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Swinging on a Star
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"Swinging on a Star"
Single by Bing Crosby with the Williams Brothers Quartet and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra
from the album Selections from Going My Way
Released
1944
Format
7-inch, 10-inch
Recorded
1944
Genre
Traditional pop
Songwriter(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 introduced 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
[hide]
1 Origins
2 Recordings
3 In TV and film
4 Parodies
5 Awards and honors
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Origins[edit]
Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen was at Crosby’s house one evening for dinner, and to discuss a song for the film project 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." Van Heusen thought this clever rebuke would make a good song for the film.[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[edit]
The first recording of "Swinging on a Star", with Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, 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 song topped the USA charts in 1944 and Australian charts in 1945. the Williams Brothers Quartet, including a young Andy Williams, sang backup vocals behind Crosby.[3]
Other notable recordings:
1963: Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva[1] (reached Number 7 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1964)
1964: Richard Anthony "À toi de choisir" (French cover)
1991: Christa Collins on Minnie n' Me
2012: Andy Wright as a first single cover release.[4]
In TV and film[edit]
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.
1987: A new adaptation based particularly on the 1963 Big Dee Irvin & Little Eva version was used as the theme song to the American television series Out of this World.
1988: A short stop motion puppet animation, of the version by Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva, featuring by Stop Motion Ltd, is broadcast by the BBC.[5]
1991: The song is used as a timing device in the movie Hudson Hawk. The movie incorrectly refers to its length as 5:32 and the verses are sung out of order.[6]
Parodies[edit]
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."
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.
Awards and honors[edit]
Academy Award for Best Original Song (1944)
Grammy Hall of Fame (2002)
See also[edit]
List of number-one singles of 1944 (U.S.)
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Jump up to: a b Gilliland, John (1994). Pop Chronicles the 40s: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s (audiobook). ISBN 978-1-55935-147-8. OCLC 31611854. Tape 2, side A.
^ Jump up to: a b A Bing Crosby Discography, Part 1b: Commercial Recordings - The Decca Years
Jump up ^ "Andy Wright - Swinging on a Star". YouTube.
Jump up ^ Swinging on a star - Big Dee Irwin & Little Eva - animation short on YouTube
Jump up ^ Hudson Hawk Soundtrack, on IMDB
External links[edit]
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Preceded by
"I'll Be Seeing You"
by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra The Billboard National Best Selling Retail Records number-one single
August 5 – September 30, 1944 (nine weeks) Succeeded by
"You Always Hurt the One You Love"
by the Mills Brothers
[show]
v
t
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Bing Crosby
Discography
Filmography
Albums
Music of Hawaii (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
Cowboy Songs (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
Ballad for Americans (1940)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940)
Christmas Music (1940)
Star Dust (1940)
Hawaii Calls (1941)
Small Fry (1941)
Crosbyana (1941)
Under Western Skies (1941)
Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire) (1942)
Merry Christmas (1945)
Selections from Going My Way (1945)
Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946)
Don't Fence Me In (1946)
The Happy Prince (1946)
Selections from Road to Utopia (1946)
Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster (1946)
What We So Proudly Hail (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946)
Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946)
Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire) (1946)
Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946)
St. Patrick's Day (1947)
Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947)
Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947)
Our Common Heritage (1947)
El Bingo (1947)
The Small One (1947)
The Man Without a Country (1947)
Drifting and Dreaming (1947)
Blue of the Night (1948)
Selections from Showboat (1948)
The Emperor Waltz (1948)
St. Valentine's Day (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948)
Selections from Road to Rio (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948)
Auld Lang Syne (1948)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin (1949)
South Pacific (1949)
Christmas Greetings (1949)
Ichabod – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1949)
Songs from Mr. Music (1950)
Go West Young Man (1950)
Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
Selections from White Christmas (1954)
Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
High Tor (1956)
A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956)
High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong) (1956)
Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956)
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956)
Bing with a Beat (1957)
A Christmas Story (1957)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957)
Never Be Afraid (1957)
Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1957)
New Tricks (1957)
Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1958)
How the West Was Won (1959)
Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong) (1960)
101 Gang Songs (1960)
Holiday in Europe (1960)
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
On the Happy Side (1962)
On the Sentimental Side (1962)
I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
Return to Paradise Islands (1963)
Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1963)
America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1965)
Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie) (1972)
A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire) (1975)
Seasons (1977)
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
Family
Dixie Lee (first wife)
Gary Crosby (son)
Dennis Crosby (son)
Phillip Crosby (son)
Lindsay Crosby (daughter)
Kathryn Crosby (second wife)
Harry Crosby (son)
Mary Crosby (daughter)
Nathaniel Crosby (son)
Denise Crosby (granddaughter)
Larry Crosby (brother)
Bob Crosby (brother)
Related
Songs Bing Crosby recorded multiple times
A Tribute to Bing Crosby
[show]
v
t
e
Academy Award for Best Original Song
1934–1940
"The Continental"
Music: Con Conrad
Lyrics: Herb Magidson (1934)
"Lullaby of Broadway"
Music: Harry Warren
Lyrics: Al Dubin (1935)
"The Way You Look Tonight"
Music: Jerome Kern
Lyrics: Dorothy Fields (1936)
"Sweet Leilani"
Music and lyrics: Harry Owens (1937)
"Thanks for the Memory"
Music: Ralph Rainger
Lyrics: Leo Robin (1938)
"Over the Rainbow"
Music: Harold Arlen
Lyrics: E. Y. Harburg (1939)
"When You Wish upon a Star"
Music: Leigh Harline
Lyrics: Ned Washington (1940)
1941–1950
"The Last Time I Saw Paris"
Music: Jerome Kern
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II (1941)
"White Christmas"
Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin (1942)
"You'll Never Know"
Music: Harry Warren
Lyrics: Mack Gordon (1943)
"Swinging on a Star"
Music: Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics: Johnny Burke (1944)
"It Might as Well Be Spring"
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II (1945)
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"
Music: Harry Warren
Lyrics: Johnny Mercer (1946)
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
Music: Allie Wrubel
Lyrics: Ray Gilbert (1947)
"Buttons and Bows"
Music: Jay Livingston
Lyrics: Ray Evans (1948)
"Baby, It's Cold Outside"
Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser (1949)
"Mona Lisa"
Music and Lyrics: Ray Evans and Jay Livingston (1950)
1951–1960
"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"
Music: Hoagy Carmichael
Lyrics: Johnny Mercer (1951)
"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')"
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyrics: Ned Washington (1952)
"Secret Love"
Music: Sammy Fain
Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster (1953)
"Three Coins in the Fountain"
Music: Jule Styne
Lyrics: Sammy Cahn (1954)
"Love Is a Many Splendored Thing"
Music: Sammy Fain
Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster (1955)
"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)"
Music and lyrics: Jay Livingston and Ray Evans (1956)
"All the Way"
Music: Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics: Sammy Cahn (1957)
"Gigi"
Music: Frederick Loewe
Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner (1958)
"High Hopes"
Music: Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics: Sammy Cahn (1959)
"Never on Sunday"
Music and lyrics: Manos Hatzidakis (1960)
1961–1970
"Moon River"
Music: Henry Mancini
Lyrics: Johnny Mercer (1961)
"Days of Wine and Roses"
Music: Henry Mancini
Lyrics: Johnny Mercer (1962)
"Call Me Irresponsible"
Music: Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics: Sammy Cahn (1963)
"Chim Chim Cher-ee"
Music and lyrics: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (1964)
"The Shadow of Your Smile"
Music: Johnny Mandel
Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster (1965)
"Born Free"
Music: John Barry
Lyrics: Don Black (1966)
"Talk to the Animals"
Music and lyrics: Leslie Bricusse (1967)
"The Windmills of Your Mind"
Music: Michel Legrand
Lyrics: Alan and Marilyn Bergman (1968)
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
Music: Burt Bacharach
Lyrics: Hal David (1969)
"For All We Know"
Music: Fred Karlin
Lyrics: Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin (1970)
1971–1980
"Theme from Shaft"
Music and lyrics: Isaac Hayes (1971)
"The Morning After"
Music and lyrics: Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn (1972)
"The Way We Were"
Music: Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics: Alan and Marilyn Bergman (1973)
"We May Never Love Like This Again"
Music and lyrics: Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn (1974)
"I'm Easy"
Music and lyrics: Keith Carradine (1975)
"Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)"
Music: Barbra Streisand
Lyrics: Paul Williams (1976)
"You Light Up My Life"
Music and lyrics: Joseph Brooks (1977)
"Last Dance"
Music and lyrics: Paul Jabara (1978)
"It Goes Like It Goes"
Music: David Shire
Lyrics: Norman Gimbel (1979)
"Fame"
Music: Michael Gore
Lyrics: Dean Pitchford (1980)
1981–1990
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
Music and lyrics: Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross and Peter Allen (1981)
"Up Where We Belong"
Music: Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie
Lyrics: Will Jennings (1982)
"Flashdance... What a Feeling"
Music: Giorgio Moroder
Lyrics: Keith Forsey and Irene Cara (1983)
"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Music and lyrics: Stevie Wonder (1984)
"Say You, Say Me"
Music and lyrics: Lionel Richie (1985)
"Take My Breath Away"
Music: Giorgio Moroder
Lyrics: Tom Whitlock (1986)
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
Music: Franke Previte, John DeNicola and Donald Markowitz
Lyrics: Franke Previte (1987)
"Let the River Run"
Music and lyrics: Carly Simon (1988)
"Under the Sea"
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Howard Ashman (1989)
"Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)"
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim (1990)
1991–2000
"Beauty and the Beast"
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Howard Ashman (1991)
"A Whole New World"
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Tim Rice (1992)
"Streets of Philadelphia"
Music and lyrics: Bruce Springsteen (1993)
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Tim Rice (1994)
"Colors of the Wind"
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz (1995)
"You Must Love Me"
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: Tim Rice (1996)
"My Heart Will Go On"
Music: James Horner
Lyrics: Will Jennings (1997)
"When You Believe"
Music and lyrics: Stephen Schwartz (1998)
"You'll Be in My Heart"
Music and lyrics: Phil Collins (1999)
"Things Have Changed"
Music and lyrics: Bob Dylan (2000)
2001–2010
"If I Didn't Have You"
Music and lyrics: Randy Newman (2001)
"Lose Yourself"
Music: Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto
Lyrics: Eminem (2002)
"Into the West"
Music and lyrics: Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox (2003)
"Al otro lado del río"
Music and lyrics: Jorge Drexler (2004)
"It's Hard out Here for a Pimp"
Music and lyrics: Juicy J, Frayser Boy and DJ Paul (2005)
"I Need to Wake Up"
Music and lyrics: Melissa Etheridge (2006)
"Falling Slowly"
Music and lyrics: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (2007)
"Jai Ho"
Music: A. R. Rahman
Lyrics: Gulzar (2008)
"The Weary Kind"
Music and lyrics: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (2009)
"We Belong Together"
Music and lyrics: Randy Newman (2010)
2011–present
"Man or Muppet"
Music and lyrics: Bret McKenzie (2011)
"Skyfall"
Music and lyrics: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth (2012)
"Let It Go"
Music and lyrics: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (2013)
"Glory"
Music and lyrics: John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn (2014)
"Writing's on the Wall"
Music and lyrics: James Napier and Sam Smith (2015)
"City of Stars"
Music: Justin Hurwitz
Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (2016)
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Categories:
1944 songs
Bing Crosby 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
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