Rick,

He really didn't talk much about Bix's personality. He did like to talk about playing with him. He had some photos of them from back in Indiana, I think it was. My impression was that he really felt close to Bix. I guess it was forty years after his friend's death but he spoke of him with such warmth and appreciation that it was as though he had died far more recently. It must have been quite a friendship.

He told me a wonderful story about another song that he wrote. It was a while ago and some of the details may have been distorted by time but the story is accurate.

The story came up at a party I gave him at the beginning of production of this childrens' series, "Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop". The purpose of the get-together was to introduce him to the kids who would be "the regulars" in the series.

The television station had rented Hoagy a trim little house in Cambridge and had gotten him a rented piano from Steinway (choosing a piano with Hoagy Carmichael was an interesting process in itself). The piano was for the house and that is where the party was given.

Hoagy had a good time as the (deserved) center of attention but after a while, that afternoon, he realized he wasn't getting to know the kids and that was the point of the festivities. Meanwhile, two kids had seated themselves at the piano and were playing fourhand "Chopsticks". As sure as Monday follows Sunday, when they tired of that tune they began playing the other four-hand tune learned, almost in a folk-process by kids around the country, "Heart and Soul". This was enough to get Hoagy up and talking.

"Did you know I wrote that?"

Now, you have to understand that these kids, age eight or nine, I think, didn't really have a clue as to who Hoagy Carmichael was. They looked up at this old man who was making the outrageous claim of having written "their" song. They knew that no one could possibly have written that song. To them, it was like someone saying he had written "Happy Birthday" or "Farmer in the Dell". Their faces showed exactly what they thought of Hoagy's claim, and, I guess, of his character. What sort of adult would make up a lie like that?

Hoagy was hurt and retreated to the other side of the room. It happened that I was with him. He changed the subject by telling the story of "Body and Soul".

He had written it for a movie and it therefore was owned by the production studio, Paramount, I think. As the picture took shape, the director decided to cut the song. The sheet music was put into a filing cabinet and it sat there for several years.

The studio had a young actor under contract. Despite his promise, he wasn't turning out to be much of an investment. Studio executives started looking for ways to get some return on the contractual salary they were paying out. Since this actor was also a singer, the thought was, "Let's put together an act for him and see if he can work in nightclubs." They needed material so they searched the files and found "Body and Soul". It became a part of his act and that is why the evergreen song, "Heart and Soul" was introduced by that great singer, Anthony Quinn.

PS: I just remembered something, I think he said that he had written a song called, "Muggins". Muggins is Twenties argot meaning marijuana.