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Seven Lonely Days

 Item — Box: 7, Folder: 47

Scope and Content

From the File: The Jules and Lois Herman Papers document their musical careers, particularly the music performed by the Jules Herman Band that performed for some thirty-five years at the Prom in St. Paul, Minnesota. It also includes the music playbooks with some music arrangements that were used by the Minnesota Vikings Football Band that Jules Herman directed. Of general interest is a scrapbook documenting their lives. The papers have been organized into three series: Music Arrangements, Minnesota Vikings Football Band Music Playbooks, and Topical.

The Music Arrangement Series includes some 500 music arrangements of the Jules Herman Band used during its tenure at the Prom Room in St. Paul, Minn. They are organized alphabetically by title. The major music arrangers Herman used were S.K. Grundy, Frank Chermak, Foster ‘Pops’ Wakefield, Russ Moss, Paul Brizendine and Bill Pierson. Jules Herman identified the arranger for most of the arrangements, except titles in W and Y. The Archives has an internal Access database which lists the arranger and arrangement number. There is one original composition by Jules Herman identified, the title being "Somebody New". The medleys in the collection are grouped together under ‘Medley’ with the individual songs listed. There are also a number of commercial stock arrangements in the collection and are so noted in the box and folder list.

Also included in this series is the Miscellaneous Music Arrangements Subseries consisting mostly of individual parts for a small number of music arrangements. Most also have numbers added, similar to the ones in the main music arrangements series. The titles have not been itemized in this finding aid.

The Minnesota Vikings Football Band Music Playbooks Series contains the individual music playbooks used by the members of the band. Each red, hard-cover folder contains a variety of music arrangements, no doubt the ones used the final season when playing at the Minnesota Vikings games. Many of the music parts have numbers written on them, no doubt part of the Music Arrangements series. There are playbooks for: Jules Herman as conductor, Bass, Drums, Guitar, Organ/Piano 1st 2nd 3rd and Trombone, 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Trumpet, 1st and 2nd Alto Saxophone, 1st Baritone Saxophone, and 1st and 2nd Tenor Saxophone.

The Topical Series includes a scrapbook documenting Jules Herman’s career and compiled by the family. It includes a variety of newspaper clippings, certificates of appreciation as well as seventeen photographs. It also includes some information about the life and career of his wife Lois Best and also their daughter.

The poster advertising ‘Jules Herman and His Orchestra’ also includes image of Jules and wife Lois. Remaining text includes: ‘Appearing regularly at the PROM, St. Paul, Minn.’ ‘Midwest Winner Band of the Year Contest.’ ‘Four Years with Lawrence Welk.’ ‘Featuring Lois Best, the former Champagne Lady.’

Dates

  • Majority of material found within 1950s-1990s

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.

Extent

From the File: 12.4 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the File: English

Repository Details

Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository

Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States