Beautiful Girl (Bing Crosby song)

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"Beautiful Girl"
Song by Bing Crosby with
Lennie Hayton and his Orchestra
Published1933 by Robbins Music Corp.
RecordedSeptember 27, 1933 (1933-09-27)[1]
Genre
Length3:20
LabelBrunswick 6694
Composer(s)Nacio Herb Brown
Lyricist(s)Arthur Freed

"Beautiful Girl" is a song with music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed, first published in 1933. It was originally written for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Stage Mother (1933) and appeared the same year in another MGM production – Going Hollywood (1933), where it was sung by Bing Crosby, whose rendition charted in the US at number 11 for 3 weeks.[2][3]

Background

"Beautiful Girl" was introduced by a vaudeville singer and actor Sam Ash in a pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture Stage Mother (1933). It appeared in a show sequence, where it was danced to by Maureen O'Sullivan.[4] The original arrangement and orchestration of the song was made by Jack Virgil and was conducted by Lou Silvers.[5] The master recording of Ash's version was on August 7, 1933.[a]

The first commercial recording of "Beautiful Girl" however, was made by Freddy Martin and his Orchestra on September 20, 1933.[1] A version recorded a week later by Bing Crosby with Lennie Hayton's Orchestra became a hit, charting at number 11 on Billboard for 3 weeks.[2] Released in December the same year Going Hollywood (1933) contained another interpretation of the song by Crosby, in a different key.[3]

According to the labels on shellac records, the target dance for "Beautiful Girl" is the foxtrot.[3]

Re-arranged by Roger Edens and Conrad Salinger, the song appeared in a musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952).[6] Under the direction of returning Lennie Hayton, it was sung by Jimmie Thompson during the "Beautiful Girl Montage" segment.[5]

Renditions

Date Main recording artist Vocalist Notes Ref.
August 7, 1933 Sam Ash Soundtrack recording for Stage Mother (1933).[a] [5]
September 20, 1933 Freddy Martin and his Orchestra Terry Stand First commercial recording of the song. [1]
September 26, 1933 Harry Reser and his Eskimos Jimmy Brierly [7]
September 27, 1933 Bing Crosby Featuring Lennie Hayton and his Orchestra. [1]
October 3, 1933 Bernie Cummins and his New Yorkers Walter Cummins [8]
October 4, 1933 Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra Ozzie Nelson [7]
October 11, 1933 Don Bestor and his Orchestra Neil Buckley [8]
January 4, 1934 Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra Bob Lawrence Live recording for the Kraft Music Hall radio program. [9]
June 8, 1951 Jimmie Thompson Soundtrack recording for Singin' in the Rain (1952). [5]

Charts

Chart (1933) Peak
position
US Billboard[2] 11

Notes

  1. ^ a b The original recording remained unreleased until 2002, when it became part of a Deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition of Singin' in the Rain soundtrack.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Brunswick 6000 Series Numerical Listing". 78discography.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  2. ^ a b c "Song artist – Bing Crosby". tsort.info. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  3. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 104. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  4. ^ "Full credits of Stage Mother – Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  5. ^ a b c d Feltenstein, George (2002). "Singin' in the Rain (Deluxe Fiftieth Anniversary Edition)" soundtrack liner notes. Turner Entertainment Co. pp. 22–26.
  6. ^ "Full credits of Singin' in the Rain – Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  7. ^ a b "The Shedd Institute – Recordings of "Beautiful Girl"".
  8. ^ a b "Nacio Herb Brown – Discography of American Historical Recordings".
  9. ^ "Paul Whiteman's Orchestra "On the Air"".
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