Montague George Ewing

Montague George Ewing (21 May 1890 – 4 March 1957), was a British composer and arranger of light music and ballads. As a composer and lyricist he used his own name and various other pseudonyms, most famously Sherman Myers, but also Rex Avon, Herbert Carrington, Brian Hope and Paul Hoffmann.

Ewing was born in Forest Gate, London and was largely self-taught as a musician. He took various office jobs before the war, while establishing himself as a pianist and accompanist (for instance, accompanying The Jollity Boys in Herne Bay in 1910).

As a composer he achieved an early success with novelty compositions for piano that were quickly adapted for bands and orchestras. One of the first was the One-Step Policeman's Holiday in 1911. It was followed by The Police Patrol and The Burglar's Dream, all of which became popular with marching brass bands and as sheet music, originally published by Phillips & Page. From 1915 to 1919 he served in the London Scottish Regiment.

After the war Ewing adopted the American sounding name Sherman Myers to attract US publishers, achieving a second run of success in the 1920s and early 1930s with pieces such as Moonlight on the Ganges, an evocation of Far Eastern music with words by Chester Wallace. This was a US hit in 1926 for Paul Whiteman. Many other arrangements followed, with the piece becoming a jazz standard in the 1930s. Butterflies in the Rain, described as "a foxtrot intermezzo", with words by Erell Reaves, was recorded by Henry Hall. Other titles include Fairy on the Clock, Soldier on the Shelf and When Lights Are Low in Cairo. Some of his songs were used uncredited in films during the 1930s, such as Grand Hotel (1932), which includes Soldier on the Shelf.

There was an operetta, The Pedlar's Dream, with a text by Margaret Keir and many piano suites with short movements, some for children and educational use. Examples include Silhouettes (Books 1–7, from 1916), Petals: Four Sketches (1919), Fireflies (1921), Mosaics (1921), Love in a Cottage (1923), The Fragrant Year (1925) and Changing Skies (1934). Ewing was also a prolific arranger.

Ewing served in the Home Guard during World War 2. He was married to Doris Anne Thronton and there was one son and one daughter. They lived at Watch Cottage, 3 Friern Watch Avenue in North Finchley. He died in Friern Barnet, aged 67.

Birth and Death Data: Born East Ham (district of the London Borough of Newham in East London, England), Died March 4, 1957 (London Borough of Barnet (borough in the London Region in England) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1942

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

Notes: Sometimes used the pseudonym Sherman Myers.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-36044 10-in. 8/13/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Paul Whiteman Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BVE-36045 10-in. 8/13/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges The Revelers Male vocal quartet, with piano composer  
Victor BS-035347 10-in. 3/24/1939 Oriental medley Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor PBS-072169 10-in. 3/9/1942 Moonlight on the Ganges Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia W142561 10-in. 8/23/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Fred Rich Hotel Astor Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 142820 10-in. 10/14/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges WMCA Broadcasters Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia [W]151382 10-in. 3/2/1931 Soldier on the shelf Lanin’s Famous Players Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Columbia W151452 10-in. 3/21/1931 Soldier on the shelf Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
OKeh 80114 10-in. 9/15/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Markel's Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh W80282 10-in. 1/4/1927 Moonlight on the Ganges Irving Kaufman ; Lanin’s Famous Players Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
OKeh W80483 10-in. 2/25/1927 Moonlight on the Ganges George Epstyne Organ solo composer  
Brunswick E35691 10-in. 12/4/1930 The wedding in the ark Harry Reser ; Six Jumping Jacks Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Brunswick E36137 10-in. 2/21/1931 Soldier on the shelf Sleepy Hall and his Collegians [Fred Rich Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Brunswick E4228-E4230 10-in. 12/14/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Al Goering's Collegians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Brunswick E20164-E20165 10-in. 9/15/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Franklyn Baur Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick E20586-E20587 10-in. 10/29/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Jack Denny Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio composer  
Brunswick E20704-E20705 10-in. 11/11/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Bonnie Laddies ; Jack Denny Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio composer  
Brunswick [Br (U.K.) cat 158-b] 10-in. Feb. 1928 Music and moonlight Fred Elizalde Music Jazz/dance band composer  
Edison 11203 10-in. 9/16/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Duke Yellman Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Edison 11352 10-in. 12/6/1926 Moonlight on the Ganges Frederick Kinsley Pipe organ solo composer  
Gramophone 0J921 10-in. 1/11/1933 Danza de los minutos Orquesta Demon's Jazz Jazz/dance band composer  
Gramophone 0B1389 10-in. 9/22/1931 The queen was in the parlour Ambrose Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal trio composer  
Gramophone 0B5064 10-in. 9/11/1933 Whistling under the moon Jack Jackson Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus composer  
Gramophone 0B6414 10-in. 1/31/1933 Butterflies in the rain Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Columbia (U.K.) CA16795 10-in. between October 1937 and January 1938 The policeman's holiday Band of the Grenadier Guards [U.K] ; George Miller Band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ewing, Montague George," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/113860.

Ewing, Montague George. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/113860.

"Ewing, Montague George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/113860

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