Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)
Encyclopedia
"Scarlet Ribbons" is a popular
song
. The music was written by Evelyn Danzig
and the lyrics by Jack Segal
.
"Scarlet Ribbons" was written in only 15 minutes in 1949 at Danzig's home in Port Washington
New York after she invited lyricist Segal to hear her music. Recordings of the song by Juanita Hall
and Dinah Shore
made no great impression but in 1952 Harry Belafonte
, at his third session for RCA Records
, covered the song with an arrangement using only his guitarist Millard Thomas and male vocal group. After continually good responses in concert the four-year-old recording finally became a success in 1956 after it appeared on his second album
which, after Belafonte's next album Calypso
became the first million-selling album, reached #1 on Billboard's album charts for six weeks and stayed on the chart for over a year. The song reached the top twenty in Britain in late 1957 even though released between the very successful "Island in the Sun" and "Mary's Boy Child
" when the former was still high in the charts and the latter overhauled it to become the UK's best-selling single for decades after. The most successful version in the USA, by The Browns
, reached #13 in December 1959. "Scarlet Ribbons" has become a standard with many recorded versions and has appeared on several Christmas
albums.
The song tells a miraculous tale: a father hears a little girl pray before she goes to bed for "scarlet ribbons for her hair". It is late, no stores are open in their town, nor is there anywhere the father can obtain the ribbons so he is distraught throughout the night. At dawn he again peeps in and is amazed to see beautiful "scarlet ribbons" in "gay profusion". He states that if he lives to be a hundred he will never know where the ribbons came from.
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...
. The music was written by Evelyn Danzig
Evelyn Danzig
Evelyn Danzig Levine was an American songwriter best known for writing the music for the popular song "Scarlet Ribbons" with lyrics by her collaborator Jack Segal.-Life:...
and the lyrics by Jack Segal
Jack Segal
Jack Segal was a composer of popular American songs...
.
"Scarlet Ribbons" was written in only 15 minutes in 1949 at Danzig's home in Port Washington
Port Washington
Port Washington is the name of some places in the United States of America:*Port Washington, New York*Port Washington, Ohio*Port Washington, Wisconsin, a city*Port Washington , Wisconsin, a town...
New York after she invited lyricist Segal to hear her music. Recordings of the song by Juanita Hall
Juanita Hall
Juanita Hall was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary and Flower Drum Song as Auntie Liang.-Biography:Born in Keyport, New Jersey, Hall received...
and Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
made no great impression but in 1952 Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, at his third session for RCA Records
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...
, covered the song with an arrangement using only his guitarist Millard Thomas and male vocal group. After continually good responses in concert the four-year-old recording finally became a success in 1956 after it appeared on his second album
Belafonte (Harry Belafonte album)
Belafonte is the second album by Jamaican American singer Harry Belafonte, released in 1956.-Track listing:#"Waterboy" – 3:42#"Troubles" – 3:38#"Suzanne" – 3:19...
which, after Belafonte's next album Calypso
Calypso (album)
Calypso is the 3rd album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1956. The CD was released on April 28, 1992 . It is the first full-length gramophone LP to sell over one million copies...
became the first million-selling album, reached #1 on Billboard's album charts for six weeks and stayed on the chart for over a year. The song reached the top twenty in Britain in late 1957 even though released between the very successful "Island in the Sun" and "Mary's Boy Child
Mary's Boy Child
"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. With its religious content, it is also widely performed as a Christmas carol....
" when the former was still high in the charts and the latter overhauled it to become the UK's best-selling single for decades after. The most successful version in the USA, by The Browns
The Browns
The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
, reached #13 in December 1959. "Scarlet Ribbons" has become a standard with many recorded versions and has appeared on several Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
albums.
The song tells a miraculous tale: a father hears a little girl pray before she goes to bed for "scarlet ribbons for her hair". It is late, no stores are open in their town, nor is there anywhere the father can obtain the ribbons so he is distraught throughout the night. At dawn he again peeps in and is amazed to see beautiful "scarlet ribbons" in "gay profusion". He states that if he lives to be a hundred he will never know where the ribbons came from.
Recorded versions include
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- Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
- Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
- Frank IfieldFrank IfieldFrancis Edward Ifield is an early Australian-English easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963....
- Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- 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:...
- Gene VincentGene VincentVincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
for his album I am back and I am proud Dandelion RecordsDandelion RecordsDandelion Records was a British record label started in 1969 by the British DJ John Peel as a way to get the music he liked onto record. Peel was responsible for "artistic direction" and the commercial side was handled by Clive Selwood of Elektra Records and his wife Shurely...
1969 - Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
- Jane MorganJane MorganJane Morgan is an American popular singer, specializing in traditional pop music. Her first broad fame came in Europe....
- 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...
- Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
- Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
- Juanita HallJuanita HallJuanita Hall was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary and Flower Drum Song as Auntie Liang.-Biography:Born in Keyport, New Jersey, Hall received...
- June ChristyJune ChristyJune Christy , born Shirley Luster, was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool...
- The Cool SchoolThe Cool SchoolThe Cool School is a 1960 album by June Christy of songs sung by children the world over accompanied by the Joe Castro Quartet. June’s daughter Shay was pictured on the LP/CD cover wearing a blue smock....
(1960) - Maura Shaftoe
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- Roger WhittakerRoger WhittakerRoger Whittaker is an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of over 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability...
- Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
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- Shelby FlintShelby FlintShelby Flint is a singer who had two top-100 hits, "Angel on My Shoulder" in 1961 and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" in 1966....
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- Stan Wilson
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- The Bonzo Dog Band
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- The FureysThe FureysThe Fureys are an Irish male folk band of four brothers - Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George, from Ballyfermot, Dublin. They have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.The group formed in 1978 and consisted initially of four brothers....
- The Kingston TrioThe Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
- Tommy MakemTommy MakemThomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
- Trini LopezTrini LopezTrini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
- Val DoonicanVal DoonicanVal Doonican is an Irish singer. From 1965 to 1986 he was a regular fixture on the BBC Television's schedule with The Val Doonican Show, which featured his own singing performances and a variety of guest artists...
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- Peter Pan RecordsPeter Pan RecordsPeter Pan Records is a record label specializing in children's music. It was created in the late 1940s. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey until the 1970s....