Charmaine (song)
Encyclopedia
"Charmaine" is a popular
song
written by Erno Rapee
, with lyrics by Lew Pollack
. The song was written in 1926
and published in 1927
. However, Desmond Carrington
on his BBC Radio 2
programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913
.
The song was originally in waltz
time, but later versions were in common time
.
The song was originally composed for the silent movie
What Price Glory?, and most notably, the best-selling version, recorded by Guy Lombardo
& his Orchestra, spent seven weeks at the #1 position in 1927. It was also featured in the movie Two Girls And A Sailor
. It was recorded by the Harry James
orchestra in 1944
.
An instrumental version arranged by Ronald Binge
and performed by the Mantovani
orchestra was his first hit on the United States
charts in 1951
. This recording was released by London Records
as catalog number
1020. It first reached the Billboard
charts on November 9, 1951 and lasted 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at #10.
Another recording, by Gordon Jenkins
' orchestra, with a vocal by Bob Carroll
, also charted in 1951. This recording was released by Decca Records
as catalog number 27859. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 7, 1951 and lasted 1 week on the chart, at #26.
The Bachelors
' version reached #5 in the British charts in 1963.
"Charmaine" is one of many popular songs whose lyrics use a "Bluebird of happiness
" as a symbol of cheer: "I wonder, when bluebirds are mating, will you come back again?"
to provide comedic effect whenever a romantic situation is created. In Monty Python's Flying Circus
, as example, the tune has been used at least twice:
The song is featured in the giallo
film The Abominable Dr. Phibes
(1971), during a murder scene.
In the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(1975) the tune is constantly played as background music in the mental institution.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Erno Rapee
Erno Rapee
Ernö Rapée was one of the most prolific American symphonic conductors in the first half of the 20th Century...
, with lyrics by Lew Pollack
Lew Pollack
Lew Pollack was a song composer active during the 1920s and the 1930s.Pollack was born in New York. Among his best known songs are "Charmaine" and "Diane" with Ernö Rapée, "Miss Annabelle Lee", "Two Cigarettes in the Dark", "At the Codfish Ball" , and Go In and Out The Window, now a...
. The song was written in 1926
1926 in music
-Events:*January - Blind Lemon Jefferson makes his first recordings.*April 9 - Leopold Stokowski conducts the world premiere of Edgar Varèse's Amériques, with the Philadelphia Orchestra....
and published in 1927
1927 in music
-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
. However, Desmond Carrington
Desmond Carrington
Desmond Carrington is a UK-based actor and broadcaster, currently best known for his on BBC Radio 2. His show went out on Sundays for 23 years from 1981 to 2004, when it moved to Tuesdays - then to Fridays...
on his BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913
1913 in music
-Events:*April 1 - Manuel de Falla's opera La vida breve is given its world première in Nice.*May 29 - There is a near-riot at the première of the Igor Stravinsky-scored ballet The Rite of Spring in Paris.*October - Edison Diamond Disc Record introduced...
.
The song was originally in waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
time, but later versions were in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
.
The song was originally composed for the silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
What Price Glory?, and most notably, the best-selling version, recorded by Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
& his Orchestra, spent seven weeks at the #1 position in 1927. It was also featured in the movie Two Girls And A Sailor
Two Girls and a Sailor
Two Girls and a Sailor is a 1944 musical film about two singing sisters who are helped to set up a canteen to entertain soldiers by a mysterious wealthy admirer. It featured a host of celebrity performances, including Jimmy Durante doing his hallmark "Inka Dinka Doo", Gracie Allen, and Lena Horne...
. It was recorded by the Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
orchestra in 1944
1944 in music
-Events:*January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden....
.
An instrumental version arranged by Ronald Binge
Ronald Binge
Ronald Binge was a British composer and arranger of light music.-Biography:He was born in a working-class neighbourhood in Derby in the English Midlands. In his childhood he was a chorister at Saint Andrews Church , London Road, Derby - 'the railwaymens church'...
and performed by the Mantovani
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
orchestra was his first hit on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charts in 1951
1951 in music
-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
. This recording was released by London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
as catalog number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
1020. It first reached the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts on November 9, 1951 and lasted 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at #10.
Another recording, by Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
' orchestra, with a vocal by Bob Carroll
Bob Carroll (singer/actor)
Bob Carroll was a big band singer and stage, film, and television actor.As a singer, he sang with a number of famous orchestras, including Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller in the 1940s and Gordon Jenkins in the 1950s. In the 1960s he turned to acting...
, also charted in 1951. This recording was released by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
as catalog number 27859. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 7, 1951 and lasted 1 week on the chart, at #26.
The Bachelors
The Bachelors
The Bachelors are a popular music group, originating from Dublin, Ireland.-Career:The founding members of the group were Conleth Cluskey , Declan Cluskey , and John Stokes...
' version reached #5 in the British charts in 1963.
"Charmaine" is one of many popular songs whose lyrics use a "Bluebird of happiness
Bluebird of happiness
The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the...
" as a symbol of cheer: "I wonder, when bluebirds are mating, will you come back again?"
Use in popular culture
The version of "Charmaine" by the Mantovani Orchestra is used quite often in comedyComedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
to provide comedic effect whenever a romantic situation is created. In Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, as example, the tune has been used at least twice:
- in the Seduced MilkmenSeduced MilkmenSeduced Milkmen is a sketch written and performed by Monty Python, portraying female sexuality as a trap. The sketch is wordless and just one minute long but was well received....
sketch from the first season; and - in the second season, scored to scenes where soccer players who celebrate a goal start to kiss and embrace each other in a homosexual way.
The song is featured in the giallo
Giallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
film The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again classics.-Plot:...
(1971), during a murder scene.
In the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
(1975) the tune is constantly played as background music in the mental institution.
Recorded versions
- Jimmy Arnold
- The BachelorsThe BachelorsThe Bachelors are a popular music group, originating from Dublin, Ireland.-Career:The founding members of the group were Conleth Cluskey , Declan Cluskey , and John Stokes...
(recorded October 10, 1962) - Tex BenekeTex BenekeGordon Lee Beneke , professionally known as Tex Beneke, was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gorme...
- Max BygravesMax BygravesMax Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
- Frankie CarleFrankie CarleFrankie Carle – , born Francis Nunzio Carlone, was a American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard"."Sunrise Serenade," however, was Carle's best-known composition, rising to No...
& His Girlfriends (19441944 in music-Events:*January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden....
) - Vic DamoneVic DamoneVic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
(19621962 in music-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only...
) - Billy DanielsBilly DanielsWilliam Boone Daniels , better known as Billy Daniels, was a singer active in the United States and Europe from the mid-1930s to 1988, notable for his hit recording of "That Old Black Magic" and his pioneering performances on early 1950s television.Daniels was born in Jacksonville, Florida, where...
- Tommy DorseyTommy DorseyThomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
& Orchestra - Gracie FieldsGracie FieldsDame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
- The Four FreshmenThe Four FreshmenThe Four Freshmen is a multiple Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires , The Pied Pipers , and The Mel-Tones , founded in the barbershop tradition...
- The Four KnightsThe Four KnightsThe Four Knights were an American vocal group from Charlotte, North Carolina.-Career:The group was formed in 1943, with an original membership of Gene Alford , Oscar Broadway , Clarence Dixon , and John Wallace . This line-up remained the same for much of the band's career...
- The Four PrepsThe Four PrepsThe Four Preps are an American popular music male quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group amassed eight gold singles and three gold albums...
- Errol Garner
- Bill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
(19581958 in music-Events:*February - 45,000 peoplein one week watch performances of "rokabirī" music by Japanese singers at the first Nichigeki Western Carnival....
) - The HarmonicatsThe HarmonicatsJerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad , Bob Hadamik , Pete Pedersen , and Al Fiore, . They reformed later as a trio with Murad, Fiore, and bass harmonica player Don Les...
(instrumental) (19511951 in music-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
) - The Ink SpotsThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
- Harry JamesHarry JamesHenry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
& His Orchestra (19441944 in music-Events:*January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden....
) - Lewis JamesLewis JamesLewis James Lewis James Lewis James (unknown - February 19, 1959 was a vocalist and among the most active of recording artists in the United States from 1917 through much of the 1930s. He was a member of the The Shannon Four, The Revelers, and The Criterion Trio. He had many Top Ten hits during...
(19271927 in music-Events:* January 8 - Alban Berg's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna.* April 21 - Electric re-recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, with Gershwin at the piano....
) - Gordon JenkinsGordon JenkinsGordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
& His Orchestra (vocal: Bob CarrollBob Carroll (singer/actor)Bob Carroll was a big band singer and stage, film, and television actor.As a singer, he sang with a number of famous orchestras, including Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller in the 1940s and Gordon Jenkins in the 1950s. In the 1960s he turned to acting...
) (19511951 in music-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
) - Sammy KayeSammy KayeSammy Kaye , born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era.-Biography:...
- Lester LaninLester LaninLester Lanin was an American jazz and pop music bandleader....
& Orchestra - James LastJames LastJames Last is a German composer and big band leader. His "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom. His composition, "Happy Heart", became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark...
- Layton & Johnstone
- Michel LegrandMichel LegrandMichel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
- Julia LeeJulia Lee (musician)Julia Lee was an American blues and dirty blues musician.-Biography:Born in Boonville, Missouri, United States, Lee was raised in Kansas City, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included Charlie Parker...
- Josef LockeJosef LockeJosef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....
- Guy LombardoGuy LombardoGaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
& His Royal Canadians (vocal: Carmen LombardoCarmen LombardoCarmen Lombardo was the younger brother of bandleader Guy Lombardo. He was a vocalist and composer whose compositions included the 1928 classic "Sweethearts on Parade", which was number one for three weeks in 1929 on the U.S...
) (recorded June 13, 1927) - Jimmie LuncefordJimmie LuncefordJames Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...
& Orchestra - MantovaniMantovaniAnnunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
& His Orchestra (19511951 in music-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
) - Billy MayBilly MayWilliam E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
& His Orchestra (instrumental) (19521952 in music-Events:*February 26 - Jo Stafford marries bandleader/arranger Paul Weston.*March 21 - First reported Rock and roll riot breaks out at Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio...
) - Moms & Dads
- Vaughn MonroeVaughn MonroeVaughn Wilton Monroe was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader and actor, most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording and radio.-Biography:...
& His Orchestra (recorded October 27, 1951) - Ed BogasEd BogasEd Bogas, born Edgar Noel Bogas, and sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American rock musician and composer and whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games.-Career:...
(19751975 in music-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
; from the soundtrack to the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
) - Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
(19651965 in music-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
) - Jim ReevesJim ReevesJames Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
(19581958 in music-Events:*February - 45,000 peoplein one week watch performances of "rokabirī" music by Japanese singers at the first Nichigeki Western Carnival....
) - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(recorded January 15, 1962) - Ethel SmithEthel Smith (organist)Ethel Smith was an organist who played primarily in a pop style on the Hammond organ.Her recording of Tico Tico was her best-known hit. It reached No. 14 on the U.S. pop charts in November 1944 and sold over one million copies worldwide. She also recorded it for the 1944 film, Bathing Beauty...
- Cyril StapletonCyril StapletonCyril Stapleton was an English violinist and jazz bandleader.Born in Mapperley, Nottingham, Stapleton began playing violin at age 7, and played on local radio at the age of 12. He performed on the BBC Radio often in his teenage years, and played in film orchestras accompanying silent films...
& Orchestra - Hank ThompsonHank Thompson (music)Henry William Thompson , known professionally as Hank Thompson, was an American country music entertainer whose career spanned seven decades...
- Arthur TracyArthur TracyArthur Tracy was an American vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s...
- Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts...
& His Orchestra (vocal: Norman Luboff Choir) (recorded November 4, 1951) - Gunnar Wiklund with Marcus Österdahl's orchestra. Swedish lyrics by Karl-Ewert also entitled "Charmaine". Recorded in Stockholm in 1967 and released on the single His Master's Voice EG 8698 on November 20, 1967.