"Trav'lin' Light" is a 1942 song composed by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Background

When Whiteman and his band arrived at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

' studio for a recording session, Trummy Young brought along his girlfriend,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

. Songwriter Johnny Mercer, one of the co-founders of the new label, discovered that Young had a newly written tune with him. Mercer quickly wrote lyrics for it and gave it a title so Holiday could record it with the band. The record label identified the singer as 'Lady Day,' Holiday's nickname, because she was under contract with another label.

Chart performance

In 1942, with vocals by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz 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 193 ...

hit number one on the Harlem Hit Parade charts for three non consecutive weeks. The song also hit the pop charts at number 23 for one week. The Paul Whiteman release lists Billie Holiday as "Lady Day". The trombone is played by Skip Layton. The recording was also re-released as a V-Disc in October, 1944 by the U.S. War Department for shipment overseas for military personnel as 286A under the "Blues" category.

Personnel

The song was recorded in Los Angeles on June 12, 1942 by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The personnel on the recording were: Monty Kelly, Larry Neill, Don Waddilove (tp), Skip Layton, Murray McEachern, Trummy Young (tb), Alvy West, Dan D’Andrea, Lennie Hartman, Lester Young (Reeds) Buddy Weed (p), Mike Pingitore (g), Artie Shapiro (b), Willie Rodriguez (d), Unknown string section, Billie Holiday (v), Jimmy Mundy (arr), and Paul Whiteman (conductor).

References

{{Authority control 1942 songs Billie Holiday songs Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer Songs with music by Jimmy Mundy Songs with music by Trummy Young Paul Whiteman