1937 song
"Hooray for Hollywood" is apopularsong first featured in the1937 movieHollywood Hotel, and which has since become (together with "That's Entertainment" and "There's No Business like Show Business") the staple soundtrack element of anyAcademy Awards ceremony. It is even frequently played during non-American movie ceremonies, e.g. the FrenchCésar Awards. The popularity of the song is notably due to an exciting and memorable melody and lyrics byJohnny Mercer, which reference the American movie industry and satirize the desire to become a Hollywood movie star.
The music was composed byRichard A. Whiting. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics. In the original movie it was sung byJohnnie Davis andFrances Langford, accompanied byBenny Goodman and his orchestra.
Doris Day’s Version
[edit]Doris Day had changed the lyrics in her version, as the lyrics were difficult to fully understand in the original, as they refer to people such asAimee Semple orShirley Temple which have since been largely forgotten today. In the original lyrics the line "where any shopgirl can be a top girl, if she pleases the tired businessman" vanished quickly to go with a more appropriate and modern time in theDoris Day’s version and her self titled album of the song, having been replaced with "and any barmaid can be a star made if she dances with or without a fan.” The latter part of the line refers tofan dancing.
In theDoris Day recording, she mentionsMarilyn Monroe to keep up to date with the outdated lyrics of the recording.
The first national news bulletin of theMedia coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy was transmitted over theABC Radio Network at 12:36 p.m. CST/1:36 p.m. EST.[1] The network was airing theMusic in the Afternoon program hosted by Dirk Fredericks and Joel Crager,[2][3] andDoris Day’s recording of ‘’Hooray for Hollywood’’ was playing when newscaster Don Gardiner had to interrupt the song to make the announcement of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy’s death in 1963.
It also includes reference toWalt Disney and his cartoon character with the lines of "You might beDonald Duck."
- TheDoris Day version is used in Ray Donovan Episodes 01 - Season 1 "The Bag or the Bat" (2013).
- The song is used in the opening scene of theLooney Tunes cartoonWhat's Up, Doc? (1950).
- The melody was used on theJack Benny radio show as the final theme song.
- The song is played over the opening and closing shots of Robert Altman's filmThe Long Goodbye (1973) starringElliott Gould asPhilip Marlowe.
- In 1977, the song was performed twice during an episode ofThe Brady Bunch Variety Hour. Some lyrics were altered to reference then-current pop-culture ("If you find things get rough, you could getPufnstuf..." and "...where any person likeLaverne or Shirley orJo Anne Worley is equally understood"[4]).
- The song is featured in the musicalA Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine.
- The song was used as the opening and exit toDisney-MGM Studios'The Great Movie Ride attraction. This version became one of the many California related songs played throughout "Sunshine Plaza" in the originalDisney's California Adventure.[5]
- Jay Leno on theTonight Show often did take-offs ofRodney Dangerfield'sschtick, telling bandleaderKevin Eubanks; "Kevin, the economy is so bad that..." After the punchline, the Tonight Show Band played a fast melody of "Hooray for Hollywood".
- In the Disney Channel original movie Phantom of The Megaplex Mickey Rooney’s character “Movie Mason” sings the tail end of the song in front of the theatre for the premiere of the movie.
- InThe Simpsons episode "Mayored to the Mob", the cast members of a production ofGuys and Dolls sing a song with the musical's title to the tune of "Hooray for Hollywood", which, as the show's starMark Hamill points out, isn't actually one of that show's musical numbers.[6]
- InThe Simpsons episode "You Only Move Twice", Waylon Smithers sings to himself "I work for Monty Burns" to the melody of Hooray for Hollywood.
- A cha-cha instrumental version of the song was used as bumper music for David Feeney's short-lived "Hollywood Minute" segment on the popular podcastDaves of Thunder. An identical recording was used as the theme song for the pilot ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, as stated byCharlie Day, because the series was going to take place in Los Angeles.
- A simplified score of the melody decorates the banisters in the Hollywood/Vine Red Line Station in Los Angeles leading down to the platform.
- The song is used in the opening ofWarren Beatty's filmRules Don't Apply (2016).
- The song is performed in the 1978 filmSextette starring 87-year-oldMae West, which was her final film.
