Lullaby of Birdland
| "Lullaby of Birdland" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Written | 1952[1] |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Composer(s) | George Shearing |
| Lyricist(s) | George David Weiss |
"Lullaby of Birdland" is a jazz standard and popular song composed by George Shearing with lyrics by George David Weiss (under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster").[2][3][4]
Background
George Shearing wrote "Lullaby of Birdland" in 1952 for Morris Levy, the owner of the New York jazz club Birdland. Levy had gotten in touch with Shearing and explained that he'd started a regular Birdland-sponsored disk jockey show, and he wanted Shearing to record a theme which was "to be played every hour on the hour." Levy originally wanted his own music to be recorded, but Shearing insisted he couldn't relate very well with it and wanted to compose his own music. They compromised by sharing the rights of the song; the composer's rights went to Shearing, and the publishing rights went to Levy.[1][5]
Shearing stated in his autobiography that he had composed "the whole thing [...] within ten minutes."[1] The chord changes were partly from Walter Donaldson's "Love Me Or Leave Me".[6][7]
Jean Constantin composed the lyrics to a French version, "Lola ou La légende du pays aux oiseaux".[8]
Musical characteristics
"Lullaby of Birdland" is in thirty-two bar form, and its original key was F minor (or A♭ major). The song spends an equal amount of time in both minor and major modes. It follows a I – vi – ii7 – V7 harmonic progression, and it has a I – viø7 – iiø7 – V7 minor variation.[9]
Notable recordings
The original single was issued on MGM 11354 - "Lullaby Of Birdland" (Shearing) by The George Shearing Quintet, recorded July 17, 1952.[10]
Lyrics were added later by George David Weiss; the recording by Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown became a hit in 1954.[11]
The song has been recorded by many vocal and instrumental performers, including
. The Argentine singer Morena Greppi delivered an excellent rendition of the classic song on the program La Voz Argentina.See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9780826460158.
- ^ "Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Lullaby of Birdland)". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ISBN 0-634-06038-4.
- ISBN 068801920X. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ISBN 1555217877. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ Holbrook, Morris B. (2008). Playing the Changes on the Jazz Metaphor. Now Publishers. p. 77.
- ^ Gioia, Ted (2021). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. p. 275.
- OCLC 780312506. Retrieved 2 May 2021 – via Open WorldCat.
- ^ McElrath, K.J. "Lullaby of Birdland (1952)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "When lights are low/Lullaby of Birdland".
- ^ "Lullaby of Birdland".
