"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs, and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol R ...

and

Vincent Rose Vincent Rose ''(né'' Vincenzo Cacioppo; 13 June 1880 Palermo, Italy – 20 May 1944 Rockville Centre, New York) was an Italian-born American violinist, pianist, composer, and bandleader. Career Rose holds one of the longest histories as a ban ...

referencing

Avalon, California Avalon is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island, in the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. The city is a resort community with the waterfront dominated by tourism-oriented businesses. ...

. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals ''

Sinbad Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages throughout the sea ...

'' and '' Bombo.'' Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a performer allowed him to claim composer co-credit. Originally, only Rose and Jolson were credited, and DeSylva's name was added later. A popular

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that 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 ...

, the song has been recorded by many artists, including

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

(1934),

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

(1935) and

Eddie Durham Edward Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, ...

(1936). The

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Quartet played the song in their famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. The tune remains popular in the

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

repertoire, having been performed by Wawau Adler and others. The tune's opening melody resembles a part of

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's aria '' E lucevan le stelle'', from the opera ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', but in the major key. Puccini's publishers sued the song's composers in 1921 for use of the melody, and were awarded $25,000 and all subsequent royalties of the song by the court.

Film appearances

The song was included in the biographical films ''

The Jolson Story ''The Jolson Story'' is a 1946 American biographical musical film, a highly fictionalized account of the life of singer Al Jolson, produced by Columbia Pictures and directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes a ...

'' (1946) and ''

The Benny Goodman Story ''The Benny Goodman Story'' is a 1956 American musical film, musical biographical film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, written and directed by Valentine Davies, and released by Universal-International. The film was intended as a follow-up t ...

'' (1956), and is also being noodled by Sam (

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

) at the piano right before he plays " As Time Goes By" in the movie ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' (1942). The song was played in the background in the 1932 movie ''

You Said a Mouthful ''You Said a Mouthful'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Robert Lord and Bolton Mallory. The film stars Joe E. Brown, Ginger Rogers, Preston Foster, Allen Hoskins, Harry Gribbon, Edwin Maxwell ...

'' which starred Joe E. Brown. It also appears in the 1944 movie adaptation of '' Janie''.

recorded it for ''

Rose of Washington Square ''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con a ...

'' (1939); although it was cut from the finished film, the audio recording survives. It can also be heard in ''

The Helen Morgan Story ''The Helen Morgan Story'', released in the UK as ''Both Ends of the Candle'', is a 1957 American biographical film directed by Michael Curtiz starring Ann Blyth and Paul Newman. The screenplay by Oscar Saul, Dean Riesner, Stephen Longstreet, ...

'' (1957) where it is performed by

Ann Blyth Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman, Lillian Hellman’s ''Watch on the R ...

(dubbed by

Gogi Grant Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American pop singer. She had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with " The Wayward Wind". Life and career Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in P ...

) with chorus girls It appears in '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946). It is playing in the background in the party scene about 35 minutes into the film, where George Bailey's mother urges George to pay a visit to Mary Hatch. The song is played during the opening credits of

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for ''Fi ...

's ''

The Cat's Meow ''The Cat's Meow'' is a 2001 historical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Tilly, and Ronan Vibert. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based o ...

'' (2001), a film about an ill-fated 1924 voyage along the California coast aboard a yacht belonging to

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

Renditions

* Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra (23 August 1920) * Charles W. Harrison (1920) *

Art Hickman Arthur George Hickman (June 13, 1886 – January 16, 1930) was a drummer, pianist, and bandleader of one of the first big bands. Career Hickman founded a sextet in San Francisco in 1913. The band's first job was playing at training camp for the ...

's Orchestra (1921) *Harry Raderman's Jazz Orchestra (1921) *

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. He was one of the most prolific and influential jazz musicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s, appearing on over 4,000 ...

and His Five Pennies (25 February 1928 r 27 February 1928, according to some sources *George Monkhouse and his Cambridge University Quinquaginta Ramblers (12 March 1930) *

Spike Hughes Patrick Cairns "Spike" Hughes (19 October 1908 – 2 February 1987) was a British musician, composer and arranger involved in the worlds of classical music and jazz. He has been called Britain's earliest jazz composer, and was a pioneer of te ...

and his Dance Orchestra (23 May 1930) *Joel Shaw and his Orchestra (August 1932) *

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) 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 and television ...

and his Band (21 July 1933) *

Casa Loma Orchestra The Casa Loma Orchestra was an American dance band active from 1929 to 1963. Until the rapid multiplication in the number of swing bands from 1935 on, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the top North American dance bands. With the decline of the ...

(16 August 1934) *

and his Orchestra (4 September 1934) *Scott Wood and his Six Swingers (18 December 1934; 1 September 1936) *

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

and his Orchestra (26 December 1934) *KXYZ Novelty Band (29 January 1935) *

(2 March 1935) *Quintette of the Hot Club of France (July 1935) *

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

and his Orchestra (30 September 1935) *

Harry Roy Harry Roy (12 January 1900 – 1 February 1971) was a British dance band leader and clarinet player from the 1920s to the 1960s. He performed several songs with suggestive lyrics, including " My Girl's Pussy" (1931), and " She Had to Go and Los ...

and his Orchestra (8 November 1935) *

Val Rosing Valerian Rosing (1910–1969), also known after 1938 as Gilbert Russell, was a British dance band singer best known as the vocalist with the BBC in the BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall. Rosing was the son of Russian tenor Vladimir ...

and his Swing Stars (18 November 1935) *Ballyhooligans (7 July 1936) *

Quartet (29 June 1937; 28 September 1937; 16 January 1938) * Joe Daniels and his Hotshots (28 September 1937) *

Alix Combelle Alix Combelle (15 June 1912 – 26 February 1978 :fr:Alix Combelle) was a French swing saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. He recorded often with Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Career A native of Paris, his f ...

et son Orchestre (4 October 1937) *

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

and his Orchestra (13 July 1939; 8 November 1939) *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

on the album ''

Chester and Lester ''Chester & Lester'' is a collaborative album by guitarists Chet Atkins and Les Paul released by RCA Records in 1976. The album was recorded in the mid-1970s when Atkins was in his fifties and Paul in his sixties. Atkins coaxed Paul out of his ...

'', 1976 *

Willie Lewis William T. Lewis ''(né'' Willie Meria Tawlton Lewis; 10 June 1905 – 13 January 1971) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Career Lewis was born Cleburne, Texas, United States. He grew up in Dallas and played in variety shows as ...

and his Negro Band (27 June 1941) *

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

- included in his album ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

'' (1957) *

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Welcome to the Club (1959) *

Anita O’Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self-proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

Incomparable (16 August 1960) *

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

and guest musicians on the album '' Gravy Train ''(1961) *

Harry Connick, Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...

on the album ''20 ''(1988) *

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

on the album Unforgettable... with Love (1991) *

Jacob Fischer Jacob Fischer (born 1967) is a self-taught Danish jazz guitarist. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Svend Asmussen Quartet and founded the Jacob Fischer Trio, where he plays alongside Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Janus Templeton on drums. He ...

on the album Jacob Fischer...In New York City (2015) *

Max Raabe Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto, 12 December 1962) is a German jazz singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester. Career Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 193 ...

on the album MTV Unplugged (2019)

Notes

External links

* The lyrics of the song on Wikisource
Sheet Music for "Avalon"
1920 {{authority control 1920 songs Songs with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva Al Jolson songs 1920s jazz standards Songs written by Al Jolson Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Songs written by Vincent Rose 1920 in music

Film appearances

Renditions

See also

Notes

External links