Hi History Lovers,
Some popular songs enjoy a brief cultural moment and then fade away while others become the anthem for a generation — or in rare cases, multiple generations. Such a song is Star Dust by composer Hoagland — Hoagy — Carmichael. Born in Bloomington, Indiana on November 22, 1899, Mr. Carmichael would turn 126 years-old this Saturday. Alas, we humans generally don’t live nearly that long, but fortunately our creations can and, in Carmichael’s case, do.
More on the legendary Hoagy Carmichael in a bit, but first I’d like to invite you to enter my new book giveaway: a signed copy of THE VERSAILLES FORMULA by award-winning historical mystery author, Nancy Bilyeau, here on Substack as History, Horror & Headlines.
The third installment of Nancy’s uber popular Genvieve Planché Series, THE VERSAILLES FORMULA follows an intrepid Georgian era art sleuth from London to Paris where she must track down a rare pigment of pure blue coveted by royalty, chemists and spies, all whilst fending off feelings for a handsome new romantic interest. Delicious! I’ll choose 1 winner (U.S. residents, only) from among my History With Hope and Hope C. Tarr author newsletter lists, so if you’re not already signed up for one or both of these free newsletters, you can fix that here!
Subscribe to History With Hope
Subscribe to Hope's Author Newsletter
[EDIT 1-6-26: What’s better than one book giveaway? How’s about two!? Congratulations to Keith G and Lianne K].
The winner will be announced on January 2, 2026. For now, back to History…
As a college student at Indiana University, Hoagy Carmichael formed his own jazz band, Carmichael’s Collegiates, becoming something of a campus celebrity.1 After graduation, he briefly practiced law before pursuing his true passion, songwriting, and moving to New York City, then the center of the American music industry.2
While still in Indiana, on October 31, 1927 he and his band mates recorded Star Dust as a pure jazz instrumental. Over the next two years, lyrics were added by up-and-comer lyricist, Mitchell Parish.3
“Love is now the star dust of yesterday
The music of years gone by.”
A 1931 recording by singer and actor Bing Crosby solidified Star Dust as a slow ballad — and a mega hit — though a later cover by Nat King Cole is generally lauded as the penultimate rendition.4
One of the most recorded songs of all times — more than 2,000 versions and counting — Star Dust has been covered by music legends including Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Mel Tormé, and in recent years, Marvin Gaye, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Michael Bublé.5 The poignant melody and soulful lyrics expressing longing for a lost sweetheart (and perhaps, suggesting the impermanence of romantic love altogether) inspired my World War II novel, STARDUST, the second installment in my American Songbook series.
More mega hits were to follow, notably Heart and Soul, Georgia On My Mind, and The Nearness of You.
Carmichael’s style blends the jazz traditions of the 1920s with sentimental pop and popular songs. He was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley6 songwriters of the 1930s and among the first to embrace new communication technologies, such as television and the use of electronic microphones and sound recordings.
Later in the 1930s, Carmichael moved to Hollywood to compose music for the Silver Screen. Hong Kong Blues and How Little We Know were featured in the Warner Brothers film “To Have and Have Not” (1944) starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in which Carmichael also appeared on screen as… a piano player!7 Four of his songs, including In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, a collaboration with lyricist Johnny Mercer for the film Here Comes the Groom, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.8
“And then it happened--that queer sensation that this melody was bigger than me. Maybe I hadn’t written it at all. The recollection of how, when and where it all happened became vague as the lingering strains hung in the rafters of the studio. I wanted to shout back at it, ‘maybe I didn’t write you, but I found you.’”
- Hoagy Carmichael, on “Stardust”
By the mid-1960s, Carmichael’s style of music was out, overtaken by the “British Invasion” spearheaded by The Beatles and other bands who constituted the hot new sound: American rock and blues blended with British pop and folk music.
Carmichael died on December 27, 1981, but his music and legacy live on, bridging the early 20th century to today.
Fun fact: In the 1960s, Carmichael was the first celebrity to make a guest appearance as himself on the animated Stone Age themed show, The Flintstones.9 In the episode, would-be songwriter, Fred butchers the lyrics to Carmichael’s hit song… you guessed it, Stardust!
Find IRISH EYES and STARDUST on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Target, Walmart and wherever books are sold.
Signed copies are available at these booksellers:
Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, Manhattan
Barnes & Noble, Brick Plaza, NJ
Barnes & Noble, Holmdel, NJ
Barnes & Noble, Pikesville, MD
Book Culture, Manhattan (2 locations)
The Corner Bookstore, Manhattan
Posman Books Chelsea Marketplace, Manhattan
Thunder Road Books, Spring Lake, NJ
The Comfort Zone, Ocean Grove, NJ
https://www.hoagy.com/biography
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005994/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
"A Stellar Lament of Lost Love,” Hasse, John Edward, The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 23, 2019.
Tin Pan Alley refers to the area of West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City that was the center of the American music publishing industry from the late 1890s to the 1970s.
https://www.who2.com/bio/hoagy-carmichael/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005994/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
Originally for adults, The Flintstones ran from 1960 to 1966 and was very much The Simpsons of its day.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.