Back in 1927, Hoagy Carmichael was leaving a college hangout spot in Indiana called The Book Nook and started whistling a tune that would soon become the opening of this incredible jazz standard.

Hoagy Carmichael was an American actor, musician, composer, and lawyer! He composed hundreds of songs in his time, including “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “The Nearness of You,” and “Heart and Soul.” Before devoting his whole career to music, Carmichael received his Bachelor of Laws in Indiana in 1926 and moved to Florida to work as a law clerk. He failed the Florida Bar exam, so he moved back to Indiana, passed the bar there, and worked for a law firm. It wasn’t long until he realized he’d rather be practicing songs than practicing law. It also didn’t hurt that a previous song of his was starting to do well and make some money. He packed up and moved to New York City, where he worked for a firm in the mornings and composed music in the evenings.

Hoagy wrote this song in 1927 as an instrumental. He played it for a friend who thought it sounded like “dust from stars drifting down through the summer sky.” Carmichael wanted to record it, so he booked a recording session for October 1927. Since he hadn’t written any of the music down on paper, he had to whistle it to the players there. He played piano for the recording and had a small band there with him. It was credited to Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals. Eventually Mitchell Parish would add the words to “Star Dust.” Parish tried the title “Then I Will Be Satisfied,” but finally went back to “Stardust.” Parish wrote the words after hearing Carmichael’s story of the tune’s creation and then expanded on it with a story of lost love.

“Stardust” is considered a jazz standard and part of the Great American Songbook, and many, many people have covered this great tune. Willie Nelson does a fantastic country cover of this tune. Frank Sinatra has a great one where they omit the chorus of the song and only sing the verse. But my favorite is by Nat King Cole on his 1957 release, Love Is The Thing. This was Cole’s first of four joint efforts with the incredible arranger Gordon Jenkins. This LP had huge success for Cole. It reached #1 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart and tied The King and I soundtrack for # 1 on the UK charts. In 1960, it was Cole’s first album to achieve gold status.

Fun Fact: Lee Gillette, Nat’s producer, convinced him to include “Stardust” on this album. In the beginning, Cole said no because of how many other folks were covering it. He had been singing this song for about 3 years and had said, “I hate to sing Stardust; it wears me out.” He obviously did eventually agree, and it went on to be one of his biggest hits.

Listening Tips: Every sound you hear is infused with beauty. His voice is so rich and strong but somehow feels perfectly restrained as well. I feel like I’m hanging on every line he sings, waiting desperately for the next syllable. Also take a listen to the strings. I like the play between unison string lines and divisi in the section.

Hope you enjoy!

And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we’re apart

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You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by

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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait for the next one.

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