"Swinging on a Star" is an American

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

with music composed by

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television, and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Award for Best Original Song, Academy Awards for ...

and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by

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 the 1944 film ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ...

'', winning an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

that year, and has been recorded by numerous artists since then. In 2004, it finished at No. 37 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Many artists have recorded it under the title "Would You Like to Swing on a Star".

Origins

Songwriter

was at Crosby's house one evening for dinner, and to discuss a song for the film project ''

''. During the meal, one of the children began complaining about how he did not want to go to school the next day. The singer turned to his son

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...

and said to him, "If you don’t go to school, you might grow up to be a mule." Van Heusen thought this clever rebuke would make a good song for the film. He pictured Crosby, who played a priest, talking to a group of children acting much the same way as his own child had acted that night. Van Heusen took the idea to his partner

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

Johnny Burke, who approved. They wrote the song.A Bing Crosby Discography, Part 1b: Commercial Recordings - The Decca Years
/ref> The first recording of "Swinging on a Star", with Bing Crosby with

John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...

and His Orchestra, took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on February 7, 1944, and was released as

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 ...

on Disc No. 18597 paired with "Going My Way". The song topped the US charts in 1944 and Australian charts in 1945. The Williams Brothers Quartet, including a young

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, sang backup vocals behind Crosby.

Composition

The lyrics follow the usual verse-refrain format. The length of the composition is unusual: the refrain is just 8 bars in length, whilst the verse is 12 bars.

Other versions

*A 1963 recording by

Big Dee Irwin DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. (July 6, 1932 – August 27, 1995), better known as Big Dee Irwin, was an American R&B singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "Swinging on a Star" in 1963, recorded as a duet with Little Eva. Life and ...

and

Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), known by her stage name Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion". Biography Boyd was born in Belhaven, North Carolina in 1943 and had twelve siblin ...

reached No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US and No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1964. *The American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Out of This World'' (1987–1991) used a modified, updated version of "Swinging on a Star" as its theme song. *Actors

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

and

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...

perform the song in the 1991 action comedy ''

Hudson Hawk ''Hudson Hawk'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote the story. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallo ...

'' in order to time out a heist their characters pull. They, however, incorrectly cite the length of the song as five minutes, thirty-two seconds as well as sing the verses in the incorrect order.

Awards and honors

(1944) *

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

(2002)

References

{{Authority control 1944 songs 1944 singles 1963 singles Bing Crosby songs Little Eva songs Songs with music by Jimmy Van Heusen Songs with lyrics by Johnny Burke (lyricist) Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Number-one singles in the United States Music published by Bourne Co. Music Publishers

Origins

Composition

Other versions

Awards and honors

See also

References