At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he formed his own campus jazz group, the Carolina Club Orchestra. The band recorded for English Columbia and Perfect/Pathe records in 1924-5. This first group toured Europe in the summer of 1924 under the sponsorship of popular bandleader Paul Specht. Kemp returned to UNC in 1925 and put together a new edition of the Carolina Club Orchestra, featuring fellow classmates and future stars John Scott Trotter, Saxie Dowell, and Skinnay Ennis. In 1927 Kemp turned leadership of the Carolina Club Orchestra over to fellow UNC student Kay Kyser and turned professional. The band was based in New York City, and included Trotter, Dowell, and Ennis, and a few years later trumpeters Bunny Berigan and Jack Purvis joined the group. The sound was 1920s collegiate jazz. Kemp once again toured Europe in the summer of 1930. This band recorded regularly for Brunswick, English Duophone, Okeh and Melotone Records.
In 1932, during the height of the Depression, Kemp decided to lead the band in a new direction, changing the orchestra's style to a that of a dance band (often mistakenly referred to as "sweet"), using muted triple-tonguing trumpets, clarinets playing low sustained notes in unison through large megaphones (an early version of the echo chamber effect), and a double-octave piano.
One of the main reasons for the band's success was arranger John Scott Trotter. Singer Skinnay Ennis had difficulty sustaining notes, so Trotter came up with the idea of filling in these gaps with muted trumpets playing staccato triplets. This gave the band a unique sound, which Johnny Mercer jokingly referred to as sounding like a "typewriter." The saxes often played very complex extremely difficult passages which won them the praise of fellow musicians. Vocalists with the band at this time included Ennis, Dowell, Bob Allen, Deane Janis, Maxine Gray, Judy Starr, Nan Wynn, and Janet Blair. During the 1930s, Kemp recorded for Brunswick, Vocalion and (RCA) Victor records. Hal Kemp, Kay Kyser and Tal Henry were often having a Carolinian reunion in New York. All three were great musicians from North Carolina and enjoyed the olde' time get together, according to the newspaper from Chapel Hill, NC where Hal and Kay were in school.
On December 19, 1940, while driving from Los Angeles to a booking in San Francisco, his car hit another head on. Kemp suffered a broken leg and multiple broken ribs, one of which eventually punctured a lung. He developed pneumonia while in the hospital and two days later died.
Kemp's band introduced or promoted numerous popular songs, including "Got a Date With an Angel", "Lamplight", "Heart of Stone", "There's a Small Hotel" and "Three Little Fishies" (written by the band's saxophonist, Saxie Dowell).
In 1936, Hal Kemp was number one for two weeks with "There's a Small Hotel" and two weeks with "When I'm With You". In 1937, his number one hits were "This Year's Kisses", which was number one for four weeks, and "Where or When", which was number one for one week.
Hal Kemp's compositions included "Blue Rhythm", "In Dutch with the Duchess", "Five Steps to Love", "Off the Beat", and "Workout". His brother T.D. Kemp, Jr. and sister Marie Kemp-Dunaway, in collaboration with bandleader Whitey Kaufman, wrote "Hurry Back, Old Sweetheart of Mine" which was an early Kemp recording. Contrary to popular belief, Hal did not compose his theme song "(How I'll Miss You) When the Summer is Gone", but purchased the rights to the song in 1937. Also, there is no evidence that he composed "The Same Time, the Same Place".
In 1992, Hal Kemp was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
The Touch Of Your Lips
Hal Kemp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your lips that are cool and sweet.
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress
My heart forgets to beat.
The touch of your hands upon my head,
The love in your eyes a shine;
And now, at last, the moment devine,
The touch of your lips on mine.
The lyrics of Hal Kemp's song Touch of Your Lips expresses a powerful connection between two people in love. The lyrics describe the indescribable pleasure and peacefulness that comes with the touch of a loved one's lips. The first line of the lyrics, ''The touch of your lips upon my brow'' is a metaphor for love that puts one in a state of bliss. The lyricist then goes ahead to describe just how sweet and cooling the touch of the lips can be, then describes the tender and soothing soft caress of the lips that makes the heart skip a beat.
The second paragraph of the lyrics channels the theme of the song towards the love in the eyes of the other person, which shines with such intensity and purity that it melts the heart of the other. As the lyrics go on, the song gains intensity until the point when the singers' lips meet - ''And now, at last, the moment devine, the touch of your lips on mine.'' This moment is the final resolution of their love, and the lyrics communicate not just love but also the sensation of being at peace.
Line by Line Meaning
The touch of your lips upon my brow;
The gentle and affectionate press of your lips on my forehead;
Your lips that are cool and sweet.
Your mouth that is fresh and pleasant.
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress
There is a great deal of warmth and love conveyed in the delicate touch of those lips.
My heart forgets to beat.
All of my focus fixates on that moment, my heart is overwhelmed and feels as if it stops beating.
The touch of your hands upon my head,
The tender grasp of your hands on my head, as a demonstration of care.
The love in your eyes a shine;
The twinkling shine in your eyes indicates the affection and love being conveyed.
And now, at last, the moment divine,
The long-awaited, special moment that has finally arrived.
The touch of your lips on mine.
The feeling of your lips touching my own.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: RAY NOBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
VictrolaJazz
Another formerly hot orchestra playing sweet! I wonder if he was really skinny? He sounds skinny, anyway.
Just Sara
I was wondering the same thing.
Jourwalis
How do you mean? "Sounds skinny"?