The Dipsy Doodler Larry Clinton – Phantom Dancer

Larry Clinton wrote the jazz and pop standards, The Dipsy Doodle (1937), My Reverie (1938), Heart and Soul (1938), Satan Takes a Holiday, Midnight in the Madhouse, and Calypso Melody.

In his twenties, he became a prolific arranger for dance orchestras; bandleaders Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Gray, Louis Armstrong, and Bunny Berigan all used Larry Clinton charts.

His first stint as a bandleader was from 1937 to 1941, and he recorded a string of hits for RCA Victor.

Larry Clinton’s, A Study in Brown, begat four sequels in different colours and swing adaptations of classical compositions.

His arrangement and adaptation of Debussy’s Reverie, with vocalist Bea Wain, entitled My Reverie, peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Record Buying Guide in 1938. His, Abba Dabba, was based on Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance from The Nutcracker.

He was the first to record and release the standard “Heart and Soul” featuring Bea Wain on vocals in 1939. The single reached No. 1.

Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra were the first to record and release his classic composition “The Dipsy Doodle” in 1937 featuring Edythe Wright on vocals.

His composition “Calypso Melody” was a million seller for bandleader and composer David Rose in 1957.

Clinton’s band was predominantly a recording group that also played college proms and hotel ballrooms. On the strength of Clinton’s record hit, The Dipsy Doodle, Vitaphone and Paramount Pictures, signed the band to star in three 10-minute theatrical films.

In 1941, Clinton and his band appeared in six short musical films, designed for then-popular “movie jukeboxes”.

He quit the music business upon the outbreak of World War II, and joined the United States Army Air Forces.

A rated pilot, he rose to the rank of captain, was stationed with the Air Transport Command in Calcutta and China during Hump airlift, and was a flight instructor with the 1343rd Base Unit.

He resumed his musical career and enjoyed further success as a bandleader from 1948 to 1950. He remained active in the music business—often leading a studio band for pop singers such as Barry Frank—until 1961.