Lullaby of Birdland

"Lullaby of Birdland"
Song
Published 1952
Genre Popular, jazz
Writer(s) B. Y. Forster
Composer(s) George Shearing
Language English

"Lullaby of Birdland" is a 1952 popular song with music by George Shearing and lyrics by George David Weiss under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster" in order to circumvent the rule that ASCAP and BMI composers could not collaborate. The song has become a jazz standard.[1][2][3][4]

The title refers to Charlie "Bird" Parker and the Birdland jazz club named after him.

Notable recordings

The song has been recorded by many vocal and instrumental performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, the Blue Stars of France (a Billboard top twenty hit in 1956, sung in French), Lionel Hampton, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan, Amy Winehouse, Aoi Teshima, Mel Tormé, Erroll Garner, Japanese R&B singer DOUBLE, Nikki Yanofsky, pianist Friedrich Gulda, the 12 cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Korean singer Insooni, Korean band J Rabbit, Finnish singer Olavi Virta (in Finnish), Vietnamese singer Tùng Dương, Spanish singer Andrea Motis (with a Bach-like three voice fugue based on the song theme by pianist Ignasi Terraza) and Italian singer Mina. A live version is included on the album Amy Winehouse at the BBC by Amy Winehouse. Winehouse also sampled the song in the track "October Song" from her debut album, Frank. In Stan Freberg's comic version of "The Great Pretender", the jazz pianist ad libs the first six notes of "Lullaby of Birdland", before the singer angrily shouts "WATCH IT!!" Other versions include Joni James, Bill Davis, Anita Kerr Singers, Ralph Marterie, McGuire Sisters, Floyd Cramer, Frank Chacksfield, Hugo Montenegro, and Ray Conniff.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lullaby of Birdland (1952)". JazzStandards.com.
  2. ↑ The Real Book, Volume I (6th ed.). Hal Leonard. 2004. p. 256. ISBN 0-634-06038-4.
  3. ↑ The Real Vocal Book, Volume I. Hal Leonard. 2006. ISBN 0-634-06080-5.
  4. ↑ The Real Jazz Book. Warner Bros. ISBN 978-91-85041-36-7.
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