The Story Behind The Song
The late '30's and early '40's were (as Andy Warhol succinctly termed it) my fifteen minutes of fame. Hoagy Carmichael was under contract to Paramount Pictures and its subsidiary Famous Music and since I had a hit riding there; "Ciribiribin," I ran into him there frequently. Hoagy asked me if I had any song ideas, I mentioned a few titles I'd been toying with and he latched on to this one; "Vagabond Dreams."
Over the next few afternoons we'd meet at the Famous offices and polish both music and lyrics. Hoagy was an odd character, never overly friendly, quite business-like. We met for that one purpose — to complete the song and never got past that encounter. I held him in great awe, the writer of that classic "Stardust" and perhaps that's why we never developed a warm friendship. But I heard similar stories from other writers who were never able to crack through Hoagy's reserve. He seemed uncomfortable in social situations. Oh well, he was a great writer of distinctive melodies.
