In the Mood
Best-selling swing instrumental, inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry.
"In the Mood" is a jazz standard from the big band era, most famously performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. The tune originated from "Tar Paper Stomp," a composition by trumpeter Wingy Manone. The first recording to bear the title "In the Mood" was cut by Edgar Hayes and his Orchestra in 1938. Glenn Miller's 1939 recording later became the best-selling swing instrumental of all time, with "I Want to Be Happy" on the flip side.
The 1939 recording has received several major honors. It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983, and in 2004 it was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, a collection of recordings deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 1999, National Public Radio placed it on its list of "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century."
The arrangement opens with a saxophone section playing a theme built on repeated, rhythmically displaced arpeggios, while trumpets and trombones contribute accent riffs. Two solo sections appear: a "tenor fight" or chase solo—on one recording featuring Tex Beneke and Al Klink—and a 16-bar trumpet solo by Clyde Hurley. The song ends with a triumphant climbing coda that lands on a sustained unison tonic pitch, punctuated by a rim shot.
Joe Garland arranged the piece from an existing melody, and Andy Razaf later added lyrics. The main theme—those repeated, rhythmically displaced arpeggios—first appeared as "Tar Paper Stomp," credited to Wingy Manone. Manone recorded it on August 28, 1930, in Richmond, Indiana, releasing it as a 78 single for Champion Records under the name Barbecue Joe and his Hot Dogs. It was reissued in 1935 by Wingy Manone's Orchestra. The same riff turned up in Horace Henderson's "Hot and Anxious," recorded by his brother Fletcher Henderson on March 19, 1931, for Columbia under the name the Baltimore Bell Hops. Don Redman also recorded "Hot and Anxious" for Brunswick in 1932.
Under copyright law at the time, any tune that had not been written down and registered could be taken by any musician with a good ear. Manone raised the similarity between "Tar Paper Stomp" and "In the Mood" with Joe Garland and the publisher Shapiro, Bernstein, and Company of New York, and he also discussed the issue in DownBeat magazine.
Quick Facts
- Published
- 1939-11-27 Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., New York
- Artist
- Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
- B-Side
- I Want to Be Happy
- Released
- September 15, 1939
- Recorded
- August 1, 1939
- Studio
- RCA Victor, New York City
- Genre
- Big band, swing
- Length
- 3:40
- Label
- Bluebird (US), His Master's Voice (UK)
- Writer
- Wingy Manone (c), Andy Razaf (w), Joe Garland (a)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
"In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone, first recorded in 1930. The main theme with repeated arpeggios rhythmically displaced appeared under that title. Joe Garland arranged the song, and the first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by Edgar Hayes and his Orchestra in 1938. The song was sold to Glenn Miller in 1939, who experimented with the arrangement; the author of the final arrangement is unknown, with possibilities including Eddie Durham, Chummy MacGregor, John Chalmers, and Miller himself.
The Glenn Miller recording was made on August 1, 1939, at RCA Victor Studios in New York City. The personnel included Tex Beneke, Al Klink, Clyde Hurley, and others. The arrangement features a saxophone section theme, a "tenor fight" chase solo, a trumpet solo by Clyde Hurley, and a coda that climbs triumphantly to a sustained unison tonic pitch with a rim shot. Two copyrights were filed by Joe Garland in 1938, and later copyrights included Andy Razaf as co-writer.
The song has been covered by many artists, including The King Sisters (first vocal version, 1939), Ernie Fields (1959), Bette Midler (1973), and Pentatonix (2025). In 1951, a Ferranti Mark 1 computer at the University of Manchester played "In the Mood", one of the first songs played by a computer. John Lee Hooker cited it as inspiration for his song "I'm in the Mood".
Reader's Guide
"In the Mood" is a landmark recording in the big band era, recognized as the best-selling swing instrumental. Its induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2004 underscores its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. In 1999, National Public Radio included the 1939 Glenn Miller recording in its list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The song's arrangement, with its distinctive saxophone arpeggios and chase solos, became a signature of the Glenn Miller sound. The recording's legacy extends beyond its initial popularity, influencing later musicians and being adapted for computer music in 1951. The song's history also involves copyright disputes and multiple arrangements, reflecting the collaborative and sometimes contested nature of jazz composition in the era.
Did You Know?
- The 1939 Glenn Miller recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983 and the National Recording Registry in 2004.
- John Lee Hooker said 'In the Mood' was the inspiration for his song 'I'm in the Mood', which became a number-one hit on the R&B Singles chart in 1951.
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