Stars Fell on Alabama: Difference between revisions

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"Stars Fell on Alabama" is the title of a 1934 jazz standard composed by Frank Perkins with lyrics by Mitchell Parish.

It is also the title of a 1934 book by Carl Carmer in which he recounts the time he spent traveling through Alabama in the late 1920s as a professor at the University of Alabama. The book was republished in 1985 and again in 2000 with a new introduction by Howell Raines (ISBN 0-8173-1072-X).

On October 27, 2005, the University of Georgia Press rescinded author Brad Vice's Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and recalled copies of his collection The Bear Bryant Funeral Train. Vice was found guilty by the press ofplagiarizing sections of Carl Carmer's book Stars Fell on Alabama (1934). Vice was later found guilty of the same charge by his employer, Mississippi State University, and as a result was denied tenure and fired as a professor of creative writing. Vice then announced plans to leave Mississippi for the Czech Republic.

The titles of both works refer to a spectacular occurrence of the Leonid meteor shower that was observed in Alabama on November 12-13, 1833. As reported by the Florence Gazette: "[There were] thousands of luminous bodies shooting across the firmament in every direction. There was little wind and not a trace of clouds, and the meteors succeeded each other in quick succession."

The song was later performed by Ella Fitzgerald together with Louis Armstrong.

In 2002, The phrase "Stars Fell on Alabama" was added to Alabama's license plates and the familiar "Heart of Dixie" emblem reduced to a much smaller size. (A 1951 law requires Alabama license plates to display the words "Heart of Dixie" within a conventionalized heart shape.)

Jimmy Buffett also did a version of this song.

References

Hall, John. (Winter 2000) "The Night the Stars Fell." Alabama Heritage Magazine No. 55
Code of Alabama: Section 32-6-54 (1951) and 32-6-54.1 (1997). The amendment removes the requirement for special-purpose plates.

This jazz standard or composition-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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 It is also the title of a [[1934 in literature|1934]] book by [[Carl Carmer]] in which he recounts the time he spent traveling through [[Alabama]] in the late [[1920s]] as a professor at the [[University of Alabama]]. The book was republished in 1985 and again in 2000 with a new introduction by [[Howell Raines]] (ISBN 0-8173-1072-X).
+On [[October 27]], [[2005]], the University of Georgia Press rescinded author [[Brad Vice]]'s Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and recalled copies of his collection ''The [[Bear Bryant]] Funeral Train.'' Vice was found guilty by the press of[[plagiarism|plagiarizing]] sections of [[Carl Carmer]]'s book ''Stars Fell on Alabama'' ([[1934]]). Vice was later found guilty of the same charge by his employer, [[Mississippi State University]], and as a result was denied tenure and fired as a [[professor]] of [[creative writing]].  Vice then announced plans to leave Mississippi for the [[Czech Republic]].
-Sections of this book were adapted by [[Brad Vice]] in his [[short story]] "The Bear Bryant Funeral Train." His failure to acknowledge his debt to Carmer led the organizers of the [[Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction]] to revoke the prize he was given in 2004.
 The titles of both works refer to a spectacular occurrence of the [[Leonids|Leonid meteor shower]] that was observed in Alabama on [[November 12]]-[[November 13|13]], [[1833]]. As reported by the [[Florence, Alabama|Florence]] ''Gazette'': "[There were] thousands of luminous bodies shooting across the firmament in every direction. There was little wind and not a trace of clouds, and the meteors succeeded each other in quick succession."