Tangerine (1941 song)
Encyclopedia
"Tangerine" is a popular
song
.
The music was written by Victor Schertzinger
, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer
. The song was published in 1941
.
It was introduced in the 1942
movie, The Fleet's In
, produced by Paramount Pictures
, directed by Schertzinger, and starring Dorothy Lamour
, William Holden
, Eddie Bracken
, singer Cass Daley
, and Betty Hutton
in her feature film debut.
The most popular recorded version of the song was made by the Jimmy Dorsey
Orchestra with vocalists Helen O'Connell
and Bob Eberly
. The recording was released by Decca Records
as catalog number
4123. The record first reached the Billboard charts on April 10, 1942 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. The lyrics in this version differ slightly from those in the movie. On the record, Eberle sings "And I've seen toasts to Tangerine/Raised in every bar across the Argentine," the lyric that became standard. In the movie at that point, the line is "And I've seen times when Tangerine/Had the bourgeoisie believing she was queen."
A disco
instrumental version by the Salsoul Orchestra
revived the song, bringing it into the top twenty in 1976
.
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
recorded a leisurely-paced version of the song for their album Whipped Cream & Other Delights
.
The tune was featured as background music in the movie
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
.
The Pet Milk company used the melody for a 1960s liquid diet product called Sego. The opening line "Tangerine, she is all they say" was replaced by "There she goes, she's a Sego girl." The tune later became the jingle
for Pillsbury's Figurines, a diet aid, during the 1970s.
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...
.
The music was written by Victor Schertzinger
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
. The song was published in 1941
1941 in music
-Events:*January 5 – Ernesto Bonino makes his début on Italian radio.*January 15 – Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps is premiered in Stalag VIIIA in Silesia.*January 20 – Béla Bartók's String Quartet No...
.
It was introduced in the 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
movie, The Fleet's In
The Fleet's In
The Fleet's In is a movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Victor Schertzinger, and starring Dorothy Lamour and William Holden. Although sharing the title of the 1928 Paramount film starring Clara Bow and Jack Oakie, it was not a remake...
, produced by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, directed by Schertzinger, and starring Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
, William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
, Eddie Bracken
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...
, singer Cass Daley
Cass Daley
Cass Daley was an American radio, television and film actress, singer, and comedienne. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s....
, and Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
in her feature film debut.
The most popular recorded version of the song was made by the Jimmy Dorsey
Jimmy Dorsey
James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
Orchestra with vocalists Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell was an American singer, actress, and dancer.Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early 1940s with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Yours"...
and Bob Eberly
Bob Eberly
Bob Eberly was a big band vocalist, best-known for his association with Jimmy Dorsey and his duets with Helen O'Connell....
. The recording was released by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
as catalog number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
4123. The record first reached the Billboard charts on April 10, 1942 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. The lyrics in this version differ slightly from those in the movie. On the record, Eberle sings "And I've seen toasts to Tangerine/Raised in every bar across the Argentine," the lyric that became standard. In the movie at that point, the line is "And I've seen times when Tangerine/Had the bourgeoisie believing she was queen."
A disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
instrumental version by the Salsoul Orchestra
Salsoul Orchestra
The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing band for acts on Salsoul Records. Under their own name the group recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1981.-Group History:...
revived the song, bringing it into the top twenty in 1976
1976 in music
-January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle....
.
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
recorded a leisurely-paced version of the song for their album Whipped Cream & Other Delights
Whipped Cream & Other Delights
Whipped Cream and Other Delights is a 1965 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, called "Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass" for this album, released on A&M Records...
.
The tune was featured as background music in the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
.
The Pet Milk company used the melody for a 1960s liquid diet product called Sego. The opening line "Tangerine, she is all they say" was replaced by "There she goes, she's a Sego girl." The tune later became the jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
for Pillsbury's Figurines, a diet aid, during the 1970s.