Midnight, the Stars and You

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"Midnight with the Stars and You"
Single by Ray Noble's Mayfair Dance Orchestra, vocal Al Bowlly
B-side "An Hour Ago This Minute"
PublishedFebruary 6, 1934 (1934-02-06) by Cinephonic Music Company, Ltd. [1]
ReleasedAugust 1934 (1934-08)
RecordedFebruary 16, 1934 (1934-02-16) [2]
Studio Abbey Road Studios 2, London, UK
Genre Popular Music, British dance band
Length3:23
Label Victor 24700 [2]
Songwriter(s) Harry M. Woods, Jimmy Campbell and Reginald Connelly

"Midnight, the Stars and You" is a British-American popular foxtrot song written by Harry M. Woods, Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly and published in 1934.

Contents

The most famous recorded version was performed in 1934 by Ray Noble and his Orchestra with an uncredited Al Bowlly on vocals. A foxtrot-tempo ballad, the song is considered one of Bowlly's "outstanding" vocal efforts. [3]

Other recordings of this song contemporary to the Noble version are by Hal Kemp, Roy Fox, Harry Leader, Fred Hartley, and Maurice Elwin.

It is notable for appearing in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining .

It is also featured in the 2023 film "The Critic" starring Sir Ian Mckellen and Gemma Arterton. The action is supposed to take place in 1934, when the song was first recorded.

Use in cinema and other media

The Bowlly rendition was used twice in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic horror film The Shining ; once in the Gold Room (ballroom) scene, and also over the closing of the film as the camera closes in the protagonist in a photograph from the early 20th century, carrying over into the credits. The popularity of this film associated this version of the song to a sense of unease or impending menace in cinema and other media. These include:

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References

  1. Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1934). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1934 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 29 Pt 3 For the Year 1934. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. 1 2 "VICTOR 78rpm Numerical Listing Discography: 24500 - 25000". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  3. Will Friedwald "Al Bowlly." A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Pantheon Books, 2010. p. 57. ISBN   9780375421495
  4. Brian Eggert. "Snowpiercer." Deep Focus Review. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. "Toy Story 4 Continues the Series' Tradition of Referencing The Shining". ComingSoon.net. 17 June 2019.