American Songwriting History: Hoagy Carmichael Contractual Document from His Late Career, 1957

Hoagy Carmichael

Manuscripts & Autographs

Carmichael, Hoagy. Signed document, 1957, records a professional transaction involving one of the principal American popular song composers of the twentieth century. By May 1957, Carmichael had written a substantial body of standards including “Star Dust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Up the Lazy River,” and “Lazybones,” and had also established careers in film, radio, and performance. The document dates from six years after Carmichael and Johnny Mercer received the 1951 Academy Award for “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” placing it within the later professional career of a songwriter whose work had moved from 1920s jazz circles into Hollywood and the American popular-song repertory.

Carmichael, Hoagy. Signed document. May 8, 1957. Three pages. Signed “Hoagy Carmichael” in blue ink and additionally initialed by Carmichael on the accompanying rider agreements. The surviving signatures and initials provide direct evidence of Carmichael’s approval of the document and its riders; the supplied information does not identify the other contracting party or specify the agreement’s terms.

Carmichael’s signatures make the document a piece of professional rather than commemorative autograph material, preserving his name within the contractual paperwork of his working career. His compositions by this date included collaborations with Mitchell Parish, Stuart Gorrell, Sidney Arodin, Johnny Mercer, Ned Washington, and Frank Loesser, linking the document to the commercial songwriting and entertainment world in which he worked for more than three decades. Preserved in excellent condition; near fine overall.

Item #10377

Price: $225.00