Me and My Shadow
Encyclopedia
"Me and My Shadow" is a 1927
popular
song
. Officially the credits show it as written by Al Jolson
, Billy Rose
, and Dave Dreyer
; in fact, Billy Rose was exclusively a lyricist, Dreyer a composer, and Al Jolson a performer who was often given credits so he could earn some more money, so the actual apportionment of the credits would be likely to be music by Dreyer, lyrics by Rose, and possibly some small contribution by Jolson.
The song has become a standard, with many artists performing it. In the movie Funny Lady
, Billy Rose admits to wife Fanny Brice
that the shadow in the song was Nicky Arnstein
, Fanny's criminal husband before Rose.
, for Napoleon. The dwarves perform it very badly and end up fighting however Napoleon is actually pleased, as he wants, for entertainment, "little things hitting each other".
The song was used in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show
, "The Great Petrie Fortune", in which Van Dyke (playing his own uncle) sings the song on a video as part of his will. It referred to an old photograph he had had of himself as an infant, with a "shadow" that was actually Abraham Lincoln
.
The song is used in an episode of HBO show Carnivale
, (Season 2, Episode 15) sung first by Stroud and then by Brother Justin.
The song is parodied in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
episode, "Me and My Shadow Demon", in which the main characters, Scooby and Shaggy, fool a crowd of monsters with a musical number.
The song is performed by Pardon-Me-Pete the Groundhog (voiced by Buddy Hackett
) in the 1979 Rankin/Bass
television special Jack Frost (TV special)
.
1927 in music
-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
. Officially the credits show it as written by Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
, Billy Rose
Billy Rose
William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
, and Dave Dreyer
Dave Dreyer
Dave Dreyer is a composer and pianist born on September 22, 1894 in Brooklyn, New York. He died on March 2, 1967 in New York City. He started off as a pianist with vaudeville greats such as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Belle Baker, and Frank Fay. In 1923 he worked for the Irving Berlin Music Company....
; in fact, Billy Rose was exclusively a lyricist, Dreyer a composer, and Al Jolson a performer who was often given credits so he could earn some more money, so the actual apportionment of the credits would be likely to be music by Dreyer, lyrics by Rose, and possibly some small contribution by Jolson.
The song has become a standard, with many artists performing it. In the movie Funny Lady
Funny Lady
Funny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose...
, Billy Rose admits to wife Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
that the shadow in the song was Nicky Arnstein
Nicky Arnstein
Julius W. "Nicky" Arnstein was an American businessman, professional gambler, and con artist. Among his aliases were "Nick Arnold," "Nicholas Arnold," "Julius Arnold," "Wallace Ames," "John Adams," and "J...
, Fanny's criminal husband before Rose.
Recorded versions
- Donald O'ConnorDonald O'ConnorDonald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
(no recorded version available, but featured in the film Feudin', Fussin', and a FightinFeudin', Fussin', and a FightinFeudin', Fussin' and a-Fightin' is a 1948 musical comedy film from Universal Studios, starring Donald O'Connor. Also featured are Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride, , with Penny Edwards as the perky love interest. Donald O'Connor plays Wilbur McMurtry, a traveling salesman who is captured and held...
) - Cliff Adams SingersCliff Adams SingersThe Cliff Adams Singers was a UK male/female vocal group, known for ballads and novelty songs.-Career:The group was formed by the Southwark, London born Cliff Adams who had formed The Stargazers with Dick James in 1950, and joined the BBC Show Band in 1954...
- Pearl BaileyPearl BaileyPearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
- Michael BallMichael Ball (singer)Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
and Antonio BanderasAntonio BanderasJosé Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
(20032003 in music-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
) - Elkie BrooksElkie BrooksElkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
- Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
Quartet (Instrumental) (19511951 in music-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
) - James Caan (featured in the film Funny LadyFunny LadyFunny Lady is a 1975 film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and empresario Billy Rose...
) (19751975 in music-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
) - Maurice ChevalierMaurice ChevalierMaurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
(19681968 in music-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
) - Holly ColeHolly ColeHolly Cole is a Canadian jazz singer, particularly popular in Canada and Japan for both her versatile and distinctive voice, along with her adventurous repertoire, which spans such divergent genres as show tunes, rock, and country music.-Holly Cole Trio:In 1983, Cole travelled to Toronto to seek a...
Trio - Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
(19511951 in music-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
) - 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...
- Linda EderLinda EderLinda Eder is an American singer and actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which she received 1997 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Nominations, as well as the Theatre World Award for Best Actress in a Musical...
- Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
- Michele Hendricks (19901990 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...
) - Johnny Howard
- Ferlin HuskyFerlin HuskyFerlin Eugene Husky was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes...
(19571957 in music-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....
) - Bert KaempfertBert KaempfertBert Kaempfert was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records, and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish Eyes".-Biography:He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong...
- Scrappy LambertScrappy LambertHarold "Scrappy" Lambert was an American dance band vocalist who appeared on hundreds of recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s....
(19271927 in music-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
) - Linda LawsonLinda LawsonLinda C. Lawson is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 1st District since 1998.-External links:* official Indiana State Legislature site...
(19601960 in music-Events:*January 14 – Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 – Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles...
) - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
- Peggy LeePeggy LeePeggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
(19691969 in music-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
) - Ted LewisTed Lewis (musician)Theodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis , was an American entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr...
(RKO ULP-143), signature song at end of act - LiberaceLiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
- MantovaniMantovaniAnnunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
- Johnny Marvin
- Billy MayBilly MayWilliam E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
and his orchestra (vocal: The Sportsmen) (19501950 in music-Events:*January 3 – Sam Phillips launches Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.*August – Herbert Howells' Hymnus Paradisi is premiered at the Three Choirs Festival.*Malcolm Sargent becomes chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra....
) - The Mills Brothers (19581958 in music-Events:*February - 45,000 peoplein one week watch performances of "rokabirī" music by Japanese singers at the first Nichigeki Western Carnival....
) - Rose MurphyRose MurphyRose Murphy was a pianist and vocalist most famous for the song 'Busy Line'....
(19481948 in music-Events:*May 20 - The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics 1948 opens in Prague.*June 5 - Opening of the first Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears....
) - Mandy PatinkinMandy PatinkinMandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
(19891989 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
) - Stephanie Pope (20012001 in musicSee also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
) - Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
(19651965 in music-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
) - Nat Shilkret and his orchestra (vocal: Johnny Marvin) (19271927 in music-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
) - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Sammy Davis Jr. (19621962 in music-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only...
) - added special and timely lyric: "Closer than BobbyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
is to JFKJohn 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....
" - Whispering Jack Smith (19271927 in music-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
) (the original version) - Cyril StapletonCyril StapletonCyril Stapleton was an English violinist and jazz bandleader.Born in Mapperley, Nottingham, Stapleton began playing violin at age 7, and played on local radio at the age of 12. He performed on the BBC Radio often in his teenage years, and played in film orchestras accompanying silent films...
- Lawrence WelkLawrence WelkLawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
- Robbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsRobert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
and Jonathan WilkesJonathan WilkesJonathan Wilkes is an English television presenter, actor and musician. Jonny Wilkes is currently performing as Billy Flynn in Chicago at The Cambridge Theatre, London. He is also the best friend of singer Robbie Williams...
(20012001 in musicSee also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
) - Daniel AshDaniel AshDaniel Gaston Ash is the guitarist for Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, and solo projects.-Life and work:After going to concerts in his teenage years, Ash made a decision to be on a stage in some way...
(1991 in Coming Down) - The KidsongsKidsongsKidsongs is an American award-winning children's media franchise which includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, The Kidsongs TV Show, CDs of favorite children’s songs, song books, sheet music, toys and an ecommerce website...
Kids their on Let's Put on a Show video and DVD.
In film and televsion
The song is performed in Terry Gilliam's Time BanditsTime Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
, for Napoleon. The dwarves perform it very badly and end up fighting however Napoleon is actually pleased, as he wants, for entertainment, "little things hitting each other".
The song was used in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, "The Great Petrie Fortune", in which Van Dyke (playing his own uncle) sings the song on a video as part of his will. It referred to an old photograph he had had of himself as an infant, with a "shadow" that was actually Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
The song is used in an episode of HBO show Carnivale
Carnivale
Carnivale may refer to:*Carnivàle, an American television series on HBO*Carnival, a festival season*Empress of Britain , a steamship renamed the Carnivale...
, (Season 2, Episode 15) sung first by Stroud and then by Brother Justin.
The song is parodied in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo is the seventh incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo, and the final first-run version of the original 1969-86 broadcast run of the series. It premiered on and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour program. Thirteen episodes of the show...
episode, "Me and My Shadow Demon", in which the main characters, Scooby and Shaggy, fool a crowd of monsters with a musical number.
The song is performed by Pardon-Me-Pete the Groundhog (voiced by Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
) in the 1979 Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
television special Jack Frost (TV special)
Jack Frost (TV special)
Jack Frost was an animated television special, directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. and written by Romeo Muller; it premiered on NBC on December 13, 1979. This stop motion animated special tells the tale of Jack Frost, the winter sprite, and his adventures as a human...
.