History of Indian Summer

In 1904, Victor Herbert (above) resigned as conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony to form the Victor Herbert Orchestra. A classically trained cellist with an ear for popular music, Herbert was determined to take a run at commercial success by writing operettas for Broadway and performing them. The operetta predated the musical and was immensely popular in the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. Operettas were much shorter than operas, they were sung in English and were more contemporary and whimsical in theme, tone and character. Think Gilbert and Sullivan. Spoken dialogue was mixed with singing, and comic acting skills were required. By contrast, early musicals of the period were mostly singing and dancing. 

After Herbert formed his orchestra, he landed lengthy multi-year summer residences in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at Philadelphia's Willow Grove Park. Think Billy Joel's residence at Madison Square Garden. Willow Grove, an early amusement park, was located slightly out of town and featured a sizable concert pavilion. Concert admission was free, but the only way to get there was to travel 30 miles on the trolley operated by the Philadelphia Traction and Rapid Transit Co. In fact, the company had built Willow Grove just to generate fares for its transit line. Before long, the venue became a hot spot for modern music. Up to 15,000 people could gather on the park's sprawling lawns while several thousand could find seats in the outdoor concert pavilion.

Herbert loved an audience, the bigger the better. He also loved that Thursday evenings in the summer were "Herbert Day" at the park's pavilion, and he performed many of his new songs there. It was at Willow Grove in 1919, writes Neil Gould in Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life, that Herbert first performed Indian Summer: An American Idyll, featuring a nostalgic and mellow English horn solo.

Here's a close approximation of what the song probably sounded like when performed by Herbert's orchestra with its English horn solo...

In 1939—15 years after Herbert died in 1924 and 25 years after Indian Summer's debut at Willow Grove—a lyric was written in the Swing era by Al Dubin. Singer Barry Winton introduced the song on the radio in '39. Then Tommy Dorsey, with singer Jack Leonard, recorded the song that same year. Dorsey's recording became a #1 hit, remaining on the sales charts for 16 weeks.

With World War II looming in the U.S., the song became a calming autumn classic reminding listeners of a simper, peaceful time. After the war, it became a jazz standard. Here are nine of my favorite versions:

Here's Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle in 1940, which to me has always been the definitive classic version...

Here's trumpter Billy Butterfield in 1946...

Here's tenor saxophonist Stan Getz in 1949...

Here's alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and guitarist Billy Bauer in 1951...

Here's organist Wild Bill Davis in 1953...

Here are the Hi-Lo's in 1956...

Here's Duke Ellington with Russell Procope on alto saxophone in 1956...

Here's tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson in Paris in 1956...

Here's Sarah Vaughan in 1985...