Jerry Gray was born Generoso Graziano in East Boston, Massachusetts. His father Albert Graziano was a music teacher who began training his son on the violin at age 7. As a teenager he studied with Emanuel Ondricek and was soloist with the Boston Junior Symphony. By age 18 he had already formed his own jazz band and was performing in Boston-area clubs.
In 1936 Gray joined Artie Shaw (then calling himself Art Shaw) and his "New Music" orchestra as first violinist. He studied arranging under Shaw and became a staff arranger a year later. During the next two years he penned some of the band's most popular arrangements, including "Carioca", "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise", "Any Old Time", and the classic "Begin the Beguine". Many of his up-tempo arrangements show early evidence of the style that would eventually become his trademark: the melody is broken into two- to four-measure phrases, usually carried by the brass sections, that are repeated with increasing intensity until the song's climax.
In November of 1939 Artie Shaw suddenly broke up his band and moved to Mexico. The next day Glenn Miller called Gray and offered him a job arranging for his band. It was initially a difficult move because Shaw had usually allowed his arrangers great musical latitude, while Miller's commercial orientation often led him to second-guess his staff. Gray gradually found himself more in line with Miller's less–mercurial personality and was allowed more of the freedom that he appreciated. As Gray later told author George T. Simon, "To me, Glenn's band didn't swing like Artie's. ... But after I made up my mind to accept things as they were, things started to click. ... He was a businessman who appreciated music. ... I may have been happier musically with Artie, but I was happier personally with Glenn."
Gray's time with the Glenn Miller Orchestra produced many of the most recognizable and memorable recordings of the era. He arranged "Elmer's Tune", "Moonlight Cocktails", and "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" among others, while his compositions included "Sun Valley Jump", "The Man in the Moon", "Caribbean Clipper", "Pennsylvania 6-5000" and his most famous song, "A String of Pearls". So many of Gray's pieces became best-sellers that he has been described as more responsible for the band's success than Miller himself, although publicly Gray always described the relationship as mutually beneficial.
Gray was again without a job when Miller broke up his band in September, 1942 to enter the Army Air Forces. The now-Captain Miller used his connections to have Gray posted to his unit and in early 1943 Gray rejoined his old boss. Entrenched military bureaucracy halted Miller's initial plans to establish a group of service bands with Gray as coordinator of the arranging staffs. Instead, Gray became chief arranger for the Miller's "Band of the Training Command", better known today as the Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra. Gray's training as a both a violinist and swing arranger served him well with the massive AAF orchestra comprising an enlarged dance band and a 21–member string section. He created new arrangements of several of Miller's civilian–band hits, added strings to the version of "Begin the Beguine" that he had written for Artie Shaw, and wrote somewhat looser jazz pieces such as "Enlisted Men's Mess". He also co-wrote the famous march version of "St. Louis Blues" along with Perry Burgett and Ray McKinley. Two arrangements in particular show the breadth of styles that he was able to contribute: a lush, string-heavy treatment of Fred Fisher's "Blue is the Night" gave that relatively obscure tune a semi–classical cast, while his punching brass arrangement of "Everybody Loves My Baby" was perhaps the culmination of the repetitive short-phrasing style he developed with the Shaw band.
Gray was also the full orchestra's assistant conductor, while Ray McKinley and George Ockner served as seconds-in-command for the dance band and string section, respectively. It fell to Gray to conduct the orchestra's first concert in Paris after Miller's airplane disappeared over the English Channel. When the men returned to the U.S. in 1945 and McKinley left following his discharge, Gray assumed full leadership of the AAF Orchestra until its final performance on November 17 of that year.
Gray was passed over for the job of leading the postwar "ghost" Glenn Miller Orchestra, reportedly because the Miller Estate felt he did not have the pop-star qualities they wanted in a new leader. Instead they approached Ray McKinley, who was not interested, and finally hired Tex Beneke whose talents as vocalist and lead tenor sax player in Miller's civilian band provided a much more colorful front for the band.
For a while Gray did radio and studio work in the Los Angeles area, including leading the band on a radio show called Club 15 that featured Dick Haymes. He expressed frustration with musicians who were cashing in on the Miller name even though their connections were tenuous (Ray Anthony) or non-existent (Ralph Flanagan), so in 1949 he accepted a request from Decca Records to lead his own Miller-styled orchestra. The result was what he called "Jerry Gray and the Band of Today", an orchestra featuring his old Miller hits along with new compositions. For a number of years the Gray and Beneke bands co-existed, each staffed by many former Miller musicians plus other well-known performers. The Gray band included Al Klink, Trigger Alpert, Zeke Zarchy, Jimmy Priddy, Ernie Caceres, Bernie Privin, and John Best from the Miller dance bands plus George Ockner, David Sackson, and Harry Katzman from the AAF string section. Most importantly Gray hired clarinetist Wilbur Schwartz whose unusual broad tone had been crucial to the civilian band's reed blend. Hits included the obligatory recreations of Miller classics, new compositions in the Miller style such as "Restringing the Pearls", and other distinctive tunes such as "Sound Off".
Listening to the Gray and Beneke orchestras provides an interesting contrast. Gray was arguably closer in spirit to the Miller legacy but never quite achieved the same level of popularity because he was less of a showman and Decca was no match for RCA's marketing machinery. Beneke benefited from greater name recognition and stage presence but was hampered by restrictions placed on him by the Miller Estate both before and after his split with RCA.
Gray continued to tour with his band in various forms through the 1950s. In 1953 he and Henry Mancini worked together on the biopic The Glenn Miller Story, starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson. In addition to leading his dance band he wrote and arranged for singers such as Vic Damone and released a very non-Miller-oriented LP featuring a full chorus and many of his own compositions. By the 1960s he had settled in Dallas where he conducted the house band at the Fairmont Hotel. This later band generally featured more modern compositions by Gray and other contemporaries such as Sammy Nestico and Billy Byers. In 1968 he briefly returned to the Miller sound with swing arrangements of contemporary songs for Billy Vaughan's orchestra, including "Spanish Eyes", "A Walk in the Black Forest", and an AAF-like treatment of "One of Those Songs". He continued to lead the Fairmont Hotel band into the 1970s before passing away from a heart attack at the comparatively young age of 61.
In The Mood
Jerry Gray Lyrics
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What a pair o' shoes, I'd like to try 'em for size
I'll just tell him, "Baby, won't you swing it with me"
Hope he tells me maybe, what a wing it will be
So, I said politely "Darling may I intrude"
He said "Don't keep me waiting when I'm in the mood"
First I held him lightly and we started to dance
And I said "Hey, baby, it's a quarter to three
There's a mess of moonlight, won't you share it with me"
"Well" he answered "Baby, don't you know that it's rude
To keep my two lips waiting when they're in the mood"
In the mood, that's what he told me
In the mood, and when he told me
In the mood, my heart was skipping
It didn't take me long to say "I'm in the mood now"
In the mood for all his kissing
In the mood his crazy loving
In the mood what I was missing
It didn't take me long to say "I'm in the mood now"
So, I said politely "Darling may I intrude"
He said "Don't keep me waiting when I'm in the mood"
"Well" he answered "Baby, don't you know that it's rude
To keep my two lips waiting when they're in the mood"
Who's the loving daddy with the beautiful eyes
What a pair o' shoes, I'd like to try 'em for size
I'll just tell him, "Baby, won't you swing it with me"
Hope he tells me maybe, what a wing it will be
So, I said politely "Darling may I intrude"
He said "Don't keep me waiting when I'm in the mood"
First I held him lightly and we started to dance
Then I held him tightly what a dreamy romance
And I said "Hey, baby, it's a quarter to three
It's a mess of moonlight, won't you share it with me"
"Well" he answered "Baby, don't you know that it's rude
To keep my two lips waiting when they're in the mood"
The lyrics to Jerry Gray's song "In the Mood" describe a woman's desire to dance with a man who catches her eye. She comments on his beauty and fashion and asks him to dance with her. As they begin to dance, the woman feels a strong connection with the man, calling it a "dreamy romance." She asks him to share the moonlight with her, indicating a desire for intimacy. The man agrees and tells the woman that it's rude to keep him waiting when he's "in the mood."
The song's lyrics describe a lighthearted and playful interaction between the two characters. The woman is forward in her approach, showing her confidence and desire for the man. The man is equally interested, responding to her advances and telling her that he is in the mood for her company. The lyrics suggest a mutual attraction and a desire to enjoy the moment without overthinking it. Overall, "In the Mood" is a fun and upbeat song about two people connecting over a love of music and dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Who's the loving daddy with the beautiful eyes
Who's the attractive man I see and would like to get to know better?
What a pair o' shoes, I'd like to try 'em for size
He has exceptional style and I envy his shoes; I wish I could have them too.
I'll just tell him, "Baby, won't you swing it with me"
I'll just ask him if he wants to dance with me.
Hope he tells me maybe, what a wing it will be
I hope he says yes because it will be a fantastic dance.
So, I said politely "Darling may I intrude"
I asked him politely if I could dance with him and intrude on his current situation.
He said "Don't keep me waiting when I'm in the mood"
He told me not to make him wait, especially when he's feeling good and ready to dance.
First I held him lightly and we started to dance
We started to dance together while holding each other gently.
Then I held him tightly what a dreamy romance
Our dance became more intimate and romantic as I held him tightly.
And I said "Hey, baby, it's a quarter to three
I pointed out that it was nearly three in the morning.
There's a mess of moonlight, won't you share it with me"
There's a lot of moonlight available, and I wanted to enjoy it with him.
"Well" he answered "Baby, don't you know that it's rude
He replied that it was impolite to keep him waiting when he's ready to dance.
To keep my two lips waiting when they're in the mood"
He was implying that he would rather be kissing me than waiting around.
In the mood, that's what he told me
He confirmed that he was indeed in the mood to dance and possibly more.
In the mood, and when he told me
When he revealed that he was in the mood, my heart skipped a beat.
In the mood, my heart was skipping
My heart was racing when he told me he was in the mood.
It didn't take me long to say "I'm in the mood now"
I didn't hesitate to tell him that I was also in the mood and ready to dance and more.
In the mood for all his kissing
I was ready to engage in a kissing session with him.
In the mood his crazy loving
I was ready to participate in passionate lovemaking with him.
In the mood what I was missing
I realized that he was what I was missing in my life and was ready to embrace him fully.
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joe Garland
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind