- Me and My Shadow
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This article is about the 1927 song. For the compilation album of "Whispering" Jack Smith songs, see Whispering Jack Smith.
"Me and My Shadow" is a 1927 popular song. Officially the credits show it as written by Al Jolson, Billy Rose, and Dave Dreyer; in fact, Billy Rose was exclusively a lyricist, Dreyer a composer,[1] and Al Jolson a performer who was often given credits so he could earn some more money, so the actual apportionment of the credits would be likely to be music by Dreyer, lyrics by Rose, and possibly some small contribution by Jolson.
The song has become a standard, with many artists performing it. In the movie Funny Lady, Billy Rose admits to wife Fanny Brice that the shadow in the song was Nicky Arnstein, Fanny's criminal husband before Rose.
Recorded versions
- Donald O'Connor (no recorded version available, but featured in the film Feudin', Fussin', and a Fightin')
- Cliff Adams Singers
- Pearl Bailey
- Michael Ball and Antonio Banderas (2003)
- Elkie Brooks
- Dave Brubeck Quartet (Instrumental) (1951)
- James Caan (featured in the film Funny Lady) (1975)
- Maurice Chevalier (1968)
- Holly Cole Trio
- Perry Como (1951)
- Vic Damone
- Linda Eder
- Judy Garland
- Michele Hendricks (1990)
- Johnny Howard
- Ferlin Husky (1957)
- Bert Kaempfert
- Scrappy Lambert (1927)
- Linda Lawson (1960)
- Julie London
- Peggy Lee (1969)
- Ted Lewis (RKO ULP-143), signature song at end of act
- Liberace
- Mantovani
- Johnny Marvin
- Billy May and his orchestra (vocal: The Sportsmen) (1950)
- The Mills Brothers (1958)
- Rose Murphy (1948)
- Mandy Patinkin (1989)
- Stephanie Pope (2001)
- Lou Rawls (1965)
- Nat Shilkret and his orchestra (vocal: Johnny Marvin) (1927)
- Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. (1962) - added special and timely lyric: "Closer than Bobby is to JFK"
- Whispering Jack Smith (1927) (the original version)
- Cyril Stapleton
- Lawrence Welk
- Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes (2001)
- Daniel Ash (1991 in Coming Down)
- The Kidsongs Kids their on Let's Put on a Show video and DVD.
In film and televsion
The song is performed in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits, for Napoleon. The dwarves perform it very badly and end up fighting however Napoleon is actually pleased, as he wants, for entertainment, "little things hitting each other".
The song was used in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, "The Great Petrie Fortune", in which Van Dyke (playing his own uncle) sings the song on a video as part of his will. It referred to an old photograph he had had of himself as an infant, with a "shadow" that was actually Abraham Lincoln.
The song is used in an episode of HBO show Carnivale, (Season 2, Episode 15) sung first by Stroud and then by Brother Justin.
The song is parodied in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo episode, "Me and My Shadow Demon", in which the main characters, Scooby and Shaggy, fool a crowd of monsters with a musical number.
The song is performed by Pardon-Me-Pete the Groundhog (voiced by Buddy Hackett) in the 1979 Rankin/Bass television special Jack Frost (TV special).[2]
References
- ^ Biography of Dave Dreyer on the Songwriters' Hall of Fame site
- ^ "Jack Frost (TV 1979)". The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079357/. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
Categories:- 1927 songs
- Songs written by Al Jolson
- Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose
- Judy Garland songs
- Songs with music by Dave Dreyer
- Al Jolson songs
- Pop standard stubs
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