Deep Purple (song)
Encyclopedia
"Deep Purple" was the biggest hit written by pianist Peter DeRose
, who broadcast, 1923 to 1939, with May Singhi as "The Sweethearts of the Air" on the NBC
radio network. "Deep Purple" was published in 1933 as a piano composition. The following year, Paul Whiteman
had it scored for his suave "big band
" orchestra that was "making a lady out of jazz" in Whiteman's phrase. "Deep Purple" became so popular in sheet music
sales that Mitchell Parish
added lyrics in 1938:
Larry Clinton
and His Orchestra recorded one of the most popular versions of the song on 23 December 1938. Featuring vocalist Bea Wain
, the Clinton version was a huge hit. Released in January 1939 on Victor Records, the Clinton recording was number one on the U.S. popular music charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1939. The next most popular version was made by Artie Shaw
with vocalist Helen Forrest
. The song is a sentimental ballad. The tune was a favorite of Babe Ruth
, and Peter DeRose performed the song at Ruth's birthday parties for about a decade. The song remained a traditional pop favourite, recast in 1957 as a doo wop classic by The Dominoes with vocals by Eugene Mumford. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
(best remembered for his song "I Put A Spell On You
") also released his version of "Deep Purple" on his 1958 album, At Home with Screamin' Jay.
Joe Loss
and His Orchestra recorded it on October 15, 1956. It was released on the 78 rpm record HMV POP 107. Pop / jazz recordng artist Joni James
also covered "Deep Purple" for her 1956 album "In the Still of the Night".
, was recorded by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
(who were brother and sister). This version of the song is notable for April Stevens
' speaking the lyrics in a low and sweet voice during the second half of the song while her brother sings. According to the Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson
, when the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo
forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to the song to remind him. The record's producers thought Stevens' spoken interludes were "cute" and should be included on the finished product, but according to Stevens, her brother was not as easily convinced: "He didn't want anyone talking while he was singing!"
The Nino Tempo/April Stevens version was intended to be the flipside of a song called "I've Been Carrying A Torch For You So Long That It Burned A Great Big Hole In My Heart". However, radio stations preferred "Deep Purple," and according to Bronson, "I've Been Carrying A Torch..." holds the distinction of being the longest title of a flipside of a Billboard number one record. Despite being considered "rock and roll," the song also reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart.
Another brother-and-sister team, Donny and Marie Osmond, revived "Deep Purple" in March 1976 and took it into the Top 20, peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
with Marie intoning the balmy lyrics during the break, as April Stevens had done in the Nino Tempo/April Stevens version. As an interesting aside, the song that succeeded the Tempo/Stevens version of "Deep Purple" at number one on the Billboard chart, "I'm Leaving It Up To You" by Dale & Grace, was also a hit over a decade later in a cover version by Donny & Marie (in 1974).
In 1978 The Beach Boys
recorded a version for their (still unreleased) album Adult Child. This recording, along with the rest of the album, has been circulating amongst collectors for many years.
Peter DeRose
Peter DeRose was an American Hall of Fame composer of jazz and pop music during the Tin Pan Alley era.-Biography:DeRose was born in New York City and as a boy exhibited a gift for things musical...
, who broadcast, 1923 to 1939, with May Singhi as "The Sweethearts of the Air" on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio network. "Deep Purple" was published in 1933 as a piano composition. The following year, Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
had it scored for his suave "big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
" orchestra that was "making a lady out of jazz" in Whiteman's phrase. "Deep Purple" became so popular in sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
sales that Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
added lyrics in 1938:
- When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
- And the stars begin to twinkle in the sky—
- In the mist of a memory you wander back to me
- Breathing my name with a sigh...
Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton was a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader.-Biography:Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became a versatile musician, capable of playing trumpet, trombone, and clarinet...
and His Orchestra recorded one of the most popular versions of the song on 23 December 1938. Featuring vocalist Bea Wain
Bea Wain
Bea Wain was an American Big Band-era vocalist born in New York City, New York. On a 1937 recording with Artie Shaw, she was credited as "Beatrice Wayne", which led some to assume that was her real name. On record labels, her name was shortened to "Bea" by the record company, ostensibly for space...
, the Clinton version was a huge hit. Released in January 1939 on Victor Records, the Clinton recording was number one on the U.S. popular music charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1939. The next most popular version was made by Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
with vocalist Helen Forrest
Helen Forrest
Helen Forrest was one of the most popular female jazz vocalists during America's Big Band era. She was born Helen Fogel to a Jewish family in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 12, 1917...
. The song is a sentimental ballad. The tune was a favorite of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, and Peter DeRose performed the song at Ruth's birthday parties for about a decade. The song remained a traditional pop favourite, recast in 1957 as a doo wop classic by The Dominoes with vocals by Eugene Mumford. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
(best remembered for his song "I Put A Spell On You
I Put a Spell on You
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #320 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Although Hawkins'...
") also released his version of "Deep Purple" on his 1958 album, At Home with Screamin' Jay.
Joe Loss
Joe Loss
Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...
and His Orchestra recorded it on October 15, 1956. It was released on the 78 rpm record HMV POP 107. Pop / jazz recordng artist Joni James
Joni James
Joni James is an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards.-Biography:...
also covered "Deep Purple" for her 1956 album "In the Still of the Night".
Nino Tempo & April Stevens and later versions
The second most popular version, which hit number one on the U.S. pop charts (the 100th song to do so) in November 1963 and also won that year's Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll RecordGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Song
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song was awarded between 1960 and 1971. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1960 the award was known as Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist...
, was recorded by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
Nino Tempo & April Stevens
Nino Tempo & April Stevens are a brother and sister act from Niagara Falls, New York. Formed in the early 1960s when Nino Tempo and April Stevens signed as a duo with Atco Records, the group had a string of Billboard hits and earned a Grammy Award as "best rock & roll record of the year" for the...
(who were brother and sister). This version of the song is notable for April Stevens
April Stevens
April Stevens is an American singer.She has recorded since she was 15 years old. Her most popular solo recording was her RCA Victor recording of "I'm in Love Again" . Accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Henri René, Stevens' recording peaked at No...
' speaking the lyrics in a low and sweet voice during the second half of the song while her brother sings. According to the Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson
Fred Bronson
Fredric M. Bronson is an American journalist, author and writer. He is best known for his appearances on American Idol, the weekly "Chart Beat" column in Billboard magazine, and as the author of books related to Billboard charts.Born to Irving and Mildred Bronson and raised in Culver City,...
, when the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo
Nino Tempo
Nino Tempo is an American musician, singer, and actor.A musical prodigy, Nino Tempo learned to play the clarinet and the tenor saxophone as a child. He was a talent show winner at four years of age and appeared on television with Benny Goodman at seven...
forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to the song to remind him. The record's producers thought Stevens' spoken interludes were "cute" and should be included on the finished product, but according to Stevens, her brother was not as easily convinced: "He didn't want anyone talking while he was singing!"
The Nino Tempo/April Stevens version was intended to be the flipside of a song called "I've Been Carrying A Torch For You So Long That It Burned A Great Big Hole In My Heart". However, radio stations preferred "Deep Purple," and according to Bronson, "I've Been Carrying A Torch..." holds the distinction of being the longest title of a flipside of a Billboard number one record. Despite being considered "rock and roll," the song also reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart.
Another brother-and-sister team, Donny and Marie Osmond, revived "Deep Purple" in March 1976 and took it into the Top 20, peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
with Marie intoning the balmy lyrics during the break, as April Stevens had done in the Nino Tempo/April Stevens version. As an interesting aside, the song that succeeded the Tempo/Stevens version of "Deep Purple" at number one on the Billboard chart, "I'm Leaving It Up To You" by Dale & Grace, was also a hit over a decade later in a cover version by Donny & Marie (in 1974).
In 1978 The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
recorded a version for their (still unreleased) album Adult Child. This recording, along with the rest of the album, has been circulating amongst collectors for many years.
Trivia
- The British rock band Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
got their name from Pete De Rose's hit after guitarist Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
's grandmother repeatedly asked if they would be performing the song, her personal favourite. - Nino Tempo and April Stevens' version of "Deep Purple" was #1 on the Hot 100 the week before John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
was assassinated. - The 45 rpm recording of the song by Tempo and Stevens is notorious for sounding unclear, perhaps due to improper processing or duplicating during manufacture.
- Earl BosticEarl BosticEarl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, and a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which showed off his...
the saxophone player had an instrumental hit with "Deep Purple" circa 1951 along with his biggest hit "Flamingo" refer to Lp of 1963 The Best Of Earl Bostic.
In popular culture
- Eileen Brennan and Peter Falk sing it in duet in the film "The Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap Detective is a 1978 American satirical comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder by Death ....
" (1978). - A recording by Vic DamoneVic DamoneVic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
featured in the film "Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco (film)Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
" (1997).