Scope and Content Note
The Billy May Arrangements principally consist of holograph or photocopied manuscript scores, parts, lead sheets, and sketches for works created between 1939 and 1995. Additional materials include printed scores, part changes, film cues, and a handful of counterpoint exercises. Although May worked almost exclusively as an arranger for long periods throughout his career, he did compose original music, and several of these titles are represented in this collection. I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat, Front Page Rag, and his film score for Sergeants Three are notable examples. Titles and cross-references are arranged alphabetically and standardized according to Jack Mirtle's The Music of Billy May: a Discography (1998). Part sets are complete unless indicated otherwise.