- Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)
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"Mona Lisa" Single by Nat King Cole Released 1950 Genre Traditional pop Writer(s) Ray Evans
Jay Livingston[1]"Mona Lisa" is a song written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the Paramount Pictures film Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950). It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 1950.[1] The arrangement was by Nelson Riddle and the orchestral backing was played by Les Baxter and his Orchestra.[2] The soundtrack version by Nat King Cole spent eight weeks at number one in the Billboard singles chart in 1950. Also, Cole's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[3] The Billboard sales charts of 1950 also showed significant sales on versions by Dennis Day and Harry James. In 1986, it was used as the theme to the British film Mona Lisa. An uncredited version of Mona Lisa plays in the background of one scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). The song was used in the wedding scene of the NBC mini-series, Witness to the Mob, in 1998.
Various artists, including Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Art Lund, Shakin' Stevens, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the Neville Brothers, and Nat King Cole's daughter Natalie Cole, have released cover versions of this song. Bruddah Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) also covered the song on the album Alone in IZ World. Harry Connick, Jr. included the song on his 2009 album, Your Songs.
A rockabilly version of "Mona Lisa" (b/w/ "Foolish One") was released by Carl Mann on Phillips International Records (#3539) in March 1959 and reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Conway Twitty recorded a version of "Mona Lisa" in February 1959, but planned to release it only as an album cut (on an EP and an LP by MGM Records). Nevertheless, it peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart in that year.[1] Sam Phillips signed Carl Mann to record his version of the song after the Twitty version began getting radio play in early 1959[4]. This was the most successful single in Mann's career. The melody is slightly different, and the lyrics are also mostly the same as in the original version by Nat King Cole, though a few more phrases are added in that elaborate more on the girl he likes.
The singer Don Cherry recorded a version backed by the Victor Young Orchestra which reached number seven in 1952.
In 1961, this song was covered by Hong Kong female singer Kong Ling (江玲), on her LP album Off-Beat Cha Cha[5] with the local Diamond Records.
Contents
Chart performance
Moon Mullican
Chart (1950) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 4 Jimmy Wakely
Chart (1950) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 10 Conway Twitty
Chart (1959) Peak
positionAustralian Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart 2 Belgian Singles Chart 3 UK Singles Chart[1] 5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 29 See also
References
- ^ a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Peter J. Levinson, September in the Rain, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zG-UYr7vBb4C&pg=PA79
- ^ Grammy Hall of Fame
- ^ Carl Mann page on Rockabilly Hall of Fame website (www.rockabillyhall.com)
- ^ http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/macaenese5354/Vinyl%20Album/?action=view¤t=KongLing-Off-BeatChaCha.jpg
Academy Award for Best Original Song (1941–1950) "The Last Time I Saw Paris" • Music: Jerome Kern • Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II (1941) · "White Christmas" • Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin (1942) · "You'll Never Know" • Music: Harry Warren • Lyrics: Mack Gordon (1943) · "Swinging on a Star" • Music: James Van Heusen • Lyrics: Johnny Burke (1944) · "It Might as Well Be Spring" • Music: Richard Rodgers • Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II (1945) · "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" • Music: Harry Warren • Lyrics: Johnny Mercer (1946) · "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" • Music: Allie Wrubel • Lyrics: Ray Gilbert (1947) · "Buttons and Bows" • Music: Jay Livingston • Lyrics: Ray Evans (1948) · "Baby, It's Cold Outside" • Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser (1949) · "Mona Lisa" • Music and Lyrics: Ray Evans and Jay Livingston (1950)
Complete list · (1934–1940) · (1941–1950) · (1951–1960) · (1961–1970) · (1971–1980) · (1981–1990) · (1991–2000) · (2001–2010) Categories:- 1950 singles
- Nat King Cole songs
- Natalie Cole songs
- Elvis Presley songs
- Willie Nelson songs
- Moon Mullican songs
- Jimmy Wakely songs
- Number-one singles in the United States
- Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles
- Best Song Academy Award winning songs
- Songs with music by Jay Livingston
- Songs with lyrics by Ray Evans
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
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