Ole Buttermilk Sky

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"Ole Buttermilk Sky"
Single by Kay Kyser and his Orchestra
B-side "On The Wrong Side Of You"
ReleasedAugust 26, 1946 (1946-08-26)
Label Columbia 37073
Composer(s) Hoagy Carmichael
Lyricist(s) Jack Brooks

"Ole Buttermilk Sky" was a big hit in 1946 for Kay Kyser and other artists. It has been covered by a multitude of artists over the years. The following year, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 19th Academy Awards.

Contents

Background

The song was composed by Hoagy Carmichael and Jack Brooks, [1] and introduced by Carmichael [2] in the film Canyon Passage .

Composition

"Ole Buttermilk Sky" was primarily written as a cowboy song to set the scene where the character meets his lover. [3] The song also used jazz music for the lyric "can't you see my little donkey and me". [4]

Chart performance

It was recorded in the December 14 issue of The Billboard that "Ole Buttermilk Sky" by Kay Kyser was at #1 in the Best Selling Popular Retail Records section. Having moved up two notches from its previous position of #3, it had been in the chart for the past seven weeks. A version by Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers was at #8. Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Matt Dennis had their version at #9. [5]

For the week ending December 14, 1946, in the Most Played Juke Box Records chart, it showed that the song was getting many plays and there were five versions getting attention. Kay Kyser's version on Columbia 37073 had been on the chart was at #2. Hoagy Carmichaels version was at #5. Paul Weston and his Orchestra with Matt Dennis were at #9. Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers were at #15. And a version by Connee Boswell was coming up. [6]

Awards and honors

"Ole Buttermilk Sky" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 19th Academy Awards in 1947. [7]

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoagy Carmichael</span> American composer, pianist, singer, actor and bandleader (1899–1981)

Hoagland Howard Carmichael was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first singer-songwriters in the age of mass media to utilize new communication technologies such as television, electronic microphones, and sound recordings.

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"Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite" is a popular song that was a hit during the mid-1950s. It was written by Calvin Carter and James "Pookie" Hudson in 1951, and was first recorded by The Spaniels in 1953. It has also been released by some artists as "Goodnight, Well It's Time to Go".

Jack Brooks was an English-American lyricist.

"It's Almost Tomorrow" is a 1955 popular song with music by Gene Adkinson and lyrics by Wade Buff. The song was actually written in 1953, when Adkinson and Buff were in high school. Hit versions were released in 1955 by The Dream Weavers, Jo Stafford, David Carroll, and Snooky Lanson.

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"The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1937 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. Intended for an unproduced Paramount film titled Romance In The Rough, the studio's publishing division Famous Music reregistered and published the song in 1940. It was first recorded by Chick Bullock and his Orchestra on Vocalion. Despite numerous accounts to the contrary, the song was never scheduled for and does not appear in the 1938 Paramount film Romance in the Dark.

"There! I've Said It Again" is a popular song written and published by Redd Evans and David Mann in 1941. In early 1945, Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra released Victor 20-1637, which reached the number one position on the Billboard's National Radio Airplay chart for five straight weeks, then no.2 for six more weeks, and a total run of 29 weeks. It finished 1945 as the no. 4 record of the year.

"Baltimore Oriole" is a 1942 song written by American composer Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster and Carmichael. Carmichael said it was his favorite of all the songs he had written.

<i>Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole</i> 1983 live album by Johnny Mathis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers</span> American harmony group

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"Surrender" is a 1946 song co-written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss. It was originally performed by Perry Como and covered by various artists including Woody Herman, George Olsen, and Bob Chester. Como's version of "Surrender" peaked at number one on the Billboard Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart and sold over a million copies.

Paul Kyser is an American promoter, record label owner, singer, songwriter, record producer and arranger. He wrote and co-produced the hit "Dawning of Love" with Tom Vetri for Devotion. He also wrote "Body and Soul " for the group Soul Generation and "Where Were You " for Jimmy Briscoe and the Little Beavers. Along with Leon Stuckey he co-wrote "Just How Sweet Is Your Love" for Rhyze, which appears on the Boogie's Gonna Getcha: '80s New York Boogie compilation album. He co-wrote "Be My #2" which appears on the R. Kelly Untitled album. He is also credited with discovering Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers.

"I'm Making Believe" is a 1944 song composed by James V. Monaco with lyrics by Mack Gordon. The song first appeared in the film Sweet and Low-Down; the performance by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The version recorded by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald topped The Billboard's National Best Selling Retail Records chart for two weeks in 1944. Their version had sold over one million copies by the time of Fitzgerald's death in 1996.

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References

  1. AllMusic - Hoagy Carmichael, Ole Buttermilk Sky
  2. Gilliland, John (197X). "Show 15" (audio). Pop Chronicles . University of North Texas Libraries.
  3. Tyler, Don (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-rock Era. McFarland. pp. 290–291. ISBN   9780786429462 . Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  4. Sudhalter, Richard M. (2002). Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael. Oxford University Press. p. 257. ISBN   0195131207 . Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  5. The Billboard , December 14, 1946 - Page 28 The Billboard MUSIC POPULARITY CHARTS
    Retail Record Sales
    Week Ending December 6
    BEST-SELLING POPULAR RETAIL RECORDS
  6. The Billboard, December 14, 1946 - Page 30 The Billboard MUSIC POPULARITY CHARTS
    PART V
    Juke Box Record Plays
    Week Ending December 6
    MOST PLAYED JUKE BOX RECORDS
  7. "The 19th Academy Awards - 1947". Academy Awards. Retrieved 31 December 2018.