Jump to content

Skylark (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Oska (talk | contribs) at 03:40, 10 July 2020 (→Cover versions: added Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky cover). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Skylark"
Single
Released1942
GenrePop
Length3:30
Songwriter(s)Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael

"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941.[1] Carmichael wrote the melody, based on a Bix Beiderbecke cornet improvisation, as "Bix Licks," for a project to turn the novel Young Man With a Horn into a Broadway musical. After that project failed, Carmichael brought in Johnny Mercer to write lyrics for the song.[2] Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right.[3] Mercer recalled that Carmichael initially called him several times about the lyrics but had forgotten about the song by the time Mercer finally wrote them.[4] The yearning expressed in the lyrics was based on Mercer's longing for Judy Garland, with whom he had an affair.[5] This song is considered a jazz standard.[6] Additionally, it is believed to have inspired a long-running Buick car of the same name that was produced from 1953 to 1998.[7]

Cover versions

Year Performer(s)
1961 Tony Bennett – Tony Sings for Two
1962 Art Blakey with Freddie Hubbard – Caravan[8]
1956 Hoagy Carmichael with Art Pepper – Hoagy Sings Carmichael[8]
2019 Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky - Tryst
2001 Bill Charlap – Stardust
2016 Kristin Chenoweth – The Art of Elegance
1987 Rosemary Clooney – Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Johnny Mercer
1966 Sonny Criss "Skylark" This is Criss Prestige Records (21Oct1966)
1942 Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra.[9] This also charted in 1942 reaching a peak position of No.14.[10]
1961 Bobby Darin – Love Swings
1974 Paul Desmond – Skylark
2016 Bob Dylan – Fallen Angels
1964 Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book
1963 Aretha Franklin – Laughing on the Outside
1949 Erroll Garner
2003 Steve Hass – Traveler
1942 Earl Hines with Billy Eckstine[8]
2015 Stevie Holland – Life Goes On
2009 Mark Isham and Kate Ceberano – Bittersweet
1941 Harry James with Helen Forrest.[4][8] This reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts in 1942.[11]
1997 k.d. lang – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Soundtrack
1981 Susannah McCorkle – The Songs of Johnny Mercer
1958 Carmen McRae – Birds of a Feather
1973 Bette Midler – Bette Midler
1942 Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with vocals by Ray Eberle in 1942,[8][1] rising to No. 7 on the charts.[12]
2004 Marion Montgomery – Skylark
1941 Anita O'Day with the Gene Krupa Orchestra recorded the song on November 25, 1941.[13]
2010 Gregory Porter – Water
1984 Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra – Lush Life. Ronstadt's version was nominated for a Grammy Award.
1942 Dinah Shore recorded February 10, 1942 for Bluebird[14] This reached the No. 5 spot in the Billboard charts.[15]
1941 Ginny Simms with the Edgar Fairchild Orchestra (18 December 1941).
1995 Cassandra Wilson – New Moon Daughter[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Johnny Mercer's Songs on CD", Ralph Mitchell, JohnnyMercer.com, June 2009, webpage: JM-ralph Archived 2009-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ http://riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu/program/bix-hoagy-midwestern-romantics-jazz-age, retrieved 8/20/18
  3. ^ Wilk, Max (1997). They're Playing Our Song. New York: Da Capo.
  4. ^ 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 1, side A.
  5. ^ Furia, Philip (2003). Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-28720-7.
  6. ^ Wilder, Alec (1990). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
  7. ^ Dennis Adler (2004), Fifties Flashback: The American Car, p. 52, ISBN 0760319278, The flighty name for Buick's dream car came from a song of the same name recorded in 1942 by Johnny Mercer
  8. ^ a b c d e f Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  9. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". A Bing Crosby Discography. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 109. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 579. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 312. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  13. ^ Malcolm Laycock presents the Golden Age of Swing detailed track info (90511).
  14. ^ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  15. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 388. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Skylark_(song)&oldid=966936336"