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Going My Way is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest taking over a parish from an established old veteran. Crosby sings five songs with other songs performed onscreen by Metropolitan Opera's star mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens and the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir. Going My Way was followed the next year by a sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1944.
James Van Heusen was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
John Francis Burke was an American lyricist, successful and prolific between the 1920s and 1950s. His work is considered part of the Great American Songbook.
"Long Ago (and Far Away)" is a popular song with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics about nostalgia by Ira Gershwin from the 1944 Technicolor film musical Cover Girl starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly and released by Columbia Pictures. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1944 but lost out to “Swinging on a Star”, from Going My Way. The song was published in 1944 and sold over 600,000 copies in sheet music in a year. In 2004 it finished #92 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.
"Imagination" is a popular song with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen and the lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was first published in 1940. The two best-selling versions were recorded by the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in 1940.
"It Could Happen to You" is a popular standard with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was written in 1943 and was introduced by Dorothy Lamour in the Paramount musical comedy film And the Angels Sing (1944).
"Only Forever" is a song popularized in 1940 by Bing Crosby. It reached number one on the Billboard charts on October 19, 1940 and spent nine weeks in that position during a 20-week stay in the charts. "Only Forever" was written by James V. Monaco and Johnny Burke, initially intended for the 1940 Crosby film If I Had My Way, but it was eventually used in Crosby's next film project, Rhythm on the River and the song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
"Sunday, Monday or Always" is a 1943 popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke.
"Moonlight Becomes You" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was written for the Paramount Pictures release Road to Morocco (1942) and published in 1942 in connection with the film. Vic Schoen wrote the arrangement.
Dixie is a 1943 American biographical film of songwriter Daniel Decatur Emmett directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Filming in Technicolor, Dixie was only a moderate success and received mixed reviews. Contrary to rumor, it has not been withdrawn from circulation due to racial issues but is simply one of hundreds of vintage Paramount Pictures from the 1930s and 1940s now owned by Universal and not actively marketed; it was broadcast several times in the late 1980s on the American Movie Classics channel. The film produced one of Crosby's most popular songs, "Sunday, Monday, or Always".
Riding High is a 1950 black-and-white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra. The songs were performed live during filming instead of the customary lip-synching to studio recordings. The film is a remake of an earlier Capra film with screenwriter Robert Riskin titled Broadway Bill (1934). While the film is generally a light musical comedy, its plot contains an unexpected tragic turn.
"Personality" is a popular song with lyrics by Johnny Burke and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It was written for the 1946 film Road to Utopia, and Dorothy Lamour performed it in the movie. Van Heusen said that he wrote the song with a limited vocal range to accommodate Lamour.
Anything Goes is a soundtrack album issued by Decca Records from the film of the same name. The film starred Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor. Joseph J. Lilley was the musical director with special orchestral arrangements by Van Cleave. All the songs were written by Cole Porter with the exception of three additional songs from Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) which have been annotated in the listing below. The soundtrack recording took place between April and June 1955. Three songs were recorded in February 1956 with Joseph J. Lilley and his Orchestra for inclusion in the album to replace the original soundtrack versions.
"It's Always You" is a song written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film Road to Zanzibar. In the film it was sung by Bing Crosby to Dorothy Lamour as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour's character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard.
Songs from Mr. Music is a Decca Records studio 78rpm album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and Dorothy Kirsten of songs from the film Mr. Music.
Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters is a Bing Crosby Decca Records studio 78rpm album of phonograph records featuring Crosby with several of Decca's top artists.
Road to Bali is a Decca Records studio album by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Peggy Lee of songs featured in the film Road to Bali released in 1952. All of the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics). The songs were featured on a 10” vinyl LP numbered DL 5444 and in a 3-disc 45rpm box set numbered 9-375.
"Aren’t You Glad You’re You?" is a 1945 popular standard composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. Van Heusen and Burke wrote the song for the film The Bells of St. Mary's, directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in the main roles. Bing Crosby presents the song in the film.
References
- 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 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 2, side A.
- 1 2 A Bing Crosby Discography, Part 1b: Commercial Recordings - The Decca Years
- 1 2 Owens, Thomas (1996). Bebop: The Music and Its Players. Oxford University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-19-510651-0.
- ↑ Swinging on a Star on YouTube
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles, 12th Edition. Record Research.
