Bye Bye Blackbird

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"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.[1]

Bye Bye Blackbird has been recorded by many artists, including Nina Simone on her 1962 album Nina at the Village Gate, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Ringo Starr, Miles Davis[2], Rickie Lee Jones, Keith Jarrett[3], Liza Minnelli[4], John Coltrane[5], Albert Ayler, and Joe Cocker. It has been featured in the soundtracks of at least seven movies since 1969, including Sleepless in Seattle.[6]

The song is given a fictional, mystical importance in Theodore Roszak's novel Flicker. [7] The song features in the 1980 movie Melvin and Howard, with Jason Robards, Jr. as Howard Hughes singing the chorus, as a western swing version of the song covers the closing credits. [8]

It was the No. 16 song of 1926 according to Pop Culture Madness[9]. John Coltrane won the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist for his rendition of the song.[10]

Eddie Cantor, Carmen McRae, Frank Sinatra, and others who recorded "Bye Bye Blackbird" only sang the chorus.

The verses of the 1926 song written by Ray Henderson (melody) and Mort Dixon (lyrics) are far less known.