"Straighten Up and Fly Right" | ||||
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Single by the King Cole Trio | ||||
Released | April 14, 1944 | |||
Recorded | November 30, 1943 [1] | |||
Studio | C.P. MacGregor, Hollywood [2] | |||
Label | Capitol 154 | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Johnny Mercer | |||
The King Cole Trio singles chronology | ||||
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"Straighten Up and Fly Right" is a 1943 song written by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills and one of the first vocal hits for the King Cole Trio. [3] It was the trio's most popular single, reaching number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten nonconsecutive weeks. The single also peaked at number nine on the pop charts. [4] "Straighten Up and Fly Right" also reached number one for six nonconsecutive weeks on the Most Played Jukebox Hillbilly Records. [5]
The song was based on a Black folk tale that Cole's father had used as a theme for one of his sermons. In the tale, a buzzard takes different animals for a joy ride. When he gets hungry, he throws them off on a dive and eats them for dinner. A monkey who had observed this trick goes for a ride; he wraps his tail around the buzzard's neck and gives the buzzard a big surprise by nearly choking him to death. [2]
The song's harmonic structure is based on that of the George and Ira Gershwin's song, "I Got Rhythm". [6]
The King Cole Trio recorded the song, along with "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You", "If You Can’t Smile and Say Yes" and "Jumpin' at Capitol", for Capitol Records during a three-hour recording session at C.P. MacGregor Studios in Hollywood on November 30, 1943, with Johnny Mercer producing and John Palladino engineering the session. [2]
Cole sold his share of the publishing rights to the song for $50 in the late 1930s, before it was ever recorded. He later sued to try to regain the rights, but was unsuccessful.