| "Swinging on a Star" | |
|---|---|
| Single byBing Crosby withthe Williams Brothers Quartet andJohn Scott Trotter and His Orchestra | |
| from the albumSelections from Going My Way | |
| Released | April 1944 |
| Recorded | February 7, 1944 |
| Genre | Traditional pop |
| Label | Decca |
| Songwriters | |
| Official audio | |
| " Swinging on a Star" onYouTube | |
"Swinging on a Star" is an Americanpop standard with music composed byJimmy Van Heusen and lyrics byJohnny Burke.[1] It was introduced byBing Crosby in the 1944 filmGoing My Way, winning anAcademy Award for Best Original Song that year,[1][2] and has been recorded by numerous artists since then. In 2004, it finished at No. 37 inAFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Many artists have recorded it under the title "Would You Like to Swing on a Star".[citation needed]
SongwriterJimmy Van Heusen was at Crosby's house one evening for dinner, and to discuss a song for the film projectGoing My Way. During the meal, one of the children began complaining about how he did not want to go to school the next day. The singer turned to his sonGary and said to him, "If you don’t go to school, you might grow up to be a mule." Van Heusen thought this clever rebuke would make a good song for the film.[2] He pictured Crosby, who played a priest, talking to a group of children acting much the same way as his own child had acted that night. Van Heusen took the idea to his partnerlyricistJohnny Burke, who approved. They wrote the song.[3]
The first recording of "Swinging on a Star", with Bing Crosby withJohn Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, took place inLos Angeles on February 7, 1944, and was released asDecca Records on Disc No. 18597 paired with "Going My Way". The song topped the US charts in 1944 and Australian charts in 1945.The Williams Brothers Quartet, including a youngAndy Williams, sang backup vocals behind Crosby.[3]
The lyrics follow the usual verse-refrain format.[4] The length of the composition is unusual: the refrain is just 8 bars in length, whilst the verse is 12 bars.[4]
