"I Know Why (And So Do You)" is a 1941 song recorded by

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie ''

Sun Valley Serenade ''Sun Valley Serenade'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nichol ...

''. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.

Background

The song was written by

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...

, lyrics, and

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

, music. The song is lip-synched by

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was an American film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through t ...

in the movie ''

''. Pat Friday sang the vocals with John Payne and The Modernaires. The single, RCA Bluebird B-11230-A, reached no. 18 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart in a one-week chart run.Song artist 6 - Glenn Miller
Tsort.info The single release featured vocals by Paula Kelly and The Four Modernaires. The B side of the single was "

Chattanooga Choo Choo "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song that was written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/ swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie ''Sun Valley Serenade''. ...

" which, de facto, was treated as the A-side. The tune was the one being rehearsed in the film, ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann. It stars James Stewart as Miller (in his second non-western collaboration with Mann), alongside June Allyson. ...

'', when

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

, as Glenn Miller, was trying to invent a new sound; then the trumpeter hurt his lip, which caused Miller to substitute a clarinet, creating the new sound. Covers of the song have been recorded by numerous artists, including

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

, Richard Himber And His Orchestra with Johnny Johnston and the Joseph Lilley Ensemble on vocals,

Ray Anthony Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyv ...

, Anne Shelton with

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

& his Orchestra,

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925 – June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued ...

, Frankie Sardo on 20th Fox Records,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, Jean Peters, Joan Regan,

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music Revivalist artist, revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988, he won a Drama Desk Spec ...

and

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

, Babik Reinhardt,

Dick Smothers Richard Remick Smothers (born November 20, 1938) is an American actor, comedian, composer, and musician. He was half of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom. Early life Smothers was born in New York City ...

, the Red Garland Trio, Orchestra Coco, the Michael Rose Orchestra, Teddy Petersen, Falconaires, US Air Force Band of the Rockies, Max Greger, Syd Lawrence, the Dino Olivieri Orchestra with refrain by Bruno Pallesi, David Pell, Diana Panton with Red Schwager on the album ''Red'', and

Robert Clary Robert Clary (born Robert Max Widerman; March 1, 1926 – November 16, 2022) was a French actor who was mainly active in the United States. He is best known for his role as Corporal Louis LeBeau on the television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'' (196 ...

. The 1941 Glenn Miller recording was featured in the 1990 Warner Bros. movie '' Memphis Belle'' and the 2017 film ''

The Shape of Water ''The Shape of Water'' is a 2017 period romantic dark fantasy film directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Micha ...

'' which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards. It also was played at Ginger Rogers' party early in the 1954 movie " Black Widow.''It's also featured in a film called The Magnificent Dope (1942) starring Henry Fonda, Lynn Bari, Don Ameche and Edward Everett Horton.'

Personnel

The personnel on the 1941 recording by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra released as a 78 single were: Paula Kelly, The Modernaires (vo),

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 (TV series), The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad (TV series), T ...

, John Best,

, R.D. McMickle (tp), Glenn Miller, Jim Priddy,

Paul Tanner Paul Tanner (October 15, 1917 – February 5, 2013) was an American musician and a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He developed and played the Electro-Theremin, a theremin soundalike instrument that is best known for its use on the ...

, Frank D'Annolfo (tb),

Hal McIntyre Hal McIntyre (born Harold William McIntyre; November 29, 1914, Cromwell, Connecticut – May 5, 1959, Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. McIntyre played extensively as a teenager and led his ...

, Wilbur Schwartz (cl, as),

Tex Beneke Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. Hi ...

, Al Klink (ts), Ernie Caceres (bar), J.C. McGregor (p), Jack Lathrop (g),

Trigger Alpert Herman "Trigger" Alpert (September 3, 1916 – December 21, 2013) was an American jazz bassist from Indianapolis, Indiana. Music career A native of Indianapolis, Alpert attended Indiana University, where he studied music. Soon after, he played w ...

(sb), and Maurice Purtill (dm). The version used in the 1941 film

features lead vocals by Pat Friday (and a verse by star John Payne) once again backed by The Modernaires.

Album appearances

The song appears on the following albums: * ''Remember Glenn Miller'', 20th Century, 1973 * ''The Complete Glenn Miller, Vol. 6 (1940-1941)'', RCA Bluebird * ''Glenn Miller: The Popular Recordings (1938-1942)'', RCA Bluebird, 1989 * ''The Ultimate Glenn Miller'', RCA Bluebird, 1993 * ''The Essential Glenn Miller'', RCA Bluebird, 1995

References

Sources

*Flower, John (1972). Moonlight Serenade: a bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. . *Miller, Glenn (1943). Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging. New York: Mutual Music Society. ASIN: B0007DMEDQ *Simon, George Thomas (1980). Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. New York: Da Capo paperback. . *Simon, George Thomas (1971). Simon Says. New York: Galahad. . *Schuller, Gunther (1991). Volume 2 of The Swing Era:the Development of Jazz, 1930–1945 /. New York: Oxford University Press. . {{authority control Glenn Miller songs Songs with music by Harry Warren Songs with lyrics by Mack Gordon 1941 songs Songs written for films Jazz compositions Jazz songs