Lullaby of the Leaves

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"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]

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]

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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.
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