My Blue Heaven (song)
Encyclopedia
"My Blue Heaven" is a popular song
written by Walter Donaldson
with lyrics by George A. Whiting
. It has become part of various fake book
collections.
In 1928, "My Blue Heaven" became a huge hit on Victor 20964-A for crooner
Gene Austin
, accompanied by the Victor
Orchestra as directed by Nat Shilkret; it charted for 26 weeks, stayed at #1 for 13, and sold over five million copies becoming one of the best selling singles of all time. Victor 20964-A was recorded on September 14, 1927 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
in 1978; the recording was reissued as Victor 24573 and has been reissued on several commercially available CDs.
In 1928, Blue Amberol Records
released an instrumental piano version by Muriel Pollock (issue number 5471).
while waiting for his turn at the billiard table." The song was written while Donaldson was under contract to Irving Berlin
, working for Berlin's publishing company, Irving Berlin Inc. George Whiting
wrote lyrics adapted for Donaldson's music, and for a while, performed it in his vaudeville
act; three years later
, Tommy Lyman started singing it on the radio as his theme song.
Austin, unhappy with the Victor Company and "convinced that the best material which he brought to the company’s attention was going to other artists", "gave Nat Shilkret an ultimatum that he wouldn’t do another session unless his interpretation [of "My Blue Heaven"] was commercially released. According to Austin, an agreement was reached for "My Blue Heaven" to be coupled with "Are You Thinking of Me Tonight?", the most highly regarded song among those he was planning to record at that time." On the day "My Blue Heaven" was to be recorded, after takes of the other songs had been completed, to Austin's surprise the musicians packed up and left the studio; Shilkret told Austin they had a conflict, but in a scene documented by H. Allen Smith
in his A Short History of Fingers, Austin "grabbed an old guy with a cello and talked him into standing by. Then [he] grabbed a song plugger who could play pretty fair piano. And the third fellow [he] got was an agent who could whistle – bird calls and that sort of thing." Austin recorded "My Blue Heaven" with that hastily assembled trio.
The song was subject to copyright in 1925 and 1927. These copyrights were renewed in 1953 and 1955, after the death of both composers, at which time the rights in the song were owned by Leo Feist, Inc.. The rights were thereafter assigned to the EMI
Catalogue Partnership, controlled and administered by EMI Feist Catalog Inc.
. Hit versions were also recorded by Jimmie Lunceford
in 1935
and Fats Domino
in 1956
. The Fats Domino version was a two sided hit, with, "I'm in Love Again
" and reached number nineteen on the Billboard magazine charts and number five on the R&B Best Sellers chart.
Mary Lou Williams
recording a version for her 1964 Folkways Records
album Mary Lou Williams Presents (F 2843); Smithsonian Folkways
re-issued the recording as part of its 2004 album Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes (SFW40816).
Other cover version
s include:
, accompanied by Nat Shilkret and the Victor
Orchestra, has had several late 20th century and early 21st century reissues:
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...
written by Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
with lyrics by George A. Whiting
George A. Whiting
George A. Whiting was a vaudeville song and dance man, and also a writer of lyrics for popular songs during the vaudeville era. He toured with singer Sadie Burt, whom he later married and had 3 daughters with. His best known work is "My Blue Heaven", with music by Walter Donaldson...
. It has become part of various fake book
Fake book
A fake book is a collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songs. Each song in a fake book contains the melody line, basic chords, and lyrics - the minimal information needed by a musician to make an impromptu arrangement of a song, or "fake it."The fake book...
collections.
In 1928, "My Blue Heaven" became a huge hit on Victor 20964-A for crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Gene Austin
Gene Austin
Gene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.-Career:...
, accompanied by the Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
Orchestra as directed by Nat Shilkret; it charted for 26 weeks, stayed at #1 for 13, and sold over five million copies becoming one of the best selling singles of all time. Victor 20964-A was recorded on September 14, 1927 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
in 1978; the recording was reissued as Victor 24573 and has been reissued on several commercially available CDs.
In 1928, Blue Amberol Records
Blue Amberol Records
Blue Amberol Records was the trademarked name for cylinder recordings manufactured by the Edison company in the U.S. from 1912 to 1929. They were issued as a replacement to the 4 minute black wax Amberol cylinder introduced in 1908 which in turn replaced the 2 minute wax cylinders that Edison had...
released an instrumental piano version by Muriel Pollock (issue number 5471).
Background
The music for "My Blue Heaven" was written in 1924: "Donaldson wrote it one afternoon at the Friars Club in New YorkNew York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City, founded in 1904 and famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. The club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. It is located at 57 East 55th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in a building it calls the Monastery...
while waiting for his turn at the billiard table." The song was written while Donaldson was under contract to Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, working for Berlin's publishing company, Irving Berlin Inc. George Whiting
George Whiting
George Elbridge Whiting was an American composer of classical music.-Early life and career:Born in Holliston, Massachusetts, he founded the Beethoven Society in Hartford, Connecticut when he was fifteen years old. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1862 and later to New York City. Whiting was a...
wrote lyrics adapted for Donaldson's music, and for a while, performed it in his vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act; three years later
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....
, Tommy Lyman started singing it on the radio as his theme song.
Austin, unhappy with the Victor Company and "convinced that the best material which he brought to the company’s attention was going to other artists", "gave Nat Shilkret an ultimatum that he wouldn’t do another session unless his interpretation [of "My Blue Heaven"] was commercially released. According to Austin, an agreement was reached for "My Blue Heaven" to be coupled with "Are You Thinking of Me Tonight?", the most highly regarded song among those he was planning to record at that time." On the day "My Blue Heaven" was to be recorded, after takes of the other songs had been completed, to Austin's surprise the musicians packed up and left the studio; Shilkret told Austin they had a conflict, but in a scene documented by H. Allen Smith
H. Allen Smith
For the congressman see H. Allen SmithHarry Allen Wolfgang Smith was an American journalist and humorist whose books were popular in the 1940s and 1950s, selling millions of copies....
in his A Short History of Fingers, Austin "grabbed an old guy with a cello and talked him into standing by. Then [he] grabbed a song plugger who could play pretty fair piano. And the third fellow [he] got was an agent who could whistle – bird calls and that sort of thing." Austin recorded "My Blue Heaven" with that hastily assembled trio.
Copyright
Donaldson established his own publishing company in 1928, and his rights in the song were apparently assigned to his company at that time, with the song listed as having been published by George Whiting Music and Donaldson Music.The song was subject to copyright in 1925 and 1927. These copyrights were renewed in 1953 and 1955, after the death of both composers, at which time the rights in the song were owned by Leo Feist, Inc.. The rights were thereafter assigned to the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Catalogue Partnership, controlled and administered by EMI Feist Catalog Inc.
Other recorded versions
The song has become a standardGreat American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
. Hit versions were also recorded by Jimmie Lunceford
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...
in 1935
1935 in music
-Events:*February 26 - Georges Bizet's Symphony in C is performed for the first time, under Felix Weingartner, in Basel, Switzerland*April 8 - Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 5 is premiered in Washington, D.C....
and Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
in 1956
1956 in music
-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
. The Fats Domino version was a two sided hit, with, "I'm in Love Again
I'm in Love Again (song)
"I'm in Love Again" is a 1956 single by Fats Domino. The song was written by Domino and his longtime collaborator, Dave Bartholomew. The single was Domino's third number one on the R&B Best Sellers list, where it stayed at the top for seven weeks. "I'm in Love Again" also peaked at number three...
" and reached number nineteen on the Billboard magazine charts and number five on the R&B Best Sellers chart.
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
recording a version for her 1964 Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
album Mary Lou Williams Presents (F 2843); Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
re-issued the recording as part of its 2004 album Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes (SFW40816).
Other cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
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- Alex WelshAlex WelshAlex Welsh was a Scottish jazz musician, who played the cornet, trumpet and sang.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage 'Leith Silver Band' and gigged with Archie Semple's 'Capital Jazz Band'. After moving to London in the early 1950s, Welsh formed his own band...
and his Band - Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts...
- Lawrence WelkLawrence WelkLawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
- Paul WhitemanPaul WhitemanPaul 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"...
- Slim WhitmanSlim WhitmanOttis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings...
- Mary Lou WilliamsMary Lou WilliamsMary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
- Teddy WilsonTeddy WilsonTheodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in...
CD reissues of original recording
The 1928 Victor recording (20964-A) by Gene AustinGene Austin
Gene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.-Career:...
, accompanied by Nat Shilkret and the Victor
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
Orchestra, has had several late 20th century and early 21st century reissues:
- Chart-Toppers of the Twenties, compilation, ASV Living Era: AJA 5292, 1998
- Gene Austin: Singer and Songwriter, Gene AustinGene AustinGene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.-Career:...
, Collectors' Choice: CCM1040, 2002 - Nipper's Greatest Hits--The 20s, compilation, BMG-RCA 2258-2-R, 1990
- They Sold a Million, compilation, Pulse: PBX CD 430, 1999
- The Voice of the Southland, Gene Austin, ASV AJA 5217, 1996
- Yes, Sir, That's My Baby, compilation, New World: 80279-2