POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS
Music: Jimmy Van Heusen- Lyrics: Johnny Burke
Year: 1940
Origin of the song
Trumpeter and bandleader Harry James hired Frank Sinatra after listening to him on a New York radio station. They worked together in nine recording sessions for the Columbia label from July 8 through November 8, 1939. Shortly afterwards, Sinatra joined Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. His first success with this band was the ballad 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams', which he recorded on 4 March 1940. The album reached the eighteenth place on the charts, where it only held for a week.
Since the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke wrote mainly for Bing Crosby. And Crosby's films were so successful that they became known as the 'Golden Twins'. They didn't just compose for the movies. For example, 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' and 'Imagination', both from 1939, were commissioned by Tommy Dorsey and had nothing to do with the screen.
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF
ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
1940.03.04 |
1940.04.27 |
1 |
18 |
Frank Sinatra (voc) |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
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PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1947.11.?? |
Claude Thornhill (p, dir), Louis Mucci, Red Rodney, Eddie Zandy (tp), Allan Langstaff, Tak Takvorian (tb), Sandy Siegelstein, Fred Schmidt (tpa), Bill Barber (tu), Danny Polo (cl), Lee Konitz (as), Mickey Folus, Mario Rollo (ts), Bill Bushey (bars), Barry Galbraith (g), Joe Shulman (b), Bill Exner (d) |
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1950.03.?? |
Lester Young (ts), Hank Jones (p), Ray Brown (b), Buddy Rich (d) |
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1953.08.14 |
Bud Powell (p), George Duvivier (b), Art Taylor (d) |
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1954.12.14 |
Jon Eardley (tp), Gerry Mulligan (bars), Bob Brookmeyer (vtb, p), Zoot Sims (ts), Red Mitchell (b), Larry Bunker (d) |
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1956.01.25 |
Hampton Hawes (p), Red Mitchell (b), Chuck Thompson (d) |
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1956.05.07 |
Donald Byrd (tp), Ray Santisi (p), Doug Watkins (b), Jimmy Zitano (d) |
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1956.05.07 |
Donald Byrd (tp), John Coltrane, Hank Mobley (ts), Elmo Hope (p), Paul Chambers (b), Philly Joe Jones (d) |
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1957.07.07 |
Count Basie (p, dir), Wendell Culley, Roy Eldridge, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp), Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb), Bill Graham (as), Marshall Royal (as, cl), Frank Foster, Lester Young (ts), Frank Wess (ts, fl), Charlie Fowlkes (bars), Freddie Greene (g), Eddie Jones (b), Jo Jones (d) |
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1958.09.?? |
Chet Baker (tp), Al Haig (p), Paul Chambers (b), Philly Joe Jones (d) |
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1959.09.28 |
Blue Mitchell (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Jimmy Heath (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Sam Jones (b), Philly Joe Jones (d) |
|
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1960.01.26 |
Wes Montgomery (g), Tommy Flanagan (p), Percy Heath (b), Albert Heath (d) |
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1962.06.05 |
Bill Evans (p), Chuck Israels (b), Paul Motian (d) |
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1963.06.05 |
Paul Desmond (as), Jim Hall (g), Eugene Cherico (b), Connie Kay (d) |
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Bill Evans Trio |
1967.05.26 |
Bill Evans (p), Eddie Gómez (b), Philly Joe Jones (d) |
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1975.09.13 |
Dexter Gordon (ts), Philip Catherine (g), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (b), Billy Higgins (d) |
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1978.12.?? |
Marian McPartland (p), Brian Torff (b), Jake Hanna (d) |
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Art Blakey Jazz Messengers |
1985.04.13 |
Terence Blanchard (tp), Donald Harrison (as), Jean Toussaint (ts), Mulgrew Miller (p), Lonnie Plaxico (b), Art Blakey (d) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra |
1940.03.04 |
Tommy Dorsey (tb, dir), Bunny Berigan, Zeke Zarchey, Ray Linn, Jimmy Blake (tp), Lowell Martin, Ward Silloway, George Arus, Dave Jacobs (tb), Hymie Schertzer (as), Fred Stulce, Johnny Mince (as, cl), Babe Russin, Paul Mason (ts), Bob Kitsis (p), Al Viola (g), Ray Leatherford (b), Buddy Rich (d), Frank Sinatra (voc) |
|
1953.05.21 |
Oscar Peterson (p, voc), Barney Kessel (g), Ray Brown (b) |
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1954.04.02 |
Sarah Vaughan (voc), John Malachi (p), Joe Benjamin (b), Roy Haynes (d) |
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|
1959.01.05 |
Lena Horne (voc), Lennie Hayton Orchestra |
|
|
1988.02.?? |
Cassandra Wilson (voc), Mulgrew Miller (p), Lonnie Plaxico (b), Terri Lyne Carrington (d) |
On cinemas
The song 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL TITLE |
TITLE IN SPAIN |
YEAR OF PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Hannah and Her Sisters |
Hannah y sus hermanas |
1986 |
Dick Hyman |
|
Crimes and Misdemeanors |
Delitos y faltas |
1989 |
The Wedding Band |
|
Autumn in New York |
Otoño en Nueva York |
2000 |
|
|
Black Mass |
Black Mass. Estrictamente criminal |
2015 |
Wes Montgomery |