Eddie Elkins and His Orchestra - May I (1934)

Eddie Elkins and His Orchestra recorded the song "May I" for the Rex label on April 26, 1934. Elkins, who also performed under the name The Knickerbocker Orchestra, was a San Francisco native who was among the first leaders of dance bands. With a keen eye for talent, Elkins hired and developed musicians including Tommy Dorsey, Oscar Levant and Red Nichols.

Elkins and his band were featured in the 1929 Eddie Cantor movie Night on the Ziegfeld Roof. He retired to work in the stock market in 1932 and died in 1984 at age 87.

The song "May I?" was written for the 1934 film We're Not Dressing with words by Mack Gordon and lyrics by Harry Revel. Bing Crosby and Sam Ash both sing it in the movie and Crosby went on to reprise it often in his career. Gordon and Revel were frequent collaborators, signing together with Paramount Pictues and writing the scores for 11 films. They moved to Paramount in 1936 and scored eight more films, including Stoaway and Love Finds Andy Hardy.

Old Time Radio · Songs · Eddie Elkins · Bing Crosby · Mack Gordon · Harry Revel · Tommy Dorsey · Oscar Levant · Red Nichols · Eddie Cantor · Rex ·

2022/12/20 · Link