Today in Music (1920): Paul Whiteman hit #1 with “The Japanese Sandman”

The Japanese Sandman Paul Whiteman

Writer(s): Richard A. Whiting (music), Ray Egan (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 13, 1920 Peak: 12 PM, 2 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.0 sheet music, 3.0 total Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.29 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “During the ’20s, transportation was still primitive enough that to most people the Orient was excitingly exotic and distant. Tin Pan Alley adapted authentic Far Eastern music to appeal to Americans, who accepted it as genuine.” TY2 “The song is about a sandman from Japan who exchanges yesterdays for tomorrows. By doing so…“he’ll bring you tomorrow, just to start a life anew.” WK “The first verse of the song asks us to stretch our imaginations ‘for the moment and come with me…over the western sea.’ There we will find a Japanese lady singing a lullyaby to her baby. The chorus continues by telling us the ‘Japanese Sandman’ is ‘sneaking on with the dew’ and ‘taking ‘every sorrow of the day that is through.’ This sandman is ‘just an old second hand man trading new days for old.’” TY2 Paul Whiteman’s instrumental recording of the song was the first to chart and the most successful, reaching #1 in 1920. “The Japanese Sandman” was the flip side of “Whispering,” Whiteman’s first chart entry. The songs “established Paul Whiteman and his orchestra as major show business personalities.” TY2 Whiteman was “the most popular bandleader of the pre-swing era” PM charting more than 200 songs from 1920 to 1954. Both songs went to #1 – a feat Whiteman would accomplish thirty more times. PM There were other charted versions by Nora Bayes (#7, 1921), Ben Selvin (#15, 1921), and Benny Goodman (#10, 1935). PM Although Whiteman’s version charted before Bayes, she first popularized the song on vaudeville. TY2 The song gained attention again in 1967 when it was featured in the movie musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Julie Andrews. It has also been featured in Destination Tokyo (1940), Belles on Their Toes (1952), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. WK Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 108. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 114-5. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 447, 533. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 5/13/2025.