Friday, September 26, 2008

100 years ago: “Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine” hit #1

Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine

Ada Jones & Billy Murray

Writer(s): Karl L. Hoschna (music), Otto A. Harbach (lyrics) (see lyrics here)


First Charted: September 12, 1908


Peak: 15 US, 2 GA (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The “cuddly come-on” TY2 “Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine” was written for a vaudeville sketch, but the writers never got paid so they opted to use it in The Three Twins, a 1908 operetta. Alice Yorke introduced the song in the Broadway musical. TY2

Otto Harbach, who wrote the lyrics, wrote for nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas, collaborating with such famous composers as George Gerswhin and Jerome Kern, and mentored Oscar Hammerstein II. Among his other famous songs were “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “Indian Love Call.”

The first charted version of the song was by Ada Jones and Billy Murray. Their version from 1908 reached #1. In 1942, Dick Jurgens put the song back on the charts, hitting #24. The next year, Kay Armen & the Balladiers hit the charts, peaking at #19. Guy Lombardo recorded the song in 1948. In 1951, Doris Day recorded the song for her album On Moonlight Bay, featuring songs from the movie of the same name. Others who have recorded the song include Bing Crosby (1959), Vic Damone (1958), Julie London (1959), and Dean Martin (1958). WK

It was also performed in Coney Island (1943) by Betty Grable, in Moonlight Bay (1951) by Gordon MacRae and Billy Gray, Tall Story (1960) by Jane Fonda and Anthony Perkins, and Everyone Says I Love You (1996) by Billy Crudup and Sanjeev Rambhadran. WK It has also been used in the films The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), The Birth of the Blues (1941), Is Everybody Happy? (1943), Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), and Shady Lady (1945). TY2


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First posted 12/14/2022.

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