Swinging on a Star
| "Swinging On a Star" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Bing Crosby | |
| from the album Selections from Going My Way | |
| Released | 1944 |
| Format | 7-inch, 10-inch |
| Recorded | 1944 |
| Genre | pop |
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Van Heusen Johnny Burke |
"Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke.[1] It was sung by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year,[1][2] and has been recorded by numerous artists since then. In 2004 it finished at #37 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Contents
Origins
Song writer Jimmy Van Heusen was at Crosby’s house one evening for dinner, and to discuss a song for the movie Going My Way. During the meal one of the children began complaining about how he didn’t want to go to school the next day. The singer turned to his son and said to him, “If you don’t go to school, you might grow up to be a mule. Do you wanna do that?”
Van Heusen thought this clever rebuke would make a good song for the movie.[2] 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 Johnny Burke, who approved. They wrote the song.[3]
Recordings
The first recording of "Swinging on a Star", with Bing Crosby, took place in Los Angeles on February 7, 1944, and was released as Decca Records on Disc No. 18597 paired with "Going My Way". The Williams Brothers quartet, including a young Andy Williams, sang backup vocals behind Crosby.[3]
Some additional recordings:
- 1956: Oscar Peterson on his album At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival
- 1959: Shari Lewis and her puppets on her album Hi Kids
- 1960: Mark Murphy on his album Hip Parade
- 1963: Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva[1] (reached Number 7 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1963)
- 1964: Burl Ives on his album Chim Chim Cheree and Other Children's Choices
- 1964: Frank Sinatra on his album Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners
- 1964: Richard Anthony "À toi de choisir" (french cover)
- 1968: Dave van Ronk on his album Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters
- 1974: Spooky and Sue on their album Swinging On A Star[4]
- 1974: Lena Zavaroni on her album Ma! (He's Making Eyes At Me)
- 1975: Maureen McGovern on her album Academy Award Performance: And the Envelope, Please
- 1978: Rosemary Clooney on her Bing Crosby tribute album Rosie Sings Bing
- 1980: Joanie Bartels on her album Sillytime Magic
- 1981: Franciscus Henri on his children's album Sunshine Rainbows and Violins
- 1992: Michael Feinstein on his album Pure Imagination
- 1993: Dave McKenna on his album Handful of Stars
- 1996: Maria Muldaur on the album A Child's Celebration Of Folk Music
- 1998: Tony Bennett on his album Tony Bennett: The Playground
- 1999: Ruby Braff on his album In The Wee, Small Hours
- 2000: Adam Bomb on his album Get Animal 1
- 2002: Susan Johnson on her album Previously Unreleased Live Performances
- 2008: Clare Teal as a B-side on the Children in Need album BandAGEd: Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth
- 2012: Andy Wright as a first single cover release.[5]
In TV and film
- 1947: The song was featured in the Little Lulu cartoon, Bout with a Trout. The cartoon's voice actors sang the song while Bing Crosby recorded bits of it with Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna
- 1963: sung by the Muppet Rowlf the Dog (voiced by Jim Henson) and Jimmy Dean on the Jimmy Dean Show
- 1967: Pinky and Perky did a version of the song on their Summer Holiday EP
- 1969: Jane Norman sang the song on her children's TV show Pixanne while sitting on a "swinging" star[6]
- 1969: Susan (Loretta Long) and some Muppets sang the song on Sesame Street, episode 10
- 1974: sung by Lena Zavaroni on Junior Showtime on Yorkshire Television[7]
- 1975: sung by Julie Andrews on her TV special Julie Andrews: My Favorite Things
- 1987: a new adaptation based particular on the 1963 Big Dee Irvin & Little Eva version was used as the theme song to the American television series Out of this World
- 1991: Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello sing it in the film Hudson Hawk
- 1994: sung again by Joanie Bartels on her video, The Extra-Special Substitute Teacher
Parodies
The song was parodied in a The Far Side cartoon, which depicted a man-turned-pig saying to his wife, "Hey! So I made the wrong decision! [referring to the part of the song which says "Or would you rather be a pig"]... But you know, I really wasn't sure I wanted to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar!"
In 1969, Ray Stevens sang "Gitarzan", which featured the wrong notes from "Swinging on a Star": "Carrying Moonbeams Home in a Jar."
During his 2009 Tour of Refusal, Morrissey occasionally sang the chorus over the chorus of his 2004 hit "First of the Gang to Die".
A Prairie Home Companion guitarist Pat Donohue wrote "Would You Like to Play Guitar," which wittily advises aspiring musicians against the practical perils of a full-time music career.
The song was the title song for the television sitcom, "Out Of This World," about a teenage girl born of an alien father and earth mother. It's sung first as originally written and then again with lyrics changed to fit the content of the series.[8]
Awards and honors
- Academy Award for Best Original Song (1944)
- Grammy Hall of Fame (2002)
See also
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Tape 2, side A.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Bing Crosby Discography, Part 1b: Commercial Recordings - The Decca Years
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Video on YouTube
- ↑ Junior Showtime at British Film Institute
- ↑ Me. (John Boni) I created the show.
