Mr. Sandman 3 is a three-instrument concert band arrangement of the 1954 Pat Ballard song Mr. Sandman, arranged for three instrumentalists with wind band accompaniment by Klaas van der Woude and published in the De Haske Pop Collection; the performance runs about 2 minutes and uses a three-part melodic texture with vibraphone and percussion to capture the original mood.
The original tune was written in 1954 and first recorded in May 1954 by Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra; later that year The Chordettes and The Four Aces released hit versions. The Chordettes’ Cadence single reached No. 1 on Billboard and Cash Box charts, and that recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. The Four Aces’ version was also a top-ten hit and appeared in Back to the Future (1985). Emmylou Harris later released a country-pop interpretation in 1981 on Evangeline, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 37 on the Hot 100. Other notable versions include instrumental takes by Chet Atkins (1954–55) and Bert Kaempfert (1968). There are also bassoon quartet and other instrumental arrangements of the tune, showing its enduring versatility across genres.
