"Shrimp Boats" was a popular song in the 1950s. It was written by Paul Mason Howard and

Paul Weston Paul Weston (né Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the Fathe ...

and published in 1951. The original sheet music was arranged by Hawley Ades. Charting versions were recorded by

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

(Weston's wife) and

Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...

. It was also recorded by Claude Gray (a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer) in 1963, and by

Pete Fountain Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist. Early life and education LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style fr ...

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

The Orioles The Orioles were an American R&B group in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of the first vocal groups in R&B, they were early pioneers of the doo-wop sound. Dubbing themselves after Maryland's state bird, the Orioles started the trend of b ...

, and Buddy Tate. The recording by

was made in July 1951 and released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalog number 39581, with the flip side "Love, Mystery, and Adventure". It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 9, 1951, and lasted for 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 2. The recording by

was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

as catalog number 27832, with the flip side "More! More! More!" It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 30, 1951, and lasted 6 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 25. A British version was recorded by

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, also in 1951. A Yiddish parody by

Mickey Katz Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey. Early life Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court i ...

, entitled "Herring Boats", was also recorded.

Court case

In 1952, bandleader

Ben Pollack Benjamin "Ben" Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing music, swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Mil ...

filed a suit against Paul Weston, Mason Howard, and the publishers,

Disney Music The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

, alleging that the words of "Shrimp Boats" infringed his rights in relation to a non-copyrighted song, "The Cajun Song", which he claimed Weston had heard in 1945. A later case was brought against Disney Music by

Harold Spina Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Here ...

and Bob Russell, who claimed to have given the partial lyric to Fred Raphael at Disney Music. The suit was dismissed in January 1953.

References

1951 songs Songs written by Paul Weston Jo Stafford songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub