"Mississippi Mud" is a 1927 song written by

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use " scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...

, first sung by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

as a member of

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

's Rhythm Boys.

Background

The Rhythm Boys originally recorded the song on June 20, 1927 in New York for Victor as a medley with "I Left My Sugar Standing in the Rain." It was recorded by

's orchestra on February 18, 1928 with vocals by Irene Taylor and The Rhythm Boys, featuring Bing Crosby, and with

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

on cornet. Two takes from the June 20, 1927 session were released on Victor.

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He a ...

and His Orchestra recorded the song in New York City on January 20, 1928 for

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

featuring Bing Crosby on vocals, Bix Beiderbecke cornet, Charlie Margulis on trumpet, Bill Rank on trombone, Frank Trumbauer on c-melody and alto sax, and vocals,

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

and Chester Hazlett on alto sax, Matty Malneck on violin,

Lennie Hayton Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle. Early life Hayton was born in New Yo ...

on piano, Carl Kress on guitar, Min Leibrook on bass sax, and Hal McDonald on drums. In a 1950s radio interview, Trumbauer stated that this recording featured Bix Beiderbecke's greatest recorded solo. Paul Tremaine's Orchestra performed "Mississippi Mud" in a 1929 film short. Later, it was also sung briefly by the Rhythm Boys in the 1930 film ''

King of Jazz '' King of Jazz'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code color musical film starring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The film title refers to Whiteman's popular cultural appellation. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the genera ...

''. The song was also sung in the 1931

Toby the Pup Toby the Pup is an animated cartoon character created by animators Sid Marcus, Dick Huemer, and Art Davis. He starred in a series of early sound shorts produced by Charles B. Mintz for RKO Radio Pictures. The series lasted from 1930 to 1931. Twel ...

cartoon '' Down South''. The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby, Harry Barris, and Al Rinker, performed the song when they reunited on radio in 1943 on the ''Paul Whiteman Presents'' radio program. Paul Whiteman re-recorded the song on December 7, 1954 for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head of ...

Other recordings

The song has been recorded by a number of artists since its first publication, including

and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke and Bing Crosby,

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American trombonist and jazz big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the ...

and his Orchestra and the

Johnny Mann Singers John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist. Career Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before servin ...

, the

Charleston Chasers The Charleston Chasers was a studio recording ensemble that recorded music on Columbia Records between 1925 and 1931. They recorded early versions of songs such as " After You've Gone", " Ain't Misbehavin'", and "My Melancholy Baby". Their 1931 re ...

, the Louisiana Rhythm Kings,

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz. He was ...

's Creole Jazz Band,

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

with

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), '' Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' them ...

and His Orchestra, Edyie Gorme, Connie Haines.

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, Augu ...

, Harry Reser's band under the name the Seven Little Polar Bears,

Dick Cathcart Charles Richard Cathcart (November 6, 1924 – November 8, 1993) was an American Dixieland trumpet player who was best known as a member of ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' in which he appeared from 1962 to 1968. Cathcart was born in Michigan City, In ...

, the Classic Jazz Quartet (aka The Bourgeois Scum, including Dick Wellstood and Marty Grosz), Joan Shaw, and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, and has become one of the standards of the American songbook. The lyrics were revised because of the derogatory racial term "darkies" in the original. The original lyrics featured a line in the refrain: "When the 'darkies' beat their feet on the Mississippi Mud". This has since been changed to: "When the 'people' beat their feet on the Mississippi Mud." Mississippi Mud Paul Whiteman 1927

Television performances

Dean Martin and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

performed the song on the

Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on December 9, 1965 as part of a Dixie medley of songs.The Dean Martin Show. IMDB.
/ref> The song was performed on the 1958 TV series ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...

'' starring Robert Young and Jane Wyatt. The song was performed on the 1963 ''

The Jimmy Dean Show ''The Jimmy Dean Show'' is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1963 and 1975. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host. Daytime ''The Jimmy Dean Show'', initially call ...

''. The song was featured in the ''

M*A*S*H (TV series) ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983. It was developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off seri ...

'' Season 3 episode "The General Flipped at Dawn," being sung and danced to by

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

playing Major General Steele. The song was also featured as the opening number for ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

,'' episode 18 (the guest star was

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...

). It was included on the 1977 ''

'' soundtrack album.

Movie appearances

The song was performed in the 1930

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

musical film ''

The King of Jazz '' King of Jazz'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code color musical film starring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The film title refers to Whiteman's popular cultural appellation. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the genera ...

'' starring

and His Orchestra and

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

. The song appeared in the 1999 film ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

'' starring

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

and

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five ...

References

{{authority control 1927 songs American songs Songs about rivers Jazz songs Songs written for films Songs with music by Harry Barris 1920s songs