''Quicksilver'' is a song, which became a hit for

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 ...

in 1950. It was written by Eddie Pola,

George Wyle George Wyle (born Bernard Weissman; March 22, 1916 – May 2, 2003) was an American orchestra leader and composer best known for having written the theme song to 1960s television sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. He is the grandfather of musici ...

and Irving Taylor. A composition of the same name by jazz pianist

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

was first recorded in 1952 and has become most associated with him.

Bing Crosby

"Quicksilver" was recorded by

and the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezz ...

with Vic Schoen and his orchestra on November 25, 1949 and it became a top 10 hit in February 1950. In late February 1950 it was cited by ''Billboard'' as the fifth most popular record on jukeboxes. It peaked in mid March at Number 8 in the singles charts. By the end of April it was still in the charts at Number 30. It was the best selling single in Australia for the year of 1950. Another version of this song was recorded by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

& Her Country Cousins in 1949 and this also reached the USA charts with a peak position of No. 20.

Horace Silver and others

Another song of the same title was later recorded by

in 1952, based on his interpretation of " Lover Come Back to Me". "Quicksilver" was performed and recorded live in 1954 at New York City's Birdland by

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

and his Quintet which included Silver,

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

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 Curly Russell. It appears on the

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

album by them, '' A Night at Birdland Vol. 1''.

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

recorded a "near-frantic" version of it which he called "Spectacular".

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...

recorded it with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars group. The song has more recently been performed in tributes to Horace Silver, such as the Arale Kaminsky Quintet in 2014.

References

{{Authority control 1950 songs 1950 singles Bing Crosby songs 1950s jazz standards Songs with lyrics by Edward Pola Songs with music by George Wyle Songs written by Irving Taylor (songwriter)