Manuscript Collection
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THE
CENTER FOR POPULAR MUSIC, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY,
MURFREESBORO, TN
JOEL S.
HERRON COLLECTION 12-030
Creator: Herron,
Joel S.
Type of Material:
Manuscript Materials, Sheet
Music, Sound Recordings, Photographs
Textual
records including personal and business correspondence, business records, sheet
music, music compositions, popular music, orchestrations, drawings, and
manuscript writings, as well as reel-to-reel tapes, a small number of
photographs, and records, largely 33 1/3 and 45 RPM, and limited number of
newspaper clippings comprise the materials of the Joel S. Herron Collection.
Physical Description:
The Joel
Herron Collection consists of 44.8 linear feet of records in 86 boxes.
Dates:
1930-2008.
Abstract (Descriptive Summary):
The Joel
S. Herron Collection documents the personal and professional life of Joel S.
Herron. However, the collection primarily records his professional life.
Accordingly, the materials in the collection largely consist of textual records
related to Herron’s involvement in the music business as a composer, producer,
arranger, band director, and business owner. These records include: business
correspondence, business records, sheet music, music compositions, popular
music, orchestrations, drawings, advertisement scripts (primarily for
television commercials) and other business related manuscript writings. Other
materials include reel-to-reel tapes, a limited number of business related
photographs, and 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records. The collection also contains a tiny
sampling of newspaper clippings that document Herron’s involvement in the music
business. A small number of the
materials in the Joel S. Herron Collection record aspects of Herron’s personal
life. These records include book manuscripts, correspondence, journal entries,
and photographs.
Restrictions:
Patrons
may access the Joel S. Herron Collection. Property rights reside with Middle
Tennessee State University. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the
records and their heirs as stipulated by United States copyright law. For
permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Center for Popular
Music. Box 53 – Box 57
contain restricted information.
Provenance and Acquisition
Information:
Joel S.
Herron created or acquired the records contained in the Joel S. Herron
Collection over the course of his career in the music business, as well as his
personal life. In 2012 Roark Herron, son of Joel S. Herron, donated his
father’s records to the Center for Popular Music.
Preferred Citation:
[Document,
record, item, etc.]
From the Joel S. Herron Collection, Center for Popular Music, Middle Tennessee
State University
Subjects/Index Terms:
Business
records
Commercial
Correspondence
Music
Trade
Sound
recordings
Composition
(Music)
Popular
music—writing and publishing
Arrangement
(Music)
Instrumentation
and orchestration (Band)
Music—Lead
sheets
Advertising
Commercial
art
Music in
advertising
Promotional
films
Personal
correspondence
Diaries
Photographs
Clippings
Herron,
Joel S.
Herron,
Geraldine
Herron,
Roark
Herron,
Bill
Musicians
Conductors
Producer
(music)
Arrangers
(musicians)
Businesspeople
Authors
Agency History/biographical
sketch:
Joel Herron was born in Chicago,
Illinois on January 16, 1916 and died in Charleston, South Carolina on January
30, 2012, living to be 96 years old. He
graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and attended the University of
Chicago from 1933-1935. He had two
marriages, the first to Gertrude Meyer a model and mother of surviving
children, Roark Herron and Lama Ji. His second and late wife was Geraldine
Hamburg, a former Chicago Quiz Kid, Julliard graduate, who appeared in the
original Broadway production of “The King and I” with Yul
Brenner as well as singing in operas conducted by Toscanini and
Stravinsky.
Joel Herron was the notable
songwriter (he wrote the music and Jack Wolfe and Frank Sinatra created the
lyrics) of “I’m a Fool to Want You” that has been subsequently recorded by
Billie Holiday, Dexter Gordon, Chet Baker, Linda Ronstadt, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Donald Byrd, and others. It was his “hit”. In addition, Joel was a composer, arranger,
conductor, and author, and copyrighted 118 works (list attached). His stage
scores include “Go Fight City Hall” and he wrote a number of musical themes for
various musical commercials, as well as a recording performed by Roberta
Flack (“Cream Smooth Jazz” for Manischewitz
wine).
He was the Musical Director at
WMGM between 1946 and 1956 for “MGM Theatre of the Air”, “MGM Musical Comedy
Theatre of the Air”, the U.S. Treasury program “Guest Star”, and the Jane Froman Show. Joel
was also the conductor for the Jimmy Dean Show that aired on WCBS TV in the mid
1950’s and orchestra leader on the Jaye P. Morgan
Show. In addition, he worked closely
with Johnny Mandel (whom he mentored early on), Hans Conried
(in creating the album “Monster Rally”), Morey Amsterdam (on WMGM), Bucky Pizzarelli (on several pieces), and was a dear friend of
Jimmy Dean. He also toured a bit with
Jane Froman who sought his talents on the piano and
as band leader. Joel Herron conducted his orchestra in night clubs and hotels
(mostly in the NYC area where he lived most his adult life), and was notably
the band leader at the famous Copacabana Club and Persian Room at the Plaza
Hotel in NYC for a short period in the 1950s and traveled as band leader with
the Barry Sisters on a play tour in Israel in 1962.
Scope and content:
The Joel
S. Herron Collection primarily consists of materials created by or acquired
during the course of Joel S. Herron’s career as a musician, composer, band
director, music producer, and aspiring writer. The collection also contains a
small number of personal records. The business related records in the
collection are primarily music based. Most of them are commercial (published)
or manuscript (unpublished) pieces of music. These include orchestrations,
popular music, lead sheets, music compositions, etc. Correspondence, bills,
contracts, advertising campaigns, etc. represent the remaining business records
in the collection. The personal records of the collection consist of correspondence,
book drafts, journal entries, various scripts, newspaper clippings, etc. The
collection also consists of business and personal photographs, as well as a
small number of musical recordings (primarily 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm).
Series Description:
The Joel
S. Herron collection is arranged into six series.
Series I: Business
Subseries
I-Music
Sub-subseries
I- Commercial music & lyrics
Sub-subseries
II- Orchestrations
Sub-subseries
III-Popular Music
Subseries
II-Manuscript Music and Lyrics
Sub-subseries
I- Orchestrations
Sub-subseries
II- Popular Music
Subseries
III- Business correspondence
Subseries
IV- Business records
Subseries
V- Misc. Business Records
Subseries
VI- Commercial (advertising) and other scripts
Subseries
VII- Assorted manuscript scripts
Series II: Personal Records
Subseries
I-Correspondence
Subseries
II-Other personal records
Series III: Photographs
Subseries
I-Business photographs
Subseries
II-Personal photographs
Series IV: Newspaper clippings
Series V: Sound Recordings
Series VI: Audio reels
Collection Contents: (Folder/box
list):
Box 1,
Commercial Music and Lyrics (13 folders)
Box 2, Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 3,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 4,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (6 folders)
Box 5,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 6,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 7,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 8,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 9,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (7 folders)
Box 10,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (6 folders)
Box 11,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (4 folders)
Box 12,
Commercial Music and Lyrics- Popular Music (5 folders)
Box 13,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (9 folders)
Box 14,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (11 folders)
Box 15,
Commercial Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (11 folders)
Box 16,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (19 folders)
Box 17,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (18 folders)
Box 18,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (21 folders)
Box 19,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (21 folders)
Box 20,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (28 folders)
Box 21,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (24 folders)
Box 22,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (15 folders)
Box 23,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (14 folders)
Box 24,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (13 folders)
Box 25,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (18 folders)
Box 26,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (17 folders)
Box 27,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (15 folders)
Box 28,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics (12 folders)
Box 29,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (15 folders)
Box 30,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (16 folders)
Box 31,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (20 folders)
Box 32,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (20 folders)
Box 33,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (18 folders)
Box 34,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (19 folders)
Box 35,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (15 folders)
Box 36,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (17 folders)
Box 37,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (21 folders)
Box 38,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (15 folders)
Box 39,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (12 folders)
Box 40,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (14 folders)
Box 41,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (20 folders)
Box 42,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (16 folders)
Box 43,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (22 folders)
Box 44,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (23 folders)
Box 45,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (21 folders)
Box 46,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (20 folders)
Box 47,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (19 folders)
Box 48,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (14 folders)
Box 49,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 folder)
Box 50, Manuscript
Music and Lyrics-Popular Music (22 folders)
Box 51,
Business Correspondence (19 folders)
Box 52,
Business Correspondence (24 folders)
Box 53,
Business Records (17 folders)
Box 54,
Business Records (9 folders)
Box 55,
Business Records (21 folders)
Box 56,
Business Records (14 folders)
Box 57,
Business Records (17 folders)
Box 58,
Misc. Business Records (14 folders)
Box 59,
Misc. Business Records (13 folders)
Box 60,
Misc. Business Records (9 folders)
Box 61,
Misc. Business Records (12 folders)
Box 62,
Misc. Business Records (8 folders)
Box 63,
Misc. Business Records (4 folders)
Box 64,
Misc. Business Records (17 folders)
Box 65,
Commercial (Advertising) and Other Scripts (8 folders)
Box 66,
Assorted Manuscript Scripts (11 folders)
Box 67,
Assorted Manuscript Scripts (17 folders)
Box 68,
Assorted Manuscript Scripts (5 folders)
Box 69,
Personal Correspondence (6 folders)
Box 70,
Other Personal Records (16 folders)
Box 71,
Other Personal Records (24 folders)
Box 72,
Business Photographs (5 folders)
Box 73,
Personal Photographs (3 folders)
Box 74,
Newspapers (4 folders)
Box 75,
Records (6 records, 2 folders)
Box 76,
Records (13 records)
Box 77,
Reels (9 reels)
Box 78,
Reels (10 reels)
Box 79,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 folder)
Box 80, Manuscript
Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (4 folders)
Box 81,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 orchestration)
Box 82,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 orchestration)
Box 83,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 orchestration)
Box 84,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 folder)
Box 85,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (2 folders)
Box 86,
Manuscript Music and Lyrics-Orchestrations (1 orchestration)
Materials Cataloged Separately:
The
processing archivist transferred certain materials such as trade catalogs,
documents relating to the American Federation of Musicians, serials, books,
newspaper clippings, and sound recordings originally received with this
collection to the appropriate division of the archives. These materials can be
searched in the Center for Popular Music's online public access catalog.
Arrangement:
Original
order of the materials has been maintained in so far as possible. The processor
devised the basic organizational scheme for the collection, reorganizing the
materials within component groups where necessary. Separately cataloged
materials have been minimally arranged. They are housed in labelled archival
quality folders and safely stored in an archival quality banker’s box. The materials
listed in the “Materials Cataloged Separately” category are currently stored in
the stacks next to the rest of the Joel S. Herron Collection.
Location:
The
Center for Popular Music stores The Joel Herron Collection in the special
collections storage area chronologically by accession number. Materials
cataloged separately are housed in the appropriate collection by item ID
number.
Related Materials:
The
Center for Popular Music has several collections that relate to the Joel S.
Herron Collection. These collections include the Brad McCuen
Collection. McCuen worked in the music industry for
thirty-one years. He worked as a music director, producer, and A&R man
(artists and repertoire).
Notes:
The processing
archivist separated a number of materials from the Joel S. Herron Collection
under the pretense that they would better serve researchers if housed with more
appropriate collections and record groups at the Center for Popular Music.
These materials remain available for research. Archives staff will transfer
these records to more appropriate collections and records staff within the
Center for Popular Music in the near future.
Additionally,
commercial and manuscript music compose most of the Joel S. Herron Collection.
In the future, the collection will undergo further processing in order to
separately catalog the commercial and manuscript music it contains.
D.H.
2014
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