Little White Lies
Encyclopedia
"Little White Lies" is a popular
song.
It was written by Walter Donaldson
. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring
's Pennsylvanians (on the Victor
label) with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls. Several other artists also recorded the song in 1930 including bandleaders Ted Wallace (Columbia) and Earl Burtnett (Brunswick) as well as vocalists Johnny Marvin (Victor), Marion Harris
(Brunswick) and Lee Morse
(Columbia). The organist Jesse Crawford
also recorded it for Victor in 1930. The song was also recorded on small budget labels by Vincent Lopez
, Harry Reser
and Annette Hanshaw
.
Ella Fitzgerald
recorded this in the spring of 1939 with Chick Webb's band, it was released on Decca
.
A hit version was recorded by Dick Haymes
on November 3, 1947. The recording was released by Decca Records
as catalog number
24280. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on April 2, 1948 and lasted 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3.
The song was also recorded by Dinah Shore
on December 12, 1947 and released by Columbia Records
as catalog number 38114. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on June 25, 1948 and lasted 1 week on the chart, at #28.
The song had another revival in 1957, when a version by Betty Johnson
(issued by Bally Records
as catalog number 1033) reached #25 in its only week on the Billboard chart. The same year, United Kingdom singer Ruby Murray
recorded a version on UK Columbia
, catalog number DB 3994.
Eartha Kitt
would also record the song and release it in 1963 with "An Englishman Needs Time" as a single on UK Columbia's label with the catalog number Db 4985.
Paul McCartney has identified this song as a favorite of his and John Lennon's when they were growing up together in Liverpool.
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.
It was written by Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." He was also a promoter, financial backer and namesake of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric...
's Pennsylvanians (on the Victor
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
label) with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls. Several other artists also recorded the song in 1930 including bandleaders Ted Wallace (Columbia) and Earl Burtnett (Brunswick) as well as vocalists Johnny Marvin (Victor), Marion Harris
Marion Harris
Marion Harris was an American popular singer, most successful in the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs....
(Brunswick) and Lee Morse
Lee Morse
Lee Morse was an US jazz and blues singer and songwriter whose most popular years were in the 1920s and early 1930s, although her career began around 1917 and continued until her death in 1954...
(Columbia). The organist Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford , was a US pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theater organist for silent films and was avery popular gramophone record recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and became a freelancer...
also recorded it for Victor in 1930. The song was also recorded on small budget labels by Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez was an American bandleader and pianist.Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York and was leading his own dance band in New York City by 1917...
, Harry Reser
Harry Reser
Harry F. Reser was an American banjo player and bandleader. Born in Piqua, Ohio, Reser was best known as the leader of The Clicquot Club Eskimos.- Career :...
and Annette Hanshaw
Annette Hanshaw
Catherine Annette Hanshaw was born at her parents' residence in New York City on October 18, 1901. [Ed. While Annette sometimes gave her birth date as 1910, nephew Frank W. Hanshaw III confirms 1901 as the date on Annette's birth certificate.]-Biography:...
.
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
recorded this in the spring of 1939 with Chick Webb's band, it was released on Decca
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....
.
A hit version was recorded by Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes
Richard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes was an Argentine actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, who was an actor, television host, and songwriter....
on November 3, 1947. The 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
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
24280. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on April 2, 1948 and lasted 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3.
The song was also recorded by Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
on December 12, 1947 and released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as catalog number 38114. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on June 25, 1948 and lasted 1 week on the chart, at #28.
The song had another revival in 1957, when a version by Betty Johnson
Betty Johnson
Betty Johnson is an American traditional pop and cabaret singer.-Biography:Johnson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina. Her professional debut was in a family group, The Johnson Family Singers, including her parents and three brothers, singing a repertoire primarily of religious material...
(issued by Bally Records
Bally Records
Bally Records was a small record label located at 203 N. Wabash Ave. in Chicago, Illinois. Proper name was Bally Recording Corporation and it was a subsidiary of the pinball and slot machine manufacturer of the same name. The parent Company saw and filled a need to supply records to the coin...
as catalog number 1033) reached #25 in its only week on the Billboard chart. The same year, United Kingdom singer Ruby Murray
Ruby Murray
Ruby Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1950s. In 1955 alone, she secured seven Top 10 UK hit singles.-Child star:...
recorded a version on UK Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
, catalog number DB 3994.
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
would also record the song and release it in 1963 with "An Englishman Needs Time" as a single on UK Columbia's label with the catalog number Db 4985.
Paul McCartney has identified this song as a favorite of his and John Lennon's when they were growing up together in Liverpool.