Johnny Green (1908-1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. His most famous song was one of his earliest, Body and Soul. His instruments were the piano and the saxophone, although he abandoned the latter after college. Nathaniel Shilkret and Paul Whiteman commissioned Green to write larger works for orchestra, such as Nightclub, premiered by Whiteman at Carnegie Hall in 1933 with Green on solo piano. During the early '30s he also wrote music for numerous films, conducted in East Coast theatres; and toured vaudeville as musical director. Green spent much of 1933 in London. On Green's return to the U.S.A. early in 1934, William Paley, president of CBS, encouraged him to form what became known as Johnny Green, His Piano and Orchestra. He continued conducting on radio and in theatres into the 1940s, until he decided to move permanently to Hollywood and work in the film business. This great recording was made in 1934. The vocal might be by George Bauler.
