Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
May (Billy) musical scores
2159
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
Title: Billy May musical scores
Creator:
May, Billy
Identifier/Call Number: 2159
Physical Description:
45 Linear Feet
40 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1937-1972
Abstract: This collection contains musical scores and parts for songs arranged by American musical arranger Billy May (1916-2004), dating
from the late 1930s to early 1970s. The music includes popular songs, Big Band and Swing, jazz, Latin music, and music for
television and movies.
Language of Material:
English.
Advance notice required for access.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Billy May.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by the name of the composer in two groupings:
Boxes 1-24: Ambrose-Chick Web
Boxes 25-38: Herb Alpert-Roger Williams
Billy May (1916-2004) was an American musical arranger, composer, and trumpeter. May began arranging music in high school.
He worked steadily as an arranger and musician during the Great Depression. May performed regularly as a trumpeter and toured
during the Big Band era of the 1940s. In the 1940s, May moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked as an arranger and studio
orchestra leader.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Billy May musical scores, Collection no. 2159, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Transferred from the USC Music Library to the Cinema Arts Library. Some processing by USC students in 2019 as part of the
"Piloting a Shared Practice for Accessible Archival Descriptions" Dean's Challenge Grant. Additional description by Diann
Benti in 2021.
This collection contains musical scores and parts for songs arranged by American musical arranger Billy May (1916-2004), dating
from the late 1930s to early 1970s. There are files for 567 titles from more than 100 different composers including Count
Basie, Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Glenn Miller, and Henry Mancini. For each title,
there is typically a holograph score showing all of the parts for different instruments and holograph sheet music for individual
instruments. The music includes popular songs, Big Band and Swing, jazz, Latin music, and music for television and movies.
Housed with the collection in Box 1 are some photocopies of Mays' arrangements and "As you remember them: volume 2" (1972)
a Time-Life vinyl record set. It is unclear if the record was received with the collection or added later.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library
at cin@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical items
and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Arrangers (Musicians) -- Archival resources
Big band music -- Archival resources
Music -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Musicians -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Popular music -- Archival resources
Scores
May, Billy -- Archives