Mockin' Bird Hill
Encyclopedia
Mockin' Bird Hill is a 3/4 song was written by Vaughn Horton and published in 1951
. It was popularized by Patti Page
and by Les Paul
and Mary Ford
in 1951
, and for both of them following on to their big hit of "The Tennessee Waltz
" the previous year. The music of "Mockin' Bird Hill" is based closely on a Swedish waltz called "Livet i Finnskogarna" or "Life in the Finnish Woods," recorded by Carl Jularbo in 1915, which enjoyed some popularity in the U.S.
The Page recording, made on January 17, 1951, was issued by Mercury Records
as catalog number
5595, and first reached the Billboard pop music chart on February 24, 1951, lasting 22 weeks and peaking at #2. At the same time Mercury released a recording, catalog number 5552 by Tiny Hill and the Hillsiders
.
The Les Paul/Mary Ford recording was issued by Capitol Records
as catalog number 1373, and also reached the Billboard top 10.
On the Cash Box
best-selling record charts, where all recordings were combined, the song first entered the chart on March 3, 1951, reached #1 on April 21, 1951, and remained #1 through the May 12, 1951 chart. It came back to the #1 position on May 26.
Big Band orchestra leader, Russ Morgan
, recorded the song in 1951 featuring the Gay Sisters on backing vocals.
Mockingbird Hill is also mentioned in The Clash
song, Spanish Bombs.
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...
. It was popularized by Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
and by Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
and Mary Ford
Mary Ford
Mary Ford , born Iris Colleen Summers, was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits...
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...
, and for both of them following on to their big hit of "The Tennessee Waltz
The Tennessee Waltz
"Tennessee Waltz" is a popular/country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in December 1947 as a single by Cowboy Copas that same year...
" the previous year. The music of "Mockin' Bird Hill" is based closely on a Swedish waltz called "Livet i Finnskogarna" or "Life in the Finnish Woods," recorded by Carl Jularbo in 1915, which enjoyed some popularity in the U.S.
The Page recording, made on January 17, 1951, was issued by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
as catalog number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
5595, and first reached the Billboard pop music chart on February 24, 1951, lasting 22 weeks and peaking at #2. At the same time Mercury released a recording, catalog number 5552 by Tiny Hill and the Hillsiders
Tiny Hill
Harry Lawrence “Tiny” Hill was a band leader of the Big Band era. During the height of his career Hill was billed as “America’s Biggest Bandleader” because of his weight of over . His signature song was “Angry” which he first recorded in 1939 on Columbia records Vocalion label...
.
The Les Paul/Mary Ford recording was issued by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
as catalog number 1373, and also reached the Billboard top 10.
On the Cash Box
Cash Box magazine
Cashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...
best-selling record charts, where all recordings were combined, the song first entered the chart on March 3, 1951, reached #1 on April 21, 1951, and remained #1 through the May 12, 1951 chart. It came back to the #1 position on May 26.
Big Band orchestra leader, Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan was a big band orchestra leader and musical arranger in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
, recorded the song in 1951 featuring the Gay Sisters on backing vocals.
Mockingbird Hill is also mentioned in The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
song, Spanish Bombs.
Cover versions
- The Tanner Sisters with Orchestra recorded their version in London on April 1, 1951. It was released by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10071. - The Pinetoppers, featuring vocal chorus by The Beaver Valley Sweethearts, (Coral Records, No. 64061, not dated).
- In 1961, Teresa Brewer recorded a version of this song on the album Songs Everybody Knows.
- The Migil FiveThe Migil FiveThe Migil Five were a British pop, rhythm and blues and jazz group in the early to mid 1960s, whose biggest hit was a bluebeat version of "Mockin' Bird Hill".-Career:...
sang a bluebeat tempo version of the song - a UK hit in 1964. - Ray StevensRay StevensRay Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
recorded the song in 1975 for his mostly pop-standards cover album, Misty. - Donna FargoDonna FargoDonna Fargo is an American country music singer-songwriter, who is best-known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970s...
took a shortened country version to #9 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1977. - In 1993, Dutch group Roots Syndicate (:nl:Roots Syndicate) released a reggaeReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
cover, which featured on an advertisement for Centraal BeheerCentraal BeheerCentraal Beheer is an insurance company sited in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It is part of Achmea, the largest insurance company in the country. It is usually referred to as "Apeldoorn".-Commercials:...
in the early 1990s. - The SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
comedian Povel RamelPovel RamelBaron Povel Karl Henric Ramel was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical...
wrote a Swedish-language version of the song called Småfoglarne (The little birds), which contained a large number of puns on birds' names. It was performed and recorded by Ramel and Martin LjungMartin LjungMartin Vilhelm Ljung was a Swedish comedian, actor and singer.His movie debut was in the 1947 movie Tappa inte sugen starring Nils Poppe....
. - Foster and Allen recorded the song in 2004 for their album By Special Request.