Blueberry Hill
| "Blueberry Hill" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Fats Domino | ||||
| from the EP This Is Fats Domino! | ||||
| B-side | "Honey Chile" | |||
| Released | 1956 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:14 | |||
| Label | Imperial | |||
| Composer(s) | Vincent Rose | |||
| Lyricist(s) | ||||
| Fats Domino singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940, best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino.
Background and first releases[edit]
The music for "Blueberry Hill" was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis.[1] It was recorded six times in 1940. Victor Records released the recording by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra with vocals by Tommy Ryan on May 31, 1940.[2] Gene Krupa's version was issued on OKeh Records[3] on June 3 and singer Mary Small recorded a vocal version on the same label with Nat Brandwynne's orchestra, released June 20, 1940.[4]
Other 1940 recordings were by: the Glenn Miller Orchestra (The most famous version in the 1940s. Recorded in Chicago on May 13, 1940. Catalog number 10768A and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog numbers BD 5632 and MH 92) on Bluebird Records (10768), Kay Kyser, Russ Morgan, Gene Autry (also in the 1941 film The Singing Hill), Connee Boswell, and Jimmy Dorsey. The largest 1940 hit was by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which reached #2 on the US charts.[5] Dennis Day performed on radio comedy program The Jack Benny Program (November 10, 1940).
Louis Armstrong's 1949 recording charted in the Billboard Top 40, reaching number 29.
Fats Domino version[edit]
"Blueberry Hill" was an international hit in 1956 for Fats Domino and has become a rock and roll standard. It reached number two for three weeks on the Billboard Top 40 charts, becoming his biggest pop hit, and spent eight non-consecutive weeks at number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart.[6] The version by Fats Domino was also ranked number 82 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7][8]
In popular culture[edit]
- On the American television show, Happy Days, this was Richie Cunningham's favorite song.[9][10][11]
- The song was used in the movie 12 Monkeys.
- Joe Edwards' restaurant Blueberry Hill, on the Delmar Loop in St. Louis, Missouri, where Chuck Berry frequently played, is named after the song.[12]
- Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin made a cover performance of the song on December 10, 2010 before an audience of international film and television celebrities, in support of a charity for ill children. Videos of his performance quickly went viral worldwide.[13]
- The song was featured prominently in the film The Eyes Of Tammy Faye.
References[edit]
- ^ "Blueberry Hill Work ID: 320068128 – Writers". ACE Repertory. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ Catalog #26643, with the flip side "Maybe"; matrix #51050
- ^ No. 5672
- ^ OKeh Records No. 5678
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Pop Hits, Singles and Albums 1940-1954.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 167.
- ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Fats Domino, 'Blueberry Hill'". Rolling Stone. April 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Fats Domino, 'Blueberry Hill' | Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2006). Television characters : 1,485 profiles, 1947-2004. Jefferson NC: McFarland. p. 335/941. ISBN 0786421916.
Richie's trademark became the song "Blueberry Hill" (he would frequently sing the first line — "I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill").
- ^ Marshall, Garry (1995). Wake me when it's funny. Adams Pub. p. 14. ISBN 1558505261.
On the first day of Happy Days, Ron Howard pulled my brother aside and said, "I'm really glad to be doing this show, but I'm not very funny." But a few months later he was singing that Blueberry Hill song and marking audiences laugh.
(Section quoted written by Penny Marshall.) - ^ West, Beverly; Bergund, Jason (2005). TV therapy : the television guide to life. New York City NY: Delta Trade Paperbacks. p. 83. ISBN 0-385-33902-X.
...and the most alarming collection of plaid button-downs ever assembled in order to find his thrill on Blueberry Hill.
- ^ Medlin, Jarrett (August 16, 2012). "Blueberry Hill Turns 40". St. Louis Magazine.
- ^ Martel, Frances (December 11, 2010). "This Exists: Vladimir Putin Serenades Audience With Rendition Of 'Blueberry Hill'". Mediaite.com. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- 1940 songs
- 1940 singles
- 1956 singles
- 1957 singles
- Songs written by Larry Stock
- Songs written by Al Lewis (lyricist)
- Fats Domino songs
- Gene Autry songs
- Louis Armstrong songs
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- United States National Recording Registry recordings
- Imperial Records singles
- Songs written by Vincent Rose
- Okeh Records singles