Melody News
- Place of Publication: New York City, NY
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1934-1935
- Periodicity: Monthly
- Editor: Ned E. Williams
- Publishers: Irving Mills
- Type: Full Text
Seven issues of Melody News were published monthly between October 1934 and April 1935. Published by Irving Mills and edited by Ned E. Williams, Melody News declared itself to be “a newspaper of music and orchestra enterprises and as such reports news” [Melody News no. 2 (1 November 1934): 4. Italics original.] While the primary focus was on New York, coverage of Chicago, Hollywood, and numerous cities in between was plentiful.
Irving Mills (1894-1985) was a music publisher, song writer, and promoter. As vice-president of Mills Music, founded by his brother Jack, Irving Mills published numerous songs, many of which became jazz standards, such as “Stardust,” “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You),” “Mood Indigo,” and many others. With Mills’s deep connections within the music industry, he was privy to much musical information, which was published in the pages of Melody News. Of note is the chronicle of George Gershwin’s composition of Porgy and Bess, reports on the activities of the growing big band circuit, music industry and radio news, an “Arranger’s Corner” column, and record reviews. Short contributions by Marshall W. Stearns, John Hammond, Rudy Van Gelder, Helen M. Oakley, Lew Green, Zez Confrey, Will Hudson, and others appeared regularly.