Chinatown, My Chinatown

"Chinatown, My Chinatown"
Cover, sheet music, 1910
Music by	Jean Schwartz
Lyrics by	William Jerome
Published	1910
Language	English

"Chinatown, My Chinatown" is a popular song written by William Jerome (w.) and Jean Schwartz (m.) in 1910.

Jerome and Schwartz incorporated Chinese musical forms into Western music for the melody.^[1] The song has been recorded by numerous artists including Al Jolson^[2] and Chris Connor,^[3] and is considered to be a jazz standard.^[4]

The song was featured in Woody Allen's 1987 film "Radio Days" and Illusion Softworks' 2002 video game, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven.

See also

• List of pre-1920 jazz standards

References

1. ^ Moon, Yellowface, p. 100: "Often, these composers chose to use parallel fourths, fifth, octaves, and minor thirds, which had been mentioned in European and American discussions of Chinese music. The most famous example was William Jerome and Jean Schwartz's "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (1910) ..."
2. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/song/al-jolson/chinatown-my-chinatown/4651843
3. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/song/chris-connor/chinatown-my-chinatown/209361
4. ^ Crawford, Jazz Standards on Record, p. ix: "Table 1. Jazz Standards in the Core Repertory".

Bibliography

• Crawford, Richard; Magee, Jeffery. Jazz Standards on Record, 1900-1942: A Core Repertory. Chicago: Center for Black Music Research Columbia College (1992).
• Jerome, William; Schwartz, Jean. "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (sheet music). New York: Jerome H Remick & Co. (1910).
• Moon, Krystyn R. Yellowface: Creating The Chinese In American Popular Music And Performance, 1850s-1920s. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, (2005).