# 3103 - 1996 32c Songwriters: Hoagy Carmichael

US #3103
1996 Hoagy Carmichael

• One of four legendary Songwriters
• 8^th pane in the Legends of Music series
• Stamps were issued on same day as Big Band Leaders stamps in same series

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Songwriters, American Music series
Value:  32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  September 11, 1996
First Day City:  New York, New York
Quantity Issued:  23,025,000
Printed by:  Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 20 (4 across, 5 down) from plates of 120 (12 across, 10 down)
Perforations:  11.1 x 11

Why the stamp was issued:  The five stamps in the Songwriters set honor two talented composers - Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael - and two lyricists – Johnny Mercer and Dorothy Fields.

About the stamp design:  The portraits of the four big band leaders were made by Bill Nelson, who works in colored pencils on recycled charcoal paper.  He had previously designed album covers for big band recordings compiled by Time-Life Records.

First Day City:  The set of songwriters stamps was dedicated at Shubert Alley in New York City.  The Big Band Leaders stamps from the same series were issued at the same time.  It kicked off the US Postal Service’s American Music Stamp Festival 1996.  Family members of the people featured on the stamps were present at the ceremony.

About the Legends of American Music Series:  Honored as part of the Legends of American Music series in 1996 were four of the most popular and successful lyricists and composers of all time - Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Dorothy Fields, and Hoagy Carmichael. The talents of these individuals gave us such popular songs as "Over the Rainbow," "Jeepers Creepers," "I'm in the Mood for Love," and "Stardust."
The Legends of American Music Series debuted on January 8, 1993, and ran until September 21, 1999.  More than 90 artists are represented from all styles of music:  rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and pop, opera and classical, gospel and folk.  In addition to individual singers and Broadway musicals, subjects include band leaders, classical composers, Hollywood songwriters and composers, conductors, lyricists, and more.  The Legends of American Music Series was a huge advancement for diversity because it honored many Black and female artists.

History the stamp represents:  Self-taught pianist, composer, singer, and actor Hoagland Howard Carmichael composed many of the most popular songs of the Big Band Era. While earning a degree in law at Indiana University, Carmichael met jazz musicians, including Bix Beiderbecke, and soon decided to become a composer. His first composition, “River Boat Shuffle,” was recorded by Beiderbecke and the Wolverines in 1924, and became a jazz classic.
Due to their superior melodic structure and harmonic composition, Carmichael’s songs attracted the attention of many great musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden. Among his most popular works are “Rockin’ Chair,” “Lazy River,” and “Georgia on My Mind,” which was adopted as the state song of Georgia. His most successful song, “Stardust,” is the most recorded song ever.
Carmichael began working in Hollywood as a writer and then as a character actor, often portraying a folksy pianist. In Hollywood he wrote the hit songs “Hong Kong Blues,” “Two Sleepy People,” and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” for which he won an Academy Award in 1951. Carmichael continued to write songs and perform as an actor into the 1970s.