Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Encyclopedia
"Polka Dots and Moonbeams" is a popular
song
with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke
, published in 1940
. It was Frank Sinatra
's first hit recorded with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
. The song is one of the top 100 most-frequently recorded jazz standard
s with arrangements by Gil Evans
and others and notable recordings by Wes Montgomery
, Lester Young
, Sarah Vaughan
and many others.
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...
with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
, published in 1940
1940 in music
-Events:*July 20 - Billboard magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart".*May 27 - Quartetto Egie make their debut performance.*August - Edmundo Ros forms his own rumba band.*November 23 - Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Quintet is premièred....
. It was Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis 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...
's first hit recorded with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
Frank Sinatra & the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
Frank Sinatra & the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is a 1998 compilation album by the American singer Frank Sinatra.The three-CD set contains recordings from Sinatra's performances with Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra at the beginning of his five-decade singing career...
. The song is one of the top 100 most-frequently recorded jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
s with arrangements by Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
and others and notable recordings by Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
and many others.