Nightmare

Artie Shaw and his Orchestra : Nightmare

Composed by Artie Shaw on August 20, 1936 in New York City to be the band’s theme song for radio broadcast introductions. The song, written in a minor key, was very attention-getting nationwide. In 1938 Nightmare rose to #7 in the Billboard Hot 100 List. It is said that Nightmare was the inspiration for the “James Bond Theme” written by composer John Barry. Movie director Martin Scorsese “Nightmare” in his Academy Award-winning Howard Hughes biopic ‘The Aviator’, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Album:
Side A: Nightmare
Side B: Non-stop Flight

Style: Fox Trot / Jazz

Date Recorded: September 27, 1938

Composer: Artie Shaw

Lyricist: na

Instrumentation: Clarinet, 4 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, guitar, piano, string bass, and traps

Charted: In 1938, ‘Nightmare’ charted on Billboard for 7 weeks and ranked #7 in the country.

Wikipedia: Artie Shaw

Instrumental

Artie Shaw (clarinet)
Chuck Peterson
John Best and Claude Brown (trumpet)
George Arus, Russell Brown and Harry Rodgers (trombone)
George Koenig and Hank Freeman (alto saxophone)
Tony Pastor and Ronnie Perry (tenor saxophone)
Les Burness (piano)
Al Avila (guitar)
Sid Weiss (string bass)
Cliff Leeman (drums)

Label: Bluebird

Rate this song page