My grandma sings this song while cleaning house (which she still does at 85). Her brother's name is Elmer. Not many people name their kids Elmer these days. Her other brother was named Hubert. Not many Huberts these days either.

[TheEj4321]

This was my theam song at my 1969 graduation dance, and I've fallen in love ever since.

EJ

[Linoxism]

My Dad used to play this on his trumpet when I was little while I would sing along with the sheet music. :): I miss my dad and being young and carefree.

[htuomnom]

Now kid's you know what a legend sounds like.

[islandCouture]

hahahahaha@comment below, me too sighs<

[Kiyraesyn]

If only I had been born back then.....

[jose1mannix]

I'm a novice in the band's music, though I come from that era. I've been listening & collecting some and guess this peggy lee's song is awesome. Thanks Upstairs Girl. A pretty well done job-

[maxreger100]

This song sounds exactly like "If I Could be With You An Hour Tonight", by James P. Johnson. I think it was written BEFORE Elmer's Tune.

[hellotelephone1]

I absolutely adore this song...I hum it sometimes on my way in between classes. :)

[chepe5025]

Entre las flores tu seguiras siendo la mas bella de ellas. What a voice.

[revaluator]

You can tell that Peggy Lee at this early stage had yet to develop her signature style and still sounded much like a conventional female big band singer.

[biscuit2boy]

Yes, it is a fabulous song that I have loved for years. Thanks for posting it. And, of course, there are so many other great songs by Peggy Lee....I think she is very much underappreciated.

[alliecat1941]

Im confused old87country...it says in your profile, you are 23....dont that mean the year you were born?????

[unclefurriesam]

@alliecat1941 naw he jus wants to seem young on his profile.

[allegiance3]

I woke up this morning with this song roaring in my head. I'm a child of the sixties.... so, I'm not familiar with this song. But it's great. Peggy Lee has a silky voice and this is a good youtube video. thank you

[ana04041990]

Amazing!

[longnskinny]

My sweet mother sang this often after she turned 80.

I miss her so!

[old87country]

Wow, I can still remember the first time I heard this song. It was back in 1942. Ah, I love it. I was running around with a girl named Doris. We were driving home one night after a Armed Forces Dance and it came over the radio.

[loyaano]

@old87country

I<3YOO



[xAxrules]

@old87country I remember when I first heard this. It was 2010, I was at my grandma's and we were siphoning through her late husbands CDs when I came across 4 Glenn Miller CDs. I've been hooked on Glenn Miller ever since..

[donnyab]

@old87country

you are full of shit

[waynebrasler]

Lee said many times she didn't have the slightest idea what to do with this song and was terrified with Goodman. I have the first take, where she is such a wreck you can hear the sheet music rattling in her hand. As you can hear, none of this stopped her from turning out a great record. Goodman often made her life miserable but there's no mistaking he adored her talent.

[fanwuren]

I don't know a lot about Goodman, but I get the impression from watching videos that he was:

a. A very intense individual; and

b.  He didn't like to share the spotlight.

[waynebrasler]

Goodman, sad to say, was not a nice man. Peggy's earliest records sound uncomfortable because the songs had been arranged for Helen Forrest. Lee came with the band a month before Forrest was to leave. Goodman made Forrest sit on the bandstand with Lee the entire month but didn't have her sing a note. Lee was very uncomfortable with the situation but Forrest was a Good Joe and told her not to worry about it. Forrest hated Goodman; many did.

[Blaazaram]

the feeling this music gives is sooo soothing, like viks on ure chest when u were a kid

[warren52nz]

I used to play this in a band decades ago. We were all in our 20's and I never knew where it came from until now.

Lovely.

[Corrie121]

Fantastic post. Thank you for sharing.

[fromthesidelines]

Recorded in Chicago on August 15, 1941.

[XieYali]

I wonder if Peggy is part Veela? ;)

[paulostroff99]

As good as it gets! Brava!

[Mona77401]

Fantastic. Early Peggy Lee! A voice like satin!

Thanks for posting this!

[HuttonGlutton]

LOVE Glen Miller and ADORE Peggy Lee.

Wonderful!

[eaglestirreth]

Terrific version....I am trying to find out about a song of same period.....by I believe either some or all of writers of this song.....It was called "Tricks of the Trade".....Any ideas as to how to find out more about this song ????

[fahansen]

it was by April Stevens, named The Tricks Of The Trade in (1952) and it is on Youtube

[eaglestirreth]

Thanks so much for the info..I heard this song many years ago and have been trying to locate it....April Stevens sounds good on this song....(Tricks of the Trade)...We would probably still have record if it wasn't a 78 which were so brittle...Thanks again and thanks to the wonder that is "youtube"....

[GabeUnit]

Actually I'm related to one of the fellows who wrote this song.. my grandmother told me, but I thought it'd be interesting to share is all.

[mrgoodvibrations]

Peggy Lee the Madonna & Lady Gaga of the 40s&50s.

[ipmoic]

thanks glennmilleristhebest. I always suspected that the tune came BEFORE the lyrics on this one. A mortician's tune--how quaint!

[ALMO290]

The most memorable times in my life, makes me feel16 years old. GREAT SONG

[ruiner79]

Who is this "Elmer" they speak of? And what of his tune? What does it sound like?

[Corrie121]

What a treasure! Absolutely superb rendition of this fabulous song.

Thanks for sharing.

[ijustwanttosing]

Is this really Peggy Lee - It doesn't sound like her?... Wonderful song though :-)

[Metusaleh]

It's her 1st recording. Very few of her songs from those early days sound like she did later, when she became a solo singer. A reason for the difference is that in those early days she was hired to sing in a certain style, and so she had to adapt to what her boss and the big band-loving public wanted.

[ijustwanttosing]

Cool - Thanks - now I learned a bit more about one of the most amazing singers of all times! :D

[MPL029]

Dont know what you are saying it doesnt sound like her...its clearly Peggy Lee

[kleinBion]

You're right doesn`t sound like her

[MPL029]

Can either of you tell me what Elmers tune means? Is elmer a person or does it refer to something that was slang for something in the 1940's?

[glennmilleristhebest]

The story behind this tune is as follows:

In '39 0r '40 (i forget the exact year) Glenn Miller discovered this tune. It was written as a piano exercise by a mortuary attendant who's first name was Elmer, so naturally when Miller recorded it, it was named, Elmer's Tune.

[MPL029]

ah!!! thanks...great song

[vandywilliam]

Actually, the song was first recorded as an instrumental by the Dick Jurgens Orchestra (on the Okey label), and it was co-written by Jurgens. When Miller recorded it, words were added, and Ray Eberle did a great job (as usual) on the vocals.

[stefakamelpash]

So do I. I played the grooves off this one when I was a kid. Great stuff.

[vandywilliam]

Great memories, and thanks for posting. I still have several 78 rpm records (Columbia label) with Peggy Lee doing the vocals with Benny Goodman's orchestra.