Hoagy Carmichael Composer Bloomington, Indiana, November 22, 1899; Palm Springs, California, December 27, 1981. He learned to play piano by listening to his mother, who accompanied silent movies, and from a local black pianist, Reggie Duval. While attending Indiana University’s law school, he became friendly with Bix Beiderbecke and invited Beiderbecke’s Wolverines to play at parties his fraternity gave. As a result of that friendship, his first composition, “Riverboat Shuffle,” was recorded by…