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| "Carolina in the Morning" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover withBen Bernie & His Orchestra | |
| Song | |
| Published | 1922 (1922) |
| Genre | Popular |
| Composer | Walter Donaldson |
| Lyricist | Gus Kahn |
| Audio sample | |
Recording ofCarolina in the Morning, performed byMarion Harris (1922) | |
Recording byVan and Schenck (1922), which was one of the best selling recordings of 1923[1] | |
"Carolina in the Morning" is apopular song withwords byGus Kahn andmusic byWalter Donaldson, first published in 1922 byJerome H. Remick & Co.[2]
The song debuted onBroadway in the elaborate and risquémusical revueThe Passing Show of 1922 at theWinter Garden Theater.[3]Vaudeville performers incorporated it into their acts and helped popularize it. Among these wasWilliam Frawley[citation needed], who later sang it inParamount Pictures' original version ofThe Lemon Drop Kid in 1934, as well as the 1952 episode "Ricky Loses His Voice" ofI Love Lucy,[4] and the 1963 season 3 episode "Evening with a Star" ofMy Three Sons, where it generated moderate attention.
Notable recordings when the song was new were made by such artists asMarion Harris,Van & Schenck,Paul Whiteman and theAmerican Quartet.[5]
"Carolina in the Morning" gradually became a standard, being revived regularly as a popular song into the 1950s.Al Jolson recorded it on June 11, 1947[6] and he featured it in the filmJolson Sings Again (1949).Danny Winchell had a hit with his version in 1952.[7]
Other artists to have later successes with the song includedBing Crosby who recorded the song in 1956[8] for use on hisradio show and it was subsequently included in the box setThe Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued byMosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.[9] He subsequently used it in his albumA Southern Memoir. Other notable versions were byDean Martin (for his albumSwingin' Down Yonder),Jimmy Durante,Dinah Shore (for her albumDinah Down Home!),[10]Judy Garland, andDanny Kaye.
In 1957,Bill Haley & His Comets recorded arock and roll version.Freddy Cannon recorded this song on his debut 1960 albumThe Explosive Freddy Cannon.
It was also performed byDick Van Dyke andMary Tyler Moore onThe Dick Van Dyke Show and byVivian Vance andWilliam Frawley onI Love Lucy.
Barbara Cook recorded it live January 26, 1975, for her albumBarbara Cook at Carnegie Hall. The album was a significant moment in her career, marking her successful transition into a concert performer.
The original 1922 lyrics are nowpublic domain in theUnited States due to age.[2] The chorus remains well known, but the verses have generally been omitted from vocal performances since the early years of the song's popularity. The verses give a hint of melancholy to the song, while the chorus on its own can be an almost ecstatic reverie.
The popular chorus has a catchy melody, constructed more creatively by Walter Donaldson than mostTin Pan Alley popular songs of the era. Gus Kahn's clever lyrics use playful wording and subsidiaryrhymes within lines in a manner found in some of the betternovelty songs of the era, but seldom found in songs where the effect wasromantic rather thancomic.
"Carolina in the Morning" has been used in public celebrations in the statesNorth Carolina andSouth Carolina. It is also frequently sung by collegiatea cappella groups. The song was also recorded byBrent Spiner for his 1991 albumOl' Yellow Eyes Is Back. Among the more colorful renditions of this song was in theWarner Bros. cartoonBook Revue (1946) in whichDaffy Duck sings a Russian-accented version, imitating a then famousDanny Kaye characterization, saying "feener", "Caroleena", etc., while wearing azoot suit. Moreover, Warner Brothers utilized the song as part of the musical score of many of their Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons. In 1951,Alfred Hitchcock chose a mechanical-orchestra version to play at an amusement park as a prelude to Miriam's murder inStrangers on a Train.
Performance artist and comedianAndy Kaufman often performed the song as his characterTony Clifton, e.g., duringThe Midnight Special he hosted in 1981, and two years earlier, in 1979, atCarnegie Hall, where Kaufman appeared on stage with Clifton (presumably played byBob Zmuda) for a duet.
The opening line of the song was spoofed in the 1997 filmCon Air when Cyrus "the Virus" Grissom sings, "Oh, nothing makes me sadder than the agent lost his bladder in the airplane!" It was also spoofed as the title of a book byCharles Osgood:Nothing Could Be Finer Than a Crisis That Is Minor in the Morning.
