Paper Doll (song)
| "Paper Doll" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Mills Brothers | |
| Released | 1943 |
| Label | Decca |
| Writer | Johnny S. Black |
"Paper Doll" was a hit song for the Mills Brothers. In the United States it held the number-one position on the Billboard singles chart for twelve weeks,[1] from November 6, 1943, to January 22, 1944. The success of the song represented something of a revival for the group, after a few years of declining sales. It is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.
The song has been named one of the Songs of the Century[2] and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[3] It appeared in the films The Execution of Private Slovik and The Majestic[4] and in the British television miniseries The Singing Detective.[5] Four lines of it are sung by Rodolfo in the first act of Arthur Miller's play A View from the Bridge. It is also referenced in stage directions of the third scene of Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.
The song was written in 1915 (although it was not published until 1930) by Johnny S. Black,[6] whose greatest success would come with his song "Dardanella," which sold 5,000,000 copies in a recording by bandleader Ben Selvin in 1920, and a further 2,000,000 copies of sheet music. Black died in 1936, six years before his second greatest success, "Paper Doll," swept the country.
References [edit]
- ^ David A. Jasen, A Century of American Popular Music (New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 155.
- ^ "Songs of the Century". CNN.com. 7 March 2001.
- ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Award". GRAMMY.com.
- ^ The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation, "The Mills Brothers".
- ^ Stephanie Zacharek, "A Singing Detective Plays It Again", New York Times, 20 April 2003.
- ^ David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song (New York: Routledge, 2003), p. 199.
| Preceded by "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter |
The Billboard Best Selling Retail Records number-one single November 6, 1943 - January 22, 1944 |
Succeeded by "My Heart Tells Me (Should I Believe My Heart)" by Glen Gray |
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