On the Sunny Side of the Street
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song.[1] It was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence.
Ted Lewis did the first recording of the song in 1930 (Catalog #2144-D), followed by Harry Richman (Catalog # 4747) and both enjoyed hit records with the song.
Other notable recordings[edit]
The song has become a jazz standard, it was played by:
- Louis Armstrong
- The Nat King Cole Trio
- Dave Brubeck
- Earl Hines
- Benny Goodman
- Lionel Hampton
- Erroll Garner
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Art Tatum
- Lester Young.[2] The Louis Armstrong version was recorded in the key of C major, but it has been recorded in a range of keys; Ted Lewis recorded it in D major and Ella Fitzgerald in G major.
Other versions of the song were recorded by:
- Layton & Johnstone released the song for Columbia, as the first version in 1930.
- Billie Holiday
- Judy Garland
- Doris Day
- Frankie Laine
- Keely Smith
- Nat King Cole
- Jo Stafford with The Pied Pipers (a No. 17 hit in 1945),[3]
- Frank Sinatra
- Willie Nelson
- Jon Batiste
- Rod Stewart.
- Tommy Dorsey and The Sentimentalists, which achieved chart success in 1945 reaching the No. 16 spot.[4] It arguably the most popular arrangement.
- Bing Crosby (January 21, 1946, with Lionel Hampton),[5]
- Dinah Washington - In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956)[6]
- Brenda Lee - All the Way (1961)[7]
- Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie on their 1963 album Ella and Basie!.[8]
- In 1975, rockband Trapeze covered the song on their self-titled album Trapeze and it was also released as a 7" single but it did not chart.
- James Booker - Junco Partner (1976)[9]
In popular culture[edit]
The song was featured in the 1991 film JFK,[10] the 1995 film Father of the Bride Part II, in an episode of the sitcom Frasier[11] and in the fourth episode of the fourth season of Northern Exposure,[12] in 1992.[13] It was also used in the fourteenth episode of the third season of Cheers,[14] in 1985,[15] where several characters each sing part of the song one after the other, as if by contagion, after walking past each other.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "On The Sunny Side Of The Street". jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "On the Sunny Side of the Street" Search Results February 17, 2012.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 405. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 138. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "JFK - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Remembering John Mahoney, The Tony Award-Winning Actor And 'Frasier' Star". NPR. February 9, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ "Northern Exposure". IMDb.
- ^ "Blowing Bubbles". IMDb.
- ^ "Cheers". IMDb.
- ^ "The Heart Is a Lonely Snipehunter". IMDb.
External links[edit]
- Songs about streets
- 1920s jazz standards
- 1930 songs
- Barry Manilow songs
- Benny Goodman songs
- Cyndi Lauper songs
- Ella Fitzgerald songs
- Frank Sinatra songs
- Frankie Laine songs
- Jazz compositions in C major
- Jazz compositions in E-flat major
- Judy Garland songs
- Little Willie Littlefield songs
- Louis Armstrong songs
- Nat King Cole songs
- Pop standards
- Rod Stewart songs
- Songs with lyrics by Dorothy Fields
- Songs with music by Jimmy McHugh
- The Coasters songs
- Willie Nelson songs