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.
When I'm With You
Hal Kemp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see the sun, though we're out in the rain, when I'm with you.
To lose you would be tragic, here is my heart unfurled,
You have the certain magic, you are the seven wonders of the world.
Snow is on the ground but the leaves are on the trees when I'm with you,
Flowers sing a love song, there's music in the breeze when I'm with you.
Hmm, mm mm mm. Please let me make this confession,
You are my magnificent obsession.
Hal Kemp's song "When I'm With You" is a love song that describes the effect of love on the singer's world. The lyrics convey how being with his beloved transforms everything in his environment. He believes every street he walks on turns into a lover's lane when he is with his beloved. Furthermore, even in the rain, he can see the sun because he is with her. He claims that losing her would be tragic since she has his heart unfurled, and he describes her as the seven wonders of the world. The snow is on the ground, but the leaves are on trees, flowers sing love songs, and there is music in the breeze when he is with her. The singer makes a confession that his beloved is his magnificent obsession, and the world is all in rhyme when he is with her.
The lyrics of the song are vivacious, exhilarating, and convey the feelings of a person in love. The use of nature to describe the lover's state of mind is unique and poetic. The lyrics are so emotionally intensive that they can make anyone feel the joy and depth of the love portrayed in them. The song can be seen as a tribute to the power of love and the transformative effects it has on lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Every street I walk on becomes a lover's lane, when I'm with you.
Being with you makes even the mundane streets feel special, like every street is a romantic destination.
I can see the sun, though we're out in the rain, when I'm with you.
Being with you makes everything brighter and better, even when it's raining outside.
To lose you would be tragic, here is my heart unfurled,
Losing you would be devastating, and I'm putting my all into this relationship.
You have the certain magic, you are the seven wonders of the world.
You are truly special, and I am amazed by everything about you.
Snow is on the ground but the leaves are on the trees when I'm with you,
Being with you makes even the most contradictory things feel like they fit together perfectly.
Flowers sing a love song, there's music in the breeze when I'm with you.
Being with you makes the world seem like a more beautiful and magical place.
Hmm, mm mm mm. Please let me make this confession,
I need to tell you how I feel.
You are my magnificent obsession.
I am completely infatuated with you, and I can't get enough.
The world is all in rhyme, lovely one, when I'm with you.
Everything in the world feels in sync and perfect when I'm with you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: REG PRESLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind