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"Pennies from Heaven " is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke . It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name .[1] It was recorded in the same year by Billie Holiday and afterwards performed by Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra, Louis Armstrong , Arthur Tracy , Eddie Duchin , Tony Bennett , Dinah Washington , Clark Terry , Frances Langford , Big Joe Turner , Frank Sinatra , Lester Young , Stan Getz , Dean Martin , Gene Ammons , The Skyliners (a major hit in 1960), Louis Prima , Legion of Mary , Guy Mitchell , Rose Murphy , Harry James , and many other jazz and popular singers.
The July 24, 1936, recording by Bing Crosby on Decca Records[2] topped the charts of the day for ten weeks in 1936[3] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Bing Crosby also recorded the song in a performance with Louis Armstrong and Frances Langford with Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, also on Decca and issued as a 12" 78rpm recording.[4] Crosby recorded the song again for his 1954 album Bing: A Musical Autobiography .
Legacy
Frank Sinatra recorded the song twice: the first with Nelson Riddle for 1956's Songs for Swingin' Lovers! and again in 1962 with Count Basie for Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First .
Sarah Vaughan recorded the song for her 1957 album Swingin' Easy .
Polly Bergen and Gordon MacRae sang a medley which included "Pennies from Heaven" on her 1958 NBC variety show, The Polly Bergen Show .[5]
Andy Williams released a version on his 1964 album, The Wonderful World of Andy Williams .
Lena Zavaroni recorded the song for her 1974 album, Ma! (He's Making Eyes At Me) .
Rosemary Clooney recorded the song for her 1978 Bing Crosby tribute album, Rosie Sings Bing .
"Pennies from Heaven" provided the title for the celebrated 1978 BBC television series and its 1981 US film adaptation , as well as being featured in both. The television series used Arthur Tracy 's 1937 recording of the number, as did the 1981 movie, the latter featuring Vernel Bagneris lip-synching to Tracy's voice while dancing.
Shirley Bassey sang this song on episode 5.04 of The Muppet Show .
Donna Loren sang this song on the February 14, 1958 episode of The Mickey Mouse Club .
Hugh Brannum , as "Smilin' Green Jeans", sang this song as an insert on Captain Kangaroo , anachronistically dating the insert "Smilin' Green Jeans, 1932";[citation needed ] the song was not composed until 1936.
Billie Holiday's version was used in the 1994 film Corrina, Corrina and appears on its soundtrack album.[6]
The episode of Roseanne where the Conners win the state lottery jackpot of $108 million is entitled "Millions from Heaven."
Regis Philbin sang this song for the soundtrack to the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire .[7]
A live two-piano performance by Bert van den Brink and Clare Fischer was recorded and released in 2001 on Bert van den Brink Invites Clare Fischer .
Louis Prima's version was used in the 2003 film Elf [8] and in the 2008 film Igor .
Michael Bublé recorded a version of the song for his deluxe Crazy Love album in 2009. Bublé also recorded the song with Paul Anka for his Duets album in 2013.
Anita O'Day recorded the song for what would be her final album, Indestructible! , released in 2006.
The original, as well as the Louis Prima version, appears in the 2010 game Mafia II .
Rose Murphy sang the song on the soundtrack of the 2011 film The Artist
A line-by-line parody also exists, "Bennie's [or Benny's] from Heaven," lyrics possibly by Eddie Jefferson , telling the story of a "second lieutenant named Spears," returning home to his wife "after being overseas three years," to find a baby in the house.[citation needed ]
Mel Tormé on his 1994 album A Tribute to Bing Crosby
European/German jazz and pop artist Marc Secara recorded the song on the CD You're Everything .[9]
Seth Macfarlane recorded a version of Pennies From Heaven for the 2016 animated film Sing
Michael Keaton and Linda Cardellini performed a duet version of the song for the 2016 film The Founder
See also
References
^ Original Soundtrack, Pennies from Heaven
^ "A Bing Crosby Discography" . BING magazine . International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 16, 2017 .
^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 105. ISBN 0-89820-083-0 .
^ Pennies from Heaven. 1936 release by Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Frances Langford with Jimmy Dorsey. Discogs.
^ "The Polly Bergen Show" . Classic Television Archives. Retrieved January 9, 2011 .
^ Original Soundtrack, Corrina Corrina
^ Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Album
^ Elf: Music From The Major Motion Picture
^ You're Everything CD, Marc Secara and Berlin Jazz Orchestra arranged by Steve Gray, track #11
External links
Albums
Music of Hawaii (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
Cowboy Songs (Bing Crosby's first solo album) (1939)
Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
Ballad for Americans (Bing Crosby's first solo studio album)(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 (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (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 and Irving Berlin ) (1946)
Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946)
St. Patrick's Day (1947)
Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947)
Cowboy Songs, Vol. One (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)
Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from Broadway Shows (1948)
Cowboy Songs, Vol. Two (1948)
Auld Lang Syne (1948)
Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs (1949)
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 (1950)
Songs from Mr. Music (w/ Dorothy Kirsten and The Andrews Sisters ) (1950)
Go West Young Man (w/ The Andrews Sisters ) (1950)
Collectors' Classics, Vols. 1–8 (1951)
Way Back Home (1951)
Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from... (1951)
Bing and the Dixieland Bands (1951)
Yours Is My Heart Alone (1951)
Country Style (1951)
Beloved Hymns (1951)
Bing and Connee (w/ Connee Boswell ) (1952)
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1952)
Themes and Songs from The Quiet Man (w/ Victor Young ) (1952)
Selections from the Paramount Picture "Just for You" (w/ Jane Wyman and The Andrews Sisters ) (1952)
Road to Bali (w/ Bob Hope and Peggy Lee ) (1952)
Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
Bing Sings the Hits (1954)
Selections from White Christmas (w/ Peggy Lee and Danny Kaye ) (1954)
Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
The Country Girl / Little Boy Lost (1955)
Merry Christmas (later version of 1945 78rpm album) (1955)
Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1956)
Home on the Range (1956)
Blue Hawaii (1956)
High Tor (w/ Julie Andrews and Everett Sloane ) (1956)
A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956)
Anything Goes (w/ Donald O'Connor , Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire ) (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)
New Tricks (1957)
The Bible Story of Christmas (1957)
Never Be Afraid (1958)
Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1958)
Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1958)
Around the World with Bing! (1958)
Bing in Paris (1958)
That Christmas Feeling (1958)
In a Little Spanish Town (1958)
Bing’s Buddies and Beaus (1959)
Say One for Me (w/ Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner ) (1959)
How the West Was Won (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1960)
Join Bing and Sing Along (1960)
Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong ) (1960)
Songs of Christmas (1960)
101 Gang Songs (1961)
El Señor Bing (1961)
My Golden Favorites (1961)
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
Bing's Hollywood (set of 15 albums) (1962)
On the Happy Side (1962)
I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
Holiday in Europe (1962)
Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
Return to Paradise Islands (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
Robin and the 7 Hoods (w/ Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring ) (1964)
Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1965)
That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney ) (1965)
The Summit (w/ Dean Martin , Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1966)
Bing Crosby's Treasury – The Songs I Love (1966)
Bing Crosby and The Columbus Boychoir Sing Family Christmas Favorites (w/ The Columbus Boychoir ) (1967)
Thoroughly Modern Bing (1968)
Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version) (1968)
Hey Jude/Hey Bing! (1969)
Goldilocks (1970)
A Time to Be Jolly (1971)
Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie ) (1972)
Rhythm on the Range (1972)
I’ll Sing You a Song of the Islands (1972)
A Southern Memoir (1975)
That's What Life Is All About (1975)
A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire ) (1975)
Tom Sawyer (1976)
At My Time of Life (1976)
Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium (1976)
Feels Good, Feels Right (1976)
Beautiful Memories (1977)
Bingo Viejo (1977)
Seasons (Bing Crosby's last studio album released during his lifetime) (1977)
A Little Bit of Irish (posthumous edition, recorded in 1966) (1993)
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
On the Sentimental Side (posthumous edition, recorded in 1962; Bing Crosby's latest studio album) (2010)
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