"It Happened in Monterey" or "It Happened in Monterrey" is a 1930 song composed by

Mabel Wayne Mabel Wayne (born Mabel Wimpfheimer, July 16, 1890 – June 19, 1978) was an American songwriter, noted as "one of the first women composers to publish a hit song". Her songs included " In a Little Spanish Town", "Ramona", and "It Happened in Mo ...

, with lyrics by

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

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, ...

and his orchestra. It was written for the 1930 musical film, ''

King of Jazz '' King of Jazz'' is a 1930 American pre-Code color musical film starring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The film title refers to Whiteman's popular cultural appellation. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the general public, meant 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 Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

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, ''

''. The film featured

and his orchestra, while the song, written in waltz time, was composed by

, with lyrics by

. Though the lyrics refer to the city of

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

in "Old Mexico", the song title was misspelled, leading to popular references to the city of

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. 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 i ...

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 Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

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 Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

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 produ ...

, and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

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 Entertainmen ...

in April 1930.

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

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 the ...

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 wh ...

label in 1946. By the 1950s, the song had declined in popularity and was rarely sung until it was revived and popularized again by

. Sinatra recorded it for his 1956 Capitol release ''

'', to an arrangement and orchestration by

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

. 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''.

and

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

included the song in their 1958 album '' Fancy Meeting You Here'' with updated lyrics.

In popular culture

Actor

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

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

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