"Washington Square" is a popular

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

from

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

by the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

group The Village Stompers. The composition was written by Bobb Goldsteinn and David Shire.

Background

The composition is named after the famous park in New York City.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications)

Chart performance

"Washington Square" was a hit single, reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the week ending 23 November 1963, kept from the summit of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 by Dale and Grace's hit song " I'm Leaving It Up to You". "Washington Square" did, however, top the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

for three weeks that November and made the top 30 on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

it was No. 5 for 2 weeks.

Accolades

In addition, the instrumental was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in the category Best Instrumental Theme.

Other recordings

Other artists have recorded the tune, sometimes with song lyrics. Among these acts are: * The Ames Brothers 1963 (without

Ed Ames Edmund Dantes Urick (July 9, 1927 – May 21, 2023), known professionally as Ed Ames or Eddie Ames, was an American pop singer and actor. He was known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone (1964 TV series), Daniel Boone'', and ...

; their last national chart record) *The Kirby Stone Four 1963 *

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

1963 * Kenny Ball 1963 * Spike Jones 1963 * Kai Winding 1963 * Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra 1964 * Andre Kostelanetz 1964 * Billy Vaughn 1964 * Glenn Miller Orchestra 1965 * Marilyn Maye 1965 * The Dukes of Dixieland 1968 * James Last 1970 * Percy Faith 1974 *

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

1980 * Nightmares on Wax 1999 * Chinese Man 2006. In Asia: *The

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n female vocalist band Lee Sisters released a recording of this tune. *Another South Korean group, named Key Boys, also released a recording of this tune under the title "미소 （微笑）(Washington Square)" in 1964. *The Hong Kong Cantopop artist Samuel Hui also released a recording of the tune in Cantonese, titled zh, t=學生哥, j=hok6 saang1 go1, labels=no, out=t for the film The Contract, with new lyrics exhorting boys to be studious.

Popular culture

*The tune was also featured as a very important plot piece in the 2020 Stephen King HBO drama '' The Outsider''.

References