- Stardust (song)
Infobox Standard
title = Stardust
english_title =
comment =
image_size =
caption =
writer =
composer =Hoagy Carmichael
lyricist =Mitchell Parish
published = 1927
written =
language =
form =
original_artist =Hoagy Carmichael 's orchestra
recorded_by =Glenn Miller Louis Armstrong Artie Shaw Frank Sinatra Billie Holiday Dizzy Gillespie Nat King Cole Dave Brubeck Mel Tormé Connie Francis Harry Connick Jr Ella Fitzgerald The Peanuts Django Reinhardt The Shadows Barry Manilow John Coltrane Rod Stewart Willie Nelson Johnny Mathis Billy Ward and the Dominoes Charlie Spivak Jack Jenney Martin Denny Ferrante & Teicher George Benson
Tiny Tim
and many others
performed_by = .Composition
"Stardust" (the song's original title was "Star Dust", which has long since been compounded into "Stardust" [cite web |url=http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/hoagy-idx.pl?type=itemlist&idno=ATM-MC2-1-13&size=First+30
title="Hoagy Carmichael Collection"
publisher=Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University
accessdate=2007-06-17] )was written at the Book Nook in Bloomington, Indiana (across the street from theIndiana University School of Law , where Carmichael had attended school ) on an old upright piano, and first recorded inRichmond, Indiana forGennett Records by Carmichael's band in 1927 as a peppy (but mid-tempo)jazz instrumental. Carmichael said he was inspired by the types of improvisations made byBix Beiderbecke . The tune at first attracted only moderate attention, mostly from fellow musicians, a few of whom (includingDon Redman ) recorded their own versions of Carmichael's tune.Mitchell Parish wrote lyrics for the song, based on his own and Carmichael's ideas, which were published in 1929. A slow version had been recorded in October 1928, but the real transformation came onMay 16 ,1930 , when bandleaderIsham Jones recorded it as a sentimental ballad. [Richard M. Sudhalter, "Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael", Oxford University Press US, 2002, page 139 ( [http://books.google.ie/books?id=-kqle-66lCQC&pg=PA139&dq=stardust+%22Mitchell+Parish%22+1927+1929+jones&sig=RQhXrQOdpoVwpM_qal49cMFSqzo Google Books] )]tructure
Like many other standards of the
Great American Songbook , the verse is both highly melodic and musically sophisticated.Covers
Jones' recording became the first of many hit versions of the tune. Young baritone sensation
Bing Crosby released a version in 1931 and by the following year over two dozen bands had recorded "Stardust". It was then covered by almost every prominent band of that era. Versions have been recorded byLouis Armstrong ,Tommy Dorsey ,Glenn Miller ,Frank Sinatra ,Billie Holiday ,Dizzy Gillespie ,Nat King Cole ,Mel Tormé ,Connie Francis ,Harry Connick Jr ,Ella Fitzgerald ,The Peanuts ,Django Reinhardt ,Barry Manilow ,John Coltrane ,Rod Stewart ,Willie Nelson ,Billy Ward and the Dominoes ,George Benson , and many others. Billy Ward and the Dominoes had a #13 hit with the song on the Billboard Pop chart. However, it has been theArtie Shaw version of 1941, with memorable solos byBilly Butterfield (trumpet) andJack Jenney (trombone) that remains the favorite orchestral version of theBig Band era.Ringo Starr recorded a version for his first solo album, Sentimental Journey in 1970, after the break-up ofThe Beatles .Frank Sinatra famously recorded just the verse on his November 20, 1961 recording, for his album "Sinatra and Strings ", much to Carmichael's chagrin (although Carmichael is said to have changed his mind on hearing the recording).Legacy
*"Stardust" is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with over 1,800 recordings, perhaps the last popular version by
Willie Nelson in 1978.
*In 1956, a nationwideBillboard survey of disc jockeys showed that their number one favorite of all time was theArtie Shaw (1941) recording of "Stardust".
*In 1999, "Stardust" was included in the "NPR 100", [cite web| url=http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html| title=The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century| accessdate=2008-08-09| publisher=National Public Radio ] in whichNational Public Radio sought to list the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.
*In New Year 2000 the Swedish music reviewers voted it as "the tune of the century", withKurt Weill 's "Mack the Knife " as second.
*In 2004, Carmichael's original 1927 recording of the song was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by theLibrary of Congress to be added to theNational Recording Registry .
*"Stardust" is the very first music heard on the epic 19-hour PBS documentary "" (2001).Notes
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/stardust.shtml Stardust] on "Sold on Song" (
BBC )
* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/hoagy/stardust2.ram "Stardust"] (played byHoagy Carmichael , 1933) [http://www.redhotjazz.com The Red Hot Jazz Archive]
* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/Songs/Louie/lao/stardust.ram "Stardust"] (played byLouis Armstrong and his Orchestra, 1931) [http://www.redhotjazz.com The Red Hot Jazz Archive]
* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/waller/stardust.ram "Stardust"] (played byFats Waller , 1937) [http://www.redhotjazz.com The Red Hot Jazz Archive]
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