The Music Goes Round And Around

The Music Goes ‘Round And Around. 1935.
Lyrics by Red Hodgson, Music by Edward Farley and Michael Riley
Sheet music front

The Music Goes Round and Round was originally recorded on 26 September 1935 by the composers, Eddie Farley and Mike Riley, with a band credited on the record label as Eddy-Reilly and their Onyx Club Boys. Since Eddy-Reilly combines the first name of one musician-songwriter with the second name of the other, and each are spelled incorrectly, it seems likely that Decca made multiple errors. Never mind, here's the music

Movie ad of 1936

The song was the musical interlude for the Columbia movie "The Music Goes 'round" in 1936. The New York Times wrote: "If we really wanted to be nasty about it, we could say that this Farley-Riley sequence is the best thing in the new picture. At least it makes no pretense of being anything but a musical interlude dragged in by the scruff of its neck to illustrate the devastating effect upon the public of some anonymous young busybody's question about the workings of a three-valve sax horn. Like the "March of Time," (source: Wikipedia)

Edythe Wright (voc), Tommy Dorsey (tb)

The song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and his Clambake Seven feat.vocalist Edythe Wright and became a hit in 1936.

It has since been recorded by many other artists and has become a pop and jazz standard. A beloved example from days when entertainment in fact was entertaining and rather innocent (well...), here's Betty Boop's performance of the tune with voice-over by Helen Kane and music by Cab Calloway

The Music Goes 'Round And Around is also the title of the latest CD by the legendary and inevitable Dutch Swing College Band.

CD by Dutch Swing College Band (DSCMusic 2014001)

The CD was recorded earlier this year in Germany and has eighteen tracks of well arranged and superbly played standard jazztunes, seven of them have guest vocal contribution by singer Margriet Sjoerdsma. The line-up of DSCB is: Bob Kaper (clarinet, alto saxophone), David Lukács (clarinet, soprano, tenor, baritone saxophone), Keesjan Hoogeboom (trumpet, voc), Maurits Woudenberg (trombone), Ton van Bergeijk (banjo, guitar, voc), Adrie Braat (double bass), Anton Burger (drums). More info about the CD is available here

Dutch Swing College Band (promo photo)

July is the time of year for jazz festivals, this year the DSCB is in Denmark on July 5h, 6th and 7th, then continues in Germany on July 10th, 12th and 18th - more info here

The music goes 'round and around - and comes out right here

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Jo

keepitswinging.domain@gmail.com

According to Thomas Hischak in The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, the 1935 jazz number "The Music Goes Round And Around" is "arguably the most successful nonsense song in the history of Tin Pan Alley". It is about the operation of a French horn. Written by Ed Farley and Mike Riley with lyrics by Red Hodgson, it was introduced by Riley and Farley's band at a New York night club. In one month it sold over two million copies of the sheet music. It has since been recorded by many other artists and has become a pop and jazz standard. Even today, of course, the music goes 'round and around, i.e. as documented at the latest CD by the Dutch Swing College Band - a recommended collection of recently recorded jazz standards to accompany your summer holidays and/or to get you in the right mood for the seasonal jazz festivals.

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