"Pennsylvania 6-5000" (also written "Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand") is a 1940

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

and pop standard 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 as a

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

single. The music was by Jerry Gray and the lyrics by Carl Sigman.

Glenn Miller recording

Many

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

musicians played in

Hotel Pennsylvania The Hotel Pennsylvania was a hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, across from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. It remained t ...

's Cafe Rouge in New York City, including the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most pop ...

. The hotel's telephone number, Pennsylvania 6-5000, inspired the Glenn Miller 1940 Top 5 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' hit of the same name, which had a 12-week chart run. The instrumental was recorded on April 28, 1940 at the RCA Victor Studios at 155 East 24th Street in New York City. The 78 single was released in June, 1940 as RCA Victor Bluebird 78 B-10754-A backed with "Rug Cutter's Swing". The song was also an advertisement for attendance at the band's live performances, as a call could be put through to Hotel Pennsylvania’s venue the Cafe Rouge for a reservation. Johnny Best played the improvised trumpet solo on the recording. The Carl Sigman lyrics were not used, only the refrain was shouted by the band after the ringing of the telephone. Two different sheet music covers were released with different photos of Glenn Miller.

Personnel

* Saxophones: Hal McIntyre,

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 ...

, Wilbur Schwartz, Ernie Caceres, Al Klink * Trumpets: Johnny Best, R. D. McMickle, Clyde Hurley, Legh Knowles * Trombones:

, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo * Piano:

Chummy MacGregor John Chalmers MacGregor (March 28, 1903, in Saginaw, Michigan – March 9, 1973, in Los Angeles, California), better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed ...

* String bass: Herman "Trigger" Alpert * Guitar: Jack Lathrop * Drums: Moe Purtill

Other recordings

The song became a jazz and big band

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

also recorded by the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezz ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

and

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...

in a duet, the Brian Setzer Orchestra,

Jimmy Mundy James Mundy (June 28, 1907 – April 24, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Earl Hines. Mundy died of cancer in New York City at the age of 7 ...

and His Orchestra (1959), Fud Candrix and His Orchestra, Jerry Gray, Mina, Lou Haskins, Jack Livingston,

Raquel Rastenni Raquel Rastenni (21 August 1915 – 17 August 1998), born Anna Rachel Rastén, was a Danish- Russian singer. She was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in an apartment in the poor part of the city. Her Jewish parents immigrated to Denmark from Russia ...

(1941) in Copenhagen, Starlight Orchestra,

Klaus Wunderlich Klaus Wunderlich (18 June 1931 – 28 October 1997) was a famous German easy listening organist. Biography Wunderlich was born in Chemnitz. He played the Hammond organ model C3 then mid 60s changed to model Hammond H100. Wunderlich also tried ...

, New 101 Strings Orchestra, Heptet, Meco,

, The Modernaires, Jack Million Band, Al Pierson Big Band, BBC Big Band Orchestra, SWR Big Band, and by Captain Cook und seine singenden Saxophone in 2012.

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

's arrangement of the song for piano was published in the UK songbook ''Francis & Day's Album of Fats Waller: Musical Rhythms'' in the 1940s.

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. *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 The Andrews Sisters songs 1940s jazz standards 1940 songs 1940 singles 1940s instrumentals Bluebird Records singles Jazz compositions Pop standards Songs with music by Jerry Gray (arranger) Jazz songs Songs written by Carl Sigman Songs about hotels and motels Songs about New York City Songs about Pennsylvania Songs about telephone calls

Glenn Miller recording

Personnel

Other recordings

See also

References

Sources