"Dearie" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song. The music was written by David Mann, and the lyrics, by

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentle ...

. The song was published in 1950. The song is about reminiscences, and often sung as a duet. When done as a duet, each one of the singers asks the other whether he or she remembers a number of long-ago events, and then says "if you remember, you're much older than I." When sung as a solo, the same questions are directed at the audience. It makes a string of pseudo-nostalgic references: to Orville Wright's first powered flight near

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of what is known as North Carolina's Outer Banks. The population was 3,708 at the 2020 Census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk. History ...

; waltzing to the John Philip Sousa band; "Picking up Pittsburgh on a

crystal set A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It uses only the power of the received radio signal to produce sound, needing no external power. It is named for its most impo ...

" refers to KDKA (AM), the first commercial broadcast radio station in the United States; the "

running board A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram ( cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, ...

on a Chandler Six" refers to a six-cylinder automobile of the same era as

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

's famous Tin Lizzy; "Movie stars of the silent era", including Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan, are mentioned as making you laugh and then cry; "Watching John L. win every fight, 'cause nobody ducked from Sullivan's right" refers to

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...

(1858-1918), the heavyweight boxing champion. In 1950, some of the best-known versions were recorded by Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians (with a vocal by Kenny Gardner),

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

and

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and '' Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

, Ray Bolger and

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

, and

Lisa Kirk Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk, February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto). Career Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, she was raise ...

and Fran Warren. The

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...

record was recorded on January 26, 1950 and released by Decca Records (catalog number 24899). It first reached the '' Billboard'' chart on March 31, 1950 and lasted nine weeks on the chart, peaking at number 5. The

record was recorded on January 14, 1950 and released by Capitol Records (catalog number 858). It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on March 3, 1950 and lasted 11 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 12. The Ray Bolger/

record was recorded on January 4, 1950 and released by Decca (catalog number 24873). It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on March 3, 1950 and lasted 11 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 13. The B-side of this recording, " I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Pray'rs)," also charted. The

/ Fran Warren record was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

as a 78rpm single (catalog number 20-3696) and a 45rpm single (catalog number 47-3220). It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on April 7, 1950 and lasted two weeks on the chart, peaking at number 29. The various versions of the song (combined, as was normal for '' Cash Box'') reached number 4 on their Best-Selling Records chart. In the UK, there were contemporary cover versions released by

Bob and Alf Pearson Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson (15 August 1907 – 30 December 1985) and Alfred Vernon Pearson (15 June 1910 – 7 July 2012), who were mainly known for their singi ...

(as part of their medley "In Big Bits of Big Hits"), The Five Smith Brothers, Ted Ray and Kitty Bluett,

Billy Ternent Billy Ternent (10 October 1899 – 23 March 1977) was a British orchestra leader, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s, best known for backing Frank Sinatra and his work at the London Palladium. Biography Ternent was born Frederick William Tern ...

and his Orchestra (with vocals by Eva Beynon and

Bobby Breen Isadore Borsuk (November 4, 1927 – September 19, 2016), better known as Bobby Breen, was a Canadian-born American actor and singer. He was a popular male child singer during the 1930s and reached major popularity with film and radio appearanc ...

Joe Loss Sir Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss (22 June 1909 – 6 June 1990) was a British dance band leader and musician who founded his own eponymous orchestra. Life Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Isr ...

and his Orchestra, and Donald Peers. Ray and Bluett were playing a married couple in the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

comedy show ''Ray's a Laugh'' at the time. Their recording features lyrics adapted for British audiences, who may not have understood all the American references.

Recorded versions

* Ray Bolger and

(recorded January 4, 1950) * Bing Crosby *

and Fran Warren (1950), reissued on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

on the 2003 album ''

Let's Fall in Love "Let's Fall in Love" is a song written by Harold Arlen (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics) for the film '' Let's Fall in Love'' and published in 1933. In the film, it is heard during the opening credits and later sung by Art Jarrett and chorus, a ...

'' *

and his Royal Canadians ( Kenny Gardner and The Lombardo Trio) (recorded January 26, 1950) *

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

and

(January 14, 1950) *

(as part of their medley "In Big Bits of Big Hits") on British

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

* Ted Ray and Kitty Bluett (on British Columbia) *

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) as Billy Cotton was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio a ...

and

Kathie Kay Kathie Kay (20 November 1918 – 9 March 2005) was a singer from Lincolnshire, known for her radio and television appearances in the ''Billy Cotton Band Show'' during the 1950s and 1960s. Her best known recordings are "We Will Make Love" and "A Ho ...

on their 1961 album ''Bill and Kate'' *The Five Smith Brothers *

and his Orchestra (vocals by Eva Beynon and

) *

and his Orchestra * Donald Peers *George Towne and his Orchestra (vocals by The Satisfyers) *Mary Ellen Quartet (Mary Ellen, Bob Scott and Quartet) The song was featured on the ''

Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 ...

'', later available via

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, entitled: "Do You Remember?"

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

performed a version on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' on April 9, 1950, with the final verse directed at "Jackie" instead of "dearie", reminiscing on the life of

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

, who chimes in with a very off-key "I'm thirty-nine" as the penultimate line.

References

{{authority control 1950 songs Songs with lyrics by Bob Hilliard Songs with music by David Mann (songwriter) Vocal duets Ethel Merman songs Jo Stafford songs Guy Lombardo songs