bp#3 Harlem song history (maite)

"HARLEM SONG"
“Harlem Nocturne” is a saxophone-saturated song born in 1939 that has had a long shelf life-a song that found pop fame 20 years, and again nearly 50 years after its first release. Perhaps most notably the song came to wide popular notice in the early- and mid-1960s in a rendition by a group called The Viscounts.In its musical sojourn, “Harlem Nocturne” became one of those classic and timeless instrumentals that filled the airways and nightclubs over the decades in many cover versions, even to this day.But the original “Harlem Nocturne” has its roots in late 1930s’ jazz and the big band era. Here’s some of that lineage.
Earle Hagen wrote and composed the song, along with Dick Richards.

 Hagen played trombone with Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and the Ray Noble Orchestra, where he became an arranger in the late 1930s.  On the road with Noble, Hagen composed “Harlem Nocturne,” and the song became a jazz standard.Initially, Hagen wrote the song as a tribute to saxophonist Johnny Hodges, known for his solo work with Duke Ellington’s band.  In writing the tune, Hagen had been inspired by Duke Ellington’s band. Johnny Hodges (1907-1970), meanwhile, became a legendary saxophonist.By 1941, “Harlem Nocturne” was also used as a theme song for the Randy Brooks Orchestra.
In the early 1950s, saxophonist Herbie Fields released “Harlem Nocturne” as a single, then becoming one of the first popular jazz versions.  And not long after that came a raft of cover versions by virtually every sax player in the R & B business.  According to one source, there may be as many as 500 versions, making it one of the most covered songs in history.  Among the many artists who have covered the song are: Duke Ellington, Harry James, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Lounge Lizards, Earl Bostic, Quncy Jones, Boots Randolph, guitarist Danny Gatton, the Ventures, and others.

But it was the Viscounts, a New Jersey band, that put the song on the musical map in a new way in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  The Viscounts were an instrumental quintet consisting of Harry Haller on tenor sax; Bobby Spievak, guitar; Joe Spievak, bass; Larry Vecchio on organ; and Clark Smith on drums. The Viscounts’ version was first released on the Madison record label – a New York city label started in 1958.By January 1959, “Harlem Nocturne” was climbing the pop charts and had risen to No.52. Despite the Viscounts’ mediocre showing with “Harlem Nocturne” on the music charts, it remained one of the most recognizable instrumentals of that era.  The Viscounts, meanwhile, followed with two other instrumentals on the Madison label – “Night Train” and “Wabash Blues.”
Hagen would later write books on music arranging and scoring, including, Scoring for Films.Hagen died of natural causes in May 2008.  He was 89.
As for the Viscounts’s history after “Nocturne,” the Pop History Dig has not yet been able to locate more detail on the group, but will update this page as new information is found.  The Viscounts had other songs, of course, including jazzy versions of “Summertime,” “September Song,” and “Sophisti- cated Lady.”  More hard rocking versions of their tunes include “Rock,” “Dig,” “Night Train” and others.