In the Mood

"In the Mood" is a famous jazz standard from the big band era. It is a swing instrumental that became incredibly successful. The most famous version was recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller in 1939. This specific recording became the best-selling swing instrumental ever made. Because of its huge impact, it earned several honors. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983. In 2004, it joined the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. This registry preserves recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. In 1999, NPR named it one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century.

The music follows a very specific structure and arrangement. It begins with a saxophone section theme. This theme uses repeated arpeggios, which are notes played in a sequence. These arpeggios are rhythmically displaced to create a unique feel. Trumpets and trombones join the melody by adding accent riffs.

The arrangement often includes exciting solo sections. One recording features a "tenor fight," which is a chase solo between Tex Beneke and Al Klink. Another version includes a 16-bar trumpet solo performed by Clyde Hurley. The song concludes with a coda, which is a finishing passage. This coda climbs triumphantly before ending on a sustained unison tonic pitch with a rim shot.

The history of the melody is a complex chain of musical ideas. It began as a composition called "Tar Paper Stomp" by trumpeter Wingy Manone. Manone recorded this melody on August 28, 1930, in Richmond, Indiana. He released it as a 78 single under the name Barbecue Joe and his Hot Dogs. Later, Joe Garland created an arrangement of this melody called "In the Mood." Garland first sold the arrangement to Artie Shaw in 1938. However, Shaw chose not to record it because the arrangement was too long. Shaw's version lasted over six minutes and received a lackluster response from audiences.

Glenn Miller eventually purchased the song in 1939 and began experimenting with it. The exact author of the final arrangement remains unknown. Some historians suggest it might have been Eddie Durham. Other possibilities include pianist Chummy MacGregor, John Chalmers, or Miller himself. Chummy MacGregor was Miller's chief arranger and claimed he helped create the final version. MacGregor stated they used the two front saxophone strains from the original. He also mentioned that they added new solos and wrote the finishing coda. Miller likely edited the arrangement alongside MacGregor to reach its final form.

Copyrights for the song were filed several times during its development. Joseph Copeland Garland filed two copyrights in 1938. The song was eventually published by Lewis Music Pub. Co., Inc. on October 31, 1939. Later, a copyright was filed with both Garland and lyricist Andy Razaf. This version included lyrics for vocal performances. There are two main editions of the sheet music in circulation today. The 1939 edition is in the key of A-flat major. It features lyrics that begin, "Mister What-cha-call-em, what-cha doin' tonight?" A 1960 reprint is in the key of G major.

"In the Mood" has reached many different audiences through various media. In 1944, the U.S. War Department released the song as a V-Disc. These were special recordings sent free to military personnel serving overseas during World War II. The song also has a place in the history of technology. In 1951, a Ferranti Mark 1 computer at the University of Manchester played the song. This was one of the first songs ever played by a computer. It is also recognized as the oldest known recording of digitally generated music. The song has also appeared in films, such as the 1941 movie "Sun Valley Serenade."

The song has inspired many different styles of music over the decades. In 1959, an orchestra led by Ernie Fields reached number four on the Billboard charts. The Andrews Sisters recorded a famous vocal version in 1952. In 1977, a novelty version by the Henhouse Five Plus Too used clucking chicken sounds. Even the blues singer John Lee Hooker was inspired by the track. He stated it inspired his own hit song, "I'm in the Mood." More recently, the group Pentatonix created a mashup called "Moody Rudy" in 2025. This shows how a single jazz standard can connect many different eras of music.