Stella by Starlight

Last updated

"Stella by Starlight" is a popular jazz standard with music by Victor Young that was drawn from thematic material composed for the main title and soundtrack of the 1944 Paramount Pictures film The Uninvited . Appearing in the film's underscore as well as in source music as an instrumental theme song without lyrics, it was turned over to Ned Washington, who wrote the lyrics for it in 1946. [1]

Contents

At one point in the film, the main character, Rick (Ray Milland) tells Stella (Gail Russell) that he is playing a serenade, "To Stella by Starlight".

Recording history

"Stella by Starlight" is one of the most popular jazz standards, ranked number 10 by the website jazzstandards.com. Its May 1947 recording by Harry James and his orchestra reached the 21st place in the pop charts. Two months later, the recording by Frank Sinatra with Axel Stordahl and his orchestra also rose to the 21st position.

Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, accompanied by a large studio orchestra including strings, made the first jazz recording of the song in January 1952. This was followed by a recording by tenor saxophonist Stan Getz in December 1952, trumpeter Chet Baker in 1954, a piano version by Bud Powell, and a rendition by the big band of Stan Kenton, featuring bass trombonist George Roberts. Nat King Cole recorded an instrumental version for his 1955 album The Piano Style of Nat King Cole .

A recording by Miles Davis was included on his 1958 album Jazz Track . Davis revived the song in 1963 performing it live many times through 1965. Other jazz recordings have been made by Red Garland, Maynard Ferguson, Earl Grant, Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Lou Donaldson, Charlie Rouse, and Dexter Gordon. Vocal versions have been recorded by Billy Eckstine, Dick Haymes, Ray Charles, Anita O'Day, Helen Reddy, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Italian singer Mina in 1964, and many others. Al Hirt released a version on his 1961 album, The Greatest Horn in the World . In 1993, guitarist Larry Coryell included the song on his album Fallen Angel. [2] [3] Caterina Valente included on 1961's Super-Fonics [4]

The Italian-born American tenor/actor Sergio Franchi had strong connections with this romantic ballad. His first venue was the song's performance on Meredith Willson's CBS variety show (Texaco Star Parade) broadcast on June 5, 1964. [5] Franchi then recorded the song on his 1965 RCA Victor album Live at The Coconut Grove. The liner notes for this album stated that Willson was so impressed with Franchi's performance that he (Willson) presented the singer with his copy of Victor Young's original score. Franchi later performed the song on a 1965 broadcast of CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show . [6]

Other appearances in film

Recordings

Selections from Victor Young's score for The Uninvited were recorded in 1997 by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William T. Stromberg. [7] The recording was released on CD by Naxos Records, [8] and is available on iTunes. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Young</span> American composer and conductor (1899–1956)

Albert Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Young was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture for Around the World in 80 Days at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957.

"Till There Was You" is a show tune written by Meredith Willson, popularised by his 1957 stage production The Music Man and its 1962 movie musical adaptation, and further popularised by the Beatles cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Caiola</span> American guitarist, composer and arranger (1920–2016)

Alexander Emil Caiola was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of the biggest names in music during the 20th century, including Elvis Presley, Ray Conniff, Ferrante & Teicher, Frank Sinatra, Percy Faith, Buddy Holly, Mitch Miller, and Tony Bennett.

"Oh, Lady Be Good!" is a 1924 song by George and Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Walter Catlett in the Broadway musical Lady, Be Good! written by Guy Bolton, Fred Thompson, and the Gershwin brothers and starring Fred and Adele Astaire. The song was also performed by the chorus in the film Lady Be Good (1941), although the film is unrelated to the musical.

"Granada" is a song written in 1932 by Mexican composer Agustín Lara. The song is about the Spanish city of Granada and has become a standard in music repertoire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want to Be Happy</span> 1925 song written for the musical No, No, Nanette

"I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar written for the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette.

"The Gypsy in My Soul" is a popular song written for the 50th anniversary of the University of Pennsylvania Mask and Wig show in 1937 by two Penn graduates, Clay Boland and Moe Jaffe. Boland wrote the music and Jaffe the lyrics. Although both men had long since graduated, it had become the practice at the time for professionals, rather than students, to compose songs for the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)</span> Song written and composed by Fred Fisher

"Chicago" is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and published in 1922. The original sheet music variously spelled the title "Todd'ling" or "Toddling." The song has been recorded by many artists, but the best-known versions are by Frank Sinatra, Ben Selvin and Judy Garland. The song alludes to the city's colorful past, feigning "... the surprise of my life / I saw a man dancing with his own wife", mentioning evangelist Billy Sunday as having not been able to "shut down" the city, and State Street where "they do things they don't do on Broadway".

"Ain't Misbehavin'" is a 1929 stride jazz/early swing song. Andy Razaf wrote the lyrics to a score by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks for the Broadway musical comedy play Connie's Hot Chocolates. As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2025.

"Don't Blame Me" is a popular song with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was part of the 1932 show Clowns in Clover and was published in 1933. Popular versions that year were recorded by: Ethel Waters, Guy Lombardo, and Charles Agnew.

"Laura" is a 1945 popular song. The music, composed by David Raksin for the 1944 movie Laura, which starred Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, is heard frequently in the movie. The film's director, Otto Preminger, had originally wanted to use Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" as the theme, but Raksin was not convinced that it was suitable. Angered, Preminger gave Raksin one weekend to compose an alternative melody. Raksin later said, and maintained for the rest of his days, that when, over that weekend, his wife sent him a "Dear John" letter, the haunting theme seemed to write itself.

"Johnny One Note" is a 1937 show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, where it was introduced by Wynn Murray. Judy Garland sang it in the Rodgers & Hart biopic Words and Music (1948).

"Lover, Come Back to Me" is a popular song composed by Sigmund Romberg with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Broadway show The New Moon, where the song was introduced by Evelyn Herbert and Robert Halliday. The song was published in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You</span> Bing Crosby song composed by Victor Young, and lyrics by Crosby and Ned Washington

"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is a 1932 song recorded by Bing Crosby with Orchestral Accompaniment. The music was composed by Victor Young, with lyrics written by Ned Washington and Bing Crosby. The song is a jazz and pop standard that has been recorded by many different artists.

"What a Little Moonlight Can Do" is a popular song written by Harry M. Woods in 1934. In 1934, Woods moved to London for three years where he worked for the British film studio Gaumont British, contributing material to several films, one of which was Road House (1934). The song was sung in the film by Violet Lorraine and included an introductory verse, not heard in the version later recorded by Billie Holiday in 1935.

"Mean to Me" is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk, published in 1929. Hit versions that year were by Ruth Etting and by Helen Morgan. Ben Bernie and the Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra also recorded what might be the first male version in February 1929 with vocals by Scrappy Albert.

Gary Ronald McFarland was an American composer, arranger, conductor, vibraphonist, and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. DownBeat magazine said he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz". A 2015 review of a McFarland DVD documentary called him "one of the busiest New York jazz arrangers of the 1960s". The review further stated that McFarland's "ascendance coincided with the rise of bossa nova, and McFarland was adept at translating the mercurial song form into orchestrations. He wrote some beautiful orchestral settings for great soloists, yet wasn't immune to commercial forces."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Surrender Dear</span> 1931 song by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford

"I Surrender Dear" is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing Crosby in 1931, which became his first solo hit. This is the song that caught the attention of William Paley, president of CBS, who signed him for $600 a week in the fall of 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margie (song)</span> 1920 single by Original Dixieland Jazz Band

"Margie", also known as "My Little Margie", is a 1920 popular song composed in collaboration by vaudeville performer and pianist Con Conrad and ragtime pianist J. Russel Robinson, a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Lyrics were written by Benny Davis, a vaudeville performer and songwriter. The song was introduced by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920 as Victor 78, 18717-A, in a medley paired with "Singin' the Blues". The B side was "Palesteena". The ODJB recorded their instrumental version on December 1, 1920.

"Just You, Just Me" is a song from the 1929 musical film Marianne, composed by Jesse Greer with lyrics by Raymond Klages. It was introduced by Marion Davies and Lawrence Gray. The song has had many revisions after its first appearance and has become a jazz standard, having been recorded instrumentally by Red Norvo, Stan Tracey, Oscar Peterson and Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Les Paul, Benny Carter, Buddy Bregman, Tex Beneke, Coleman Hawkins, Harry James, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Joe Pass, Buddy Tate and Abdullah Ibrahim, Les Brown, Bill Evans, Bill Coleman and Duke Ellington.

References

  1. "Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Stella By Starlight)". www.jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  2. "Email Jazz News". All About Jazz . Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
  3. "Fallen Angel overview". Allmusic.com .
  4. "www.discogs.com". discogs.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  5. "CBS Wire Photo" released June 15, 1964
  6. March 28, 1965. http://www.tv.com
  7. "The Uninvited, Gulliver's Travels, Bright Leaf: Classic Film Scores by Victor Young". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  8. "Young, V.: Uninvited (The) / Gulliver's Travels (Moscow Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, W.T. Stromberg)". Naxos Records . Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  9. "The Uninvited: Classic Film Music of Victor Young". iTunes. January 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-04.