"It Happened in Monterey" or "It Happened in Monterrey" is a 1930 song composed by Mabel Wayne, with lyrics by Billy Rose and performed by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

and his orchestra. It was written for the 1930 musical film, '' King of Jazz'', and was subsequently covered several different times in short succession including by the Regent Club Orchestra,

George Olsen George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an American bandleader. Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen played the drums and attended the University of Michigan, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen an ...

and

Ruth Etting Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes ...

. It fell out of popularity until Frank Sinatra re-recorded it for both his 1956 Capitol release ''

Songs for Swingin' Lovers! ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' is the tenth album by American singer Frank Sinatra and his fourth for Capitol Records. It was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956 on LP and January 1987 on CD. It was the first album ever to top ...

'' and his 1957 live album ''

Sinatra '57 in Concert ''Sinatra '57 in Concert'' is a 1999 live album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. It is a complete recording of a concert performed at the Seattle Civic Auditorium on June 9, 1957. Arranger Nelson Riddle conducted the 26-piece orchestra ...

''.

Background

"It Happened in Monterey" was written for the 1930 musical film, '' King of Jazz''. The film featured

and his orchestra, while the song, written in waltz time, was composed by Mabel Wayne, with lyrics by Billy Rose. Though the lyrics refer to the city of Monterrey in "Old Mexico", the song title was misspelled, leading to popular references to the city of Monterey, California. The song was performed by John Boles and

Jeanette Loff Jeanette Loff (born Janette Clarinda Lov; October 9, 1906 – August 4, 1942) was an American actress, musician, and singer who came to prominence for her appearances in several Pathé Exchange and Universal Pictures films in the 1920s. Born ...

in the film. The song appears in a sequence of disparate musical performances, each introduced by a caption card, that appear between the two main production numbers. The Paul Whiteman Orchestra then recorded the song for Columbia Records on March 21, 1930, featuring vocals by Jack Fulton. This recording features significant solos for flute and piccolo performed by Bernie Daly. The recording was a hit. Researcher Joel Whitburn estimates that this record would have charted at number 2 in April 1930.

Cover versions

The song was covered several times following the appearance in ''King of Jazz'', including by

and

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and career Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Am ...

. Other popular versions were by the Regent Club Orchestra on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

, and

. Bing Crosby sang the song with Whiteman's orchestra in a performance at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, which was broadcast nationwide live via the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in April 1930. Mel Tormé recorded it with his

Mel-Tones The Mel-Tones was an American vocal group of the 1940s and 1950s, formed and led by Mel Tormé. They are sometimes credited as The Meltones. The Mel-Tones appeared on several radio programs and released several records on their own, and also as th ...

and

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

and his orchestra on the

Musicraft Records Musicraft Records was a record company and label established in 1937 in New York City. Catalogue Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical music, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso. Artists w ...

label in 1946. By the 1950s, the song had declined in popularity and was rarely sung until it was revived and popularized again by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra recorded it for his 1956 Capitol release ''

'', to an arrangement and orchestration by Nelson Riddle. Biographer John Frayn Turner writes: "Not forgetting 'It Happened in Monterey', which had never sounded like that before or since". Biographer Spencer Leigh notes the "looseness of his phrasing in the second chorus". Sinatra began performing it live. It features as the second track on his 1957 live album ''

'', and also appeared on the original UK pressing of '' Come Fly with Me'' as a replacement track for the banned '' On the Road to Mandalay''. Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney included the song in their 1958 album '' Fancy Meeting You Here'' with updated lyrics.

In popular culture

Actor Al Pacino lip-synced the Sinatra version of the song in the final scene of the 1997 film '' The Devil's Advocate''. In 2006 Doug Gamble, a corporate and humor writer, penned new lyrics for the song as a way of promoting the city of Monterey, California.

References

{{authority control 1930 songs 1930s jazz standards Frank Sinatra songs Jazz compositions in B-flat major Mel Tormé songs Songs with music by Mabel Wayne Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose Waltzes