Whispering Grass

Last updated
"Whispering Grass"
Song
Songwriter(s) Fred Fisher, Doris Fisher

"Whispering Grass (Don't Tell the Trees)" is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and his daughter Doris Fisher. [1] The song was first recorded by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra in 1940. [2] The Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny also recorded it the same year. [3] A live instrumental version was played and recorded by Johnny Hodges with Duke Ellington and his orchestra in the Cristal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota, also in 1940.[ citation needed ]

Contents

"Whispering Grass" was a 1975 UK number-one single by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle. [4] Davies and Estelle were actors in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum . It was number one in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks from 7 June 1975. [4] The record is a comic version of The Ink Spots' 1940 recording, and was sung in character. This version of the song also peaked at number 59 in Australia. [5]

The notion of Whispering Grass extends back to Greek mythology, notably the myth of Midas.

Other versions

The song was also recorded by:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Robertson</span> Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC, is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in 1986, Rick Danko in 1999, and Levon Helm in 2012, Robertson is one of only two living original members of the Band, with the other being Garth Hudson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erskine Hawkins</span> American trumpeter and big band leader

Erskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. The song became a hit during World War II, rising to No. 7 nationally and to No. 1 nationally. Vocalists who were featured with Erskine's orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins was named after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay.

<i>Across the Great Divide</i> (album) 1994 box set by the Band

Across the Great Divide is a box set by Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released in 1994, it consists of two discs of songs from the Band's first seven albums, and a third disc of rarities taken from various studio sessions and live performances. The set is now out of print, having been replaced by the five-CD/one-DVD box set A Musical History that was released in September 2005.

<i>Sentimental Journey</i> (Ringo Starr album) 1970 studio album by Ringo Starr

Sentimental Journey is the debut solo album by English rock musician Ringo Starr. It was released by Apple Records in March 1970 as the Beatles were breaking up. The album is a collection of pre-rock 'n' roll standards that Starr recalled from his childhood in Liverpool. As a departure from the experimental quality that had characterised solo LPs by George Harrison and John Lennon since 1968, it was the first studio album by an individual Beatle to embrace a popular music form.

"Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" – by Patti Page. As of 1974, it was the biggest-selling song ever in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Feyne</span> American songwriter

Buddy Feyne was an American lyricist during the swing era. He wrote the lyrics for "Tuxedo Junction", which went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded it, "Jersey Bounce", which was No. 15 on the Cash Box Hit Parade of 1942., and "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid".

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington. The song was originally entitled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Duke Ellington and his orchestra on May 4, 1940. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quickly became a hit after Bob Russell wrote its lyrics in 1942.

The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Prayer</span> 1956 single by The Platters

"My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title Avant de mourir 1926. The lyrics for this version were added by Kennedy in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuxedo Junction</span> 1939 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

"Tuxedo Junction" is a popular song written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash with lyrics by Buddy Feyne. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegians. RCA released it in 1939 and it climbed to #7 on the American pop charts. The song was a No. 1 hit for Glenn Miller & His Orchestra in 1940.

"(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.

<i>Like an Old Fashioned Waltz</i> 1974 studio album by Sandy Denny

Like an Old Fashioned Waltz is the third solo album by English folk rock singer Sandy Denny, released in June 1974.

Asa "Ace" Harris was an American jazz pianist.

<i>Who Knows Where the Time Goes?</i> (Sandy Denny album) 1985 compilation album by Sandy Denny

Who Knows Where the Time Goes? is a retrospective compilation of the work of English folk rock singer Sandy Denny issued in 1985. It is a four LP boxed set released on the Island Records label in the UK and Germany and on Hannibal/Carthage Records in the US, later reissued as a three CD set. It includes released and previously unreleased recordings from 1967 to 1977, live performances, outtakes and demos from Denny's solo career, and with Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and Strawbs.

Billboard Pop Memories is a series of compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1994, each featuring ten hit recordings spanning a five- or ten-year period from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Dwayne Chin-Quee, better known as Supa Dups, is a Jamaican record producer, a drummer, and selector based in Miami, Florida. He is a member of the Black Chiney sound system. His father is a second generation Chinese Jamaican, and his mother is of Hakka Chinese, German, and African descent.

"My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi", written by Tommy Harrison, Bill Cogswell, and Johnny Noble in Hawaii in 1933, is a Hawaiian song in the Hawaiian musical style known as hapa haole. One of the earliest recordings by Ted Fio Rito and his orchestra reached number one on the charts in 1934. Honolulu magazine listed it as number 41 in a 2007 article, "50 Greatest Songs of Hawaii". It has been heard in many movies and television shows and has been covered dozens of times. The title is sometimes shortened to "My Little Grass Shack" or "Little Grass Shack".

"Maybe" is a pop song written by Allan Flynn and Frank Madden that was published in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kat Edmonson</span> American singer and songwriter

Kat Edmonson is an American singer and songwriter who calls her music vintage pop.

"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a popular song written by the songwriting team of Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown (lyrics) and Ray Henderson (music) for the 1927 musical Good News. It enjoyed a revival during the period from 1947 to 1950, when it was covered by many artists.

References

  1. "Whispering Grass (Don't Tell The Trees) - The Ink Spots | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  2. "Coleman Hawkins with Erskine Hawkins and Their Orchestras - Coleman Hawkins | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  3. "Ink Spots* - Whispering Grass (Don't Tell The Trees) / Maybe (Shellac)". Discogs.com. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  4. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 187. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 83. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  6. "I Cry By Night - Kay Starr | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  7. Miles, Barry (1998). The Beatles a Diary: An Intimate Day by Day History. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780711963153.
  8. Brett Hartenbach. "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz - Sandy Denny | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  9. "The Skatalites - Herb Dub - Collie Dub (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  10. "Clifford Jordan Catalog". jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  11. "IN LOVE AND LIGHT". Navigator Records . Retrieved 2008-02-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Way Down Low - Kat Edmonson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-10-10.