As a youth, he was recognized as an extraordinary talent and formed a traveling duo with Danny Polo, a musical prodigy on the clarinet and trumpet from nearby Clinton, Indiana. As a student at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, he played with several theater bands.
Thornhill entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at age 16. That same year he and clarinetist Artie Shaw started their careers at the Golden Pheasant in Cleveland, Ohio with the Austin Wiley Orchestra. Thornhill and Shaw went to New York together in 1931.
Claude went to the West Coast in the late 1930s with the Bob Hope Radio Show, and arranged for Judy Garland in Babes in Arms.
In 1935, he played on sessions for Glenn Miller's first recordings under his own name, as Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He played on Glenn Miller's composition "Solo Hop," which was released on Columbia Records.
After playing for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Ray Noble, Glenn Miller, and Billie Holiday, and arranging "Loch Lomond" and "Annie Laurie" for Maxine Sullivan, in 1939 he founded his Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Danny Polo was his lead clarinet player. Although the Thornhill band was originally a sophisticated dance band, it became known for its many superior jazz musicians and for Thornhill's and Gil Evans' innovative arrangements; its "Portrait of a Guinea Farm" has become a classic jazz recording.
The band played without vibrato so that the timbres of the instruments could be better appreciated, and Thornhill encouraged the musicians to develop cool-sounding tones. The band was popular with both musicians and the public; the Miles Davis Nonet was modeled in part on Thornhill's cool sound and use of unconventional instrumentation. The band's most successful records were "Snowfall," "A Sunday Kind of Love" and "Love for Love."
His most famous recording, "Snowfall," was released in 1941 as Columbia 36268. He released the song also as a V-Disc recording, as V-Disc 271A1.
Playing at the Paramount Theater in New York for $10,000 a week in 1942, Thornhill dropped everything to enlist in the US Navy to support the war effort. As chief musician, he played shows across the Pacific Theater with Jackie Cooper as his drummer and Dennis Day as his vocalist.
In 1946, he was discharged from the Navy. Then in April, he reformed his ensemble. He kept his same stylistic lines, but added some Bop lines to it. He got his old members of Danny Polo, Gerry Mulligan, and Barry Galbraith back together, but also added new members like Red Rodney, Lee Konitz, Joe Shulman and Bill Barber. Barber was a tuba player, who was considered as a "soft brass" player rather than a bass as to not interfere with (Joe) Shulman on the bass. Their creative and immaculately clean and delicate interpretation of Evans’s arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s fast bop theme "Anthropology" (1947) provides a particularly noteworthy example of Thornhill’s style, which influenced Miles Davis’s recordings in 1949 for Capitol and many musicians who followed .
In the mid 1950s, Thornhill was briefly Tony Bennett's musical director.
He offered his big band library to Gerry Mulligan when Gerry formed the Concert Jazz Band, but Gerry regretfully declined the gift, since his instrumentation was different. A large portion of his extensive library of music is currently held by Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
After his discharge from the Navy he continued to perform with his orchestra until his death of a heart attack at 1:30 a.m., July 2, 1965, at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. Claude was booked at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the time, the engagement was kept in his honor with his music director in his place. He was survived by his wife, actress Ruth Thornhill, and his mother, Maude Thornhill (81 at the time), of Terre Haute, Indiana, still active at the time conducting choirs.
Claude Thornhill's compositions included the standard "Snowfall", "I Wish I Had You", recorded by Billie Holiday and Fats Waller, "Let's Go", "Shore Road", "Portrait Of A Guinea Farm", "Lodge Podge", "Rustle Of Spring", "It's Time For Us To Part", "It Was A Lover And His Lass", "The Little Red Man", "Memory Of An Island", and "Where Has My Little Dog Gone?"
In 1984, Claude Thornhill was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Claude Thornhill Lyrics
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I felt a bump and heard an "Oh, beg your pardon"
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams
All around a pug-nosed dream
The music started and was I the perplexed one
I held my breath and said "May I have the next one?"
In my frightened arms, polka dots and moonbeams
There were questions in the eyes of other dancers
As we floated over the floor
There were questions but my heart knew all the answers
And perhaps a few things more
Now in a cottage built of lilacs and laughter
I know the meaning of the words "Ever after"
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams
When I kiss the pug-nosed dream
The lyrics in Claude Thornhill's song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" paint a picture of a romantic encounter at a country dance in a garden. The singer bumps into someone and apologizes, and then notices polka dots and moonbeams all around the person they bumped into, who is described as a pug-nosed dream. The music starts, and the singer bravely asks the person for a dance. As they dance, other dancers question their connection, but the singer's heart knows that they belong together. The song ends with the singer in a happy cottage, understanding the true meaning of "ever after" and seeing polka dots and moonbeams every time they kiss this love interest who was once just a pug-nosed dream.
Line by Line Meaning
A country dance was being held in a garden
In a pleasant outdoor setting, a social event where people danced to country music was taking place
I felt a bump and heard an "Oh, beg your pardon"
I accidentally bumped into someone and heard them politely apologize
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams
Suddenly, I noticed bright dots and shafts of moonlight shining around me
All around a pug-nosed dream
And noticed a small, cute person with a button-like nose in the midst of it all
The music started and was I the perplexed one
The music began and I was feeling uneasy and uncertain
I held my breath and said "May I have the next one?"
I nervously asked for a dance, holding my breath in anticipation of the answer
In my frightened arms, polka dots and moonbeams
As we danced together, I noticed the same bright dots and moonlight reflecting off our bodies
Sparkled on a pug-nosed dream
Creating a magical, dreamlike atmosphere around the charming person I was holding
There were questions in the eyes of other dancers
The other dancers looked at us with confusion and curiosity
As we floated over the floor
As we swayed and moved gracefully together, as if we were floating
There were questions but my heart knew all the answers
Others may have had doubts, but I was certain that this person was the right one for me
And perhaps a few things more
And maybe even a deeper understanding that went beyond words
Now in a cottage built of lilacs and laughter
Now, I am in a home filled with joy and sweet-smelling flowers
I know the meaning of the words "Ever after"
I am aware of what it really means to be together for the rest of our lives
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams
I will always remember that magical dance and the bright, dreamlike atmosphere
When I kiss the pug-nosed dream
Every time I kiss the person I love, the magic of that dance will come alive again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Broma 16, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES VAN HEUSEN, JIMMY VAN HEUSEN, JOHNNY BURKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind