Lullaby of the Leaves

"Lullaby of the Leaves"
Song
Genre	Jazz
Songwriter(s)	Bernice Petkere, Joe Young

"Lullaby of the Leaves" is a musical composition by composer Bernice Petkere and lyricist Joe Young. A Tin Pan Alley song first performed in 1932, the jazz standard is considered the biggest critical and commercial success of Petkere's composing career. ^{[1] [2]}

The song was a hit for George Olsen and his Music in 1932. ^[3] By January 1933, more than 50,000 copies had been sold in the U.S.—ten times more than the usual hit song of the era. ^[4]

It has since been recorded numerous times in its lyrical version and as an instrumental, including hot jazz sextet version by Benny Goodman in 1951, ^[5] a haunting bop-accented rendition by Anita O'Day in 1952, a cool jazz version by Cal Tjader on vibraphone in 1952, ^[6] a rousing surf rock version by the Ventures in 1961, a lively piano version by Mary Lou Williams in the 1950s, and a widely heard version by Ella Fitzgerald on her 1964 album Hello, Dolly! . ^{[7] [8]} Since 2002, jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman has been performing his unique arrangement of the song, especially as part of the Jeff Hamilton Trio. ^{[9] [10]}

The song was released in "Imagination", a 1958 album recorded by Billy Eckstine, with Pete Rugolo Orchestra. EmArcy label.

In 2017, British artist The Caretaker (James Leyland Kirby) would sample George Olsen's and Layton & Johnstone's covers of the songs in his album Everywhere at the End of Time Stage 2 and Stage 3 in "C2 Misplaced in time" and "F2 Drifting time misplaced" respectively.

From 2019 to 2020, Italian ice dancers Jasmine Tessari and Francesco Fioretti skated to Beth Hart's rendition of the song in competitions. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. Burlingame, Sandra. "Lullaby of the Leaves (1932)". jazzstandards.com.
2. Pessen, Edward (Summer 1985). "The Great Songwriters of Tin Pan Alley's Golden Age: A Social, Occupational, and Aesthetic Inquiry" . American Music. 3 (2): 180–197. doi:10.2307/3051635. JSTOR   3051635 . Retrieved 25 March 2022.
3. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  343. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
4. Associated Press (9 January 1933). "25-Year-Old Housewife Is Latest Addition To Tin Pan Alley Colony". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
5. Staff (1951). "Around Town". The New Yorker . Vol. 127. p. 123.
6. Bang, Derrick (2014). Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. McFarland. p. 332. ISBN   9780786490745.
7. Porter, Lewis (October 1984). ""You Can't Get up There Timidly": Jazzwomen: Part II" . Music Educators Journal. 71 (2): 42–51. doi:10.2307/3396356. JSTOR   3396356. S2CID   143894110 . Retrieved 25 March 2022.
8. Buchanan, William (16 August 1964). "Ella a Rare Success--Arrived on Talent Alone". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
9. Howard, Rebecca Cline (October 22, 2002). "Hamilton trio gets it together nicely". Deseret News . Retrieved December 30, 2023.
10. "Lullaby of the Leaves by Anita O'Day on Apple Music".
11. "Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI". ISUResults.com. International Skating Union. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
12. "Photo-stories from Graz (Part Three): the ice dancing event". Inside Skating. Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.