100 years ago: Ted Lewis “All by Myself” hit #1

All by Myself Ted Lewis

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 15, 1921 Peak: 14 US, 12 GA, 15 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This Irving Berlin tune “is a meditation on solitude and the misery of growing old alone.” TY2 It may have been autobiographical as Berlin lost his bride shortly after their honeymoon and never remarried. TY2 It was introduced in vaudeville by Charles King DJ and in The Music Box Revue of 1922, which was part of a series of musical theater revuews by Irving Berlin from 1921 to 1925. It was first recorded by Frank Crumit (#5, 1921), SM a “popular entertainer who appeared in several Broadway musicals of the decade and later hosted a popular radio show.” TY2 Ted Lewis’ jazz band recorded the chart-topping version. SM “The famous bandleader…was famous for his half-spoken, half-singing vocals” TY2 but this recording of “All by Myself” was all instrumental. SM In all, six versions of the song charted in 1921 – Aileen Stanley (#5), Benny Krueger (#6), Vaughn Deleath (#13), and Ben Selvin (#14). PM Krueger was the former saxophone player with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. TY2 Deleath was “one of the most famous of the early radio performers” TY2 and “supposedly the first woman to sing on radio.” TY2 Others who recorded the song include Pat Boone, Connee Boswell, Nat “King” Cole, Bing Crosby (for the movie Blue Skies), DJ Bob Crosby, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald, Connie Francis, Marion Harris, Brenda Lee, Nancy Sinatra, and Kay Starr. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ted Lewis DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 7. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 115-6. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 469. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/28/2023.

50 years ago: Paul Whiteman “Three O’Clock in the Morning” hit #1

Three O’Clock in the Morning Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra

Writer(s): Julián Robledo (music), Dorothy Terriss (lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: June 1, 1922 Peak: 18 US, 13 GA, 17 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.5 US, 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The music for “Three O’Clock in the Morning” was composed as a piano solo in 1919 by a Spanish composer named Julián Robledo who moved to Argentina in the early 1900s. SM In 1921, Theodora Morse, under the pseudonym of Dorothy Terriss, added lyrics which “changed it from a ribald drinking song to a ballad.” TY2 The singer says he wants to dance “forever, dear, with you” or at least until three in the morning. It was incorporated into the Greenwich Village Follies of 1921. It was notable for its use of a chiming clock which opens and closes the song. During the stage presentation, Richard Bold and Rosalind Fuller sang the song while ballet dancers Margaret Petit and Valodia Vestoff rang the chimes. WK Frank Crumit (#5, 1921) was the first to record a vocal version of the song. Carl Fenton (#5, 1922), Joseph C. Smith (#5, 1922), and Ben Selvin (#8, 1923) were among those to helm full orchestral versions, but Paul Whiteman had the biggest hit version (#1, 1922). His version was one of the first 20 recordings in history to sell more than a million copies, WK ultimately selling 3.5 million copies of the record and another million of the sheet music. The song was revitalized in 1930 by Ted Lewis (#2) and again in 1953 by Monty Kelly (#21). PM Others who have recorded and/or sung the song include Judy Garland, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Harry James, Bert Kaempfert, Guy Lombardo, Mitch Miller, Thelonious Monk, and Oscar Peterson. WK The song was used in several movie musicals including Presenting Lily Mars (1943), Margie (1946), That Midnight Kiss (1949), and The Eddy Duchin Story (1956). F. Scott Fitzgerald referenced the song in his novel The Great Gatsby and it was used in the 1974 movie version of the book. It has also appeared in Belles on Their Toes (1952), When Brendan Met Trudy (2000), and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001). Resources: SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 125. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 596. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/29/2023.