Earle Hagen (1919-2008) was born in Chicago and grew up in Los Angeles, where he graduated from Hollywood High School. He picked up the trombone in junior high, leading to an early career in traveling big bands. His illustrious career as a film and television composer includes many notable themes of television’s “golden age,” including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, and The Mod Squad. He also co-wrote the theme for The Andy Griffith Show. His most ambitious work came on the series I Spy, for which he composed an entirely new score for each episode. Later in life, he wrote books on film scoring and arranging. He is remembered now as a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame, and on Wikipedia, his own website, IMDb, Variety, and Space Age Pop.
Hagen wrote Harlem Nocturne with lyricist Dick Rogers in 1939 for the Roy Noble orchestra, of which both were members. He intended it as a tribute to Duke Ellington and his saxophonist Johnny Hodges. It was soon adopted as the Roy Noble orchestra’s theme song, and it later became the theme for the television show Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. It long ago became a genuine jazz standard, having been recorded hundreds of times by hundreds of artists, including Duke Ellington himself, over many decades. It was arranged for wind band by John Krance in 1964. Listen to that version:
Here is Roy Noble’s original recording:
And Duke Ellington’s version:
And one more famous version by the Viscounts:
This is just the tip of the iceberg: this blog features 42 versions of the piece! See more about Harlem Nocturne at Wikipedia, J. W. Pepper, and The Pop History Dig.