It's Only a Paper Moon (song)

Published in 1933, "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose [ [http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-1/itsonlyapapermoon.htm It's Only a Paper Moon at jazzstandards.com] ] . It was written originally for an unsuccessful broadway play called "The Great Magoo", set in Coney Island. It was subsequently used in the movie "Take a Chance", later in 1933. But its lasting fame stems from a series of recordings of the song by popular artists such as the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the Nat King Cole Trio, and Ella Fitzgerald, and from its use as a vehicle for improvisation by many jazz musicians.

The song was included in the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire", which opened in 1947.

The song lent its title to the 1973 Peter Bogdanovich film "Paper Moon" and the subsequent television series of the same name.

The song, with a newly composed counter-melody by Kander and Ebb, is a musical segment in the film "Funny Lady", starring Barbra Streisand and James Caan.

The song was used in the Star Trek series Deep Space Nine in an episode with the same title as the song.

Recorded versions

*Nat King Cole
*Lee Wiley
*Adam Ant
*Ray Anthony
*Fiona Apple & Maude Maggart (duet)
*Harold Arlen
*Count Basie
*Richard Rodney Bennett
*Tony Bennett
*Les Brown
*Dave Brubeck
*June Christy
*Rosemary Clooney
*Havalina Rail Co.
*Bing Crosby
*Bobby Darin
*Miles Davis
*Kenny Drew
*Sammy Davis Jr.
*Dion & the Belmonts
*Ella Fitzgerald
*The Four Freshmen
*Erroll Garner
*Marvin Gaye
*Dizzy Gillespie
*Benny Goodman
*Betty Grable
*Stephane Grappelli
*Lionel Hampton
*E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
*Dick Haymes
*Coleman Hawkins
*Woody Herman
*Earl Hines
*Bert Kaempfert
*Stan Kenton
*Morgana King
*Andre Kostelanetz
*Gene Krupa
*Johnny Mathis
*Maureen McGovern
*Ray McKinley
*Vaughn Monroe
*Red Nichols
*Harry Nilsson
*Les Paul Trio
*Oscar Peterson
*The Pied Pipers
*Jim Reeves
*Django Reinhardt
*Buddy Rich
*George Shearing
*Frank Sinatra
*Barbra Streisand
*Maxine Sullivan
*Art Tatum
*Mel Tormé
*Paul Whiteman Orchestra
*Rufus Wainwright
*Coco d'Or
*James Darren
*Al Grey & J. J. Johnson
*Erin McKeown
*Natalie Cole
*James Taylor
*Havalina Rail Co.
*Cliff Edwards (Ukelele Ike)
*Over the Rhine

References

External links

* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=506253 Story of the song]
* [http://www.lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/i/itsonlyapapermoon.shtml Song lyric]