"Penny Serenade" ... The Band Waggoners (Vocal Group - 1939)

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The following three videos feature the classic 1938 composition "Penny Serenade" by Dutch composer Melle Weersma and Hal Hallifax. The first version is an English version by the Band Waggoners on an English Odeon release. I was unable to come up with any information on the "Band Wagonners". Any info is welcome.

Melle Weersma (1908-88) became a professional musician in 1929. He worked in Berlin with the orchestra of Eugen Wolff and and also worked in the movie industry before returning to the Netherlands in 1932. In 1935 he joined the Jack Hylton orchestra as pianist and arranger and travelled to the United States where he made arrangements for Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. After working with Henry Hall in 1936 he left Europe for Argentina where he worked for several years with different orchestras and in radio. In 1938 he composed his most famous song : "Penny Serenade", which was a world wide succes in several languages. The German version was called "Das Pfennig-Lied" while the French version became "Sérénade sans Espoir" (Serenade without hope) recorded by Tino Rossi and Rina Ketty. During the Second World War Weersma joined the US marines and returned to Argentina before settling in the Netherlands in 1954.

"Penny Serenade" was so popular that it was prominently featured in the 1941 melodrama "Penny Serenade" featuring Cary Grant and Greer Garson. The movie which is in the public domain can be found on YouTube.

The video features travel in the 1930s with images taken from the Belgian magazine "Voyage".

The following two versions feature German versions of "Penny Serenade".

About the record

Odeon

OF 5854 / E 9479-I

United Kingdom,
1939

Record in good condition

This record was recorded with a Grado 78e cartridge and stylus. As little restoration as possible was done.