Monday, April 27, 2009

Under the Summer Moon

This is the oldest piece of Marx Brothers memorabilia in my small collection. It is the sheet music for the song "Under the Summer Moon," written for the vaudeville show "Home Again" by Leonard (Chico) Marx and Lem Trombley. At the time, Milton (Gummo) was performing with Julius (Groucho), Arthur (Harpo), and Leonard.

The boys began performing the show in 1914. The sheet music was copyrighted in 1916. I haven't been able to find documentation that the song was actually performed in the show. It may have been written for the show but not used, or maybe its use just isn't documented.

The photo shows, left to right, Harpo, Gummo, Chico, and Groucho

See the inside of the sheet music at the Archives of Michigan Digital Collection.

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