Earl Burtnett
Earl Burtnett (February 7, 1896 – January 2, 1936) was an American bandleader, songwriter and pianist who was popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Life and career
Burtnett was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Pennsylvania State Co ...
and Adam Geibel (under the pseudonym Earl Lebieg) in 1923. The song's melody is based on a
motif
Motif may refer to:
General concepts
* Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose
* Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions
* Moti ...
from "Visions of Sleep", a 1903 composition by Geibel. The song was released by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923, becoming the band's first hit and their signature theme. The song was also the theme for the television musical variety show ''
The Fred Waring Show
''The Fred Waring Show'' is an American television musical variety show that ran from April 17, 1949 to May 30, 1954 on CBS. The show was hosted by Fred Waring and featured his choral group " The Pennsylvanians".
Synopsis
Sponsored by General E ...
''. The lyrics for the song were written by Waring's brother, Tom, who sang on the recording as well.
Other charting versions
*
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 ...
released a version of the song as the side to his and Mary Ford's 1953 single "
I'm Sitting on Top of the World
"I'm Sitting on Top of the World" is a popular song with music written by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. It was published in 1925. It is now in the public domain.
The song was most likely first recorded by Art Gillham ...
". It reached #21 on the U.S. pop chart and #31 on Cashbox chart.
*
Little Willie John
William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1 ...
released a version of the song as a single in 1960 which reached #10 on the U.S. R&B chart and #13 on the U.S. pop chart.
Other versions
*
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
released a version of the song as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
to their 1937 single "Wake Up and Live".
*Alto saxophonist
Earl Bostic
Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which he ...
released a version of the song as a single on King Records (#4444) in 1951.
* Urbie Green and His Big Band released a version of the song on their 1955 album ''
All About Urbie Green and His Big Band
''All About Urbie Green and His Big Band'' (also referred to as ''All About Urbie''), is an album by trombonist Urbie Green which was recorded in 1956 and released on the ABC-Paramount label.The Chico Hamilton Quintet released a version of the song on their 1956 album ''
Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi
''Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi'' is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton, released on the Pacific Jazz label.
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
and
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
released a version of the song on their 1959 album ''
Rich Versus Roach
''Rich versus Roach'' is a 1959 studio album by drummers Buddy Rich and Max Roach with their respective bands of the time. The album is mixed with each of the two bands in a different stereo channel.
Track listing
LP side A
#"Sing, Sing, Sing ...
''.
*
Boots Randolph
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit " Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most ...
released a version of the song on his 1960 album ''Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax''.
* Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra released a version of the song on their 1960 album ''Last Date''.
*
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...
released a version of the song on his 1961 album ''
Chet Atkins' Workshop
''Chet Atkins' Workshop'' is the fourteenth studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins. Full of pop and jazz stylings and no country, this became his best-selling LP to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Pop album charts.
Histo ...
''.
*
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
released a version of the song on his 1961 album ''Moody River''.
*
Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic explo ...
released a version of the song on his 1981 album ''
Travis Pickin' ''Travis Pickin is an all-instrumental acoustic solo album by American country guitarist Merle Travis released by the CMH Records label in 1981 as an LP recording. It was not released on compact disc, but was made available for download in 2018. Tr ...
''.
*
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...
released a version of the song on his 1992 compilation album ''Florida Sessions''.
*
The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and ...
released a version of the song on their 1998 compilation album ''The Chesterfield Shows 1940-1941 Yesterthoughts''.