"Theme from ''Picnic''" is a popular song, originated in the 1955 movie ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

,'' starring Kim Novak and William Holden, which was based on the play of the same name. The song is often referred to simply as "Picnic." The song was published in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and the music was written by

George Duning George Duning (February 25, 1908 – February 27, 2000) was an American musician and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana, and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Castelnuo ...

. Recordings of the song that feature lyrics also give credit to lyricist

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

1956 recordings

The most popular versions of the song in 1956 were: *An instrumental medleys of the song with " Moonglow". A medley by

Morris Stoloff Morris W. Stoloff (August 1, 1898 – April 16, 1980) was an American composer. He worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra. Life and career Stoloff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A child prodigy on the vi ...

and the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Orchestra reached #1 on the Billboard charts in 1956 *Another version of the same medley by

George Cates George Cates (October 19, 1911 – May 10, 2002) was an American music arranger, conductor, songwriter and record executive known for his work with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra. Biography Born and raised in New York City, New York, United St ...

and his Orchestra was also a major hit of that year, reaching the top 5. *A vocal recording of the song alone by

The McGuire Sisters The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters: * Ruby Christine McGuire (July 30, 1926 – December 28, 2018) * Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire (February 13, 1928 – September 7, 2012) * P ...

was also a hit, peaking at number thirteen on the Top 100 and number fifteen on the Best Seller charts.

Other recordings

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 ...

released a version of the song on his 1956 album, '' Andy Williams Sings Steve Allen''. *

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 ...

recorded a version on his 1979 album ''Still Harry After All These Years'' (Sheffield Lab LAB-11).

References

1956 songs Songs written for films Songs written by Steve Allen Songs with music by George Duning Andy Williams songs The McGuire Sisters songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub