Sing, Sing, Sing

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"Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" is a 1936 song, written by Louis Prima, that has become one of the definitive songs of the big band and swing era. Although written by Prima, it is often most associated with Benny Goodman. The song has since been covered by numerous artists. It was used in the Broadway Musical Swing!

On July 6, 1937, "Sing, Sing, Sing" was recorded in Hollywood with Benny Goodman on clarinet; Harry James, Ziggy Elman, and Chris Griffin on trumpets; Red Ballard and Murray McEachern on trombones; Hymie Schertzer and George Koenig on alto saxophones; Art Rollini and Vido Musso on tenor saxophone; Jess Stacy on piano; Allan Reuss on guitar; Harry Goodman on bass; and Gene Krupa on drums. The song was arranged by Jimmy Mundy. Unlike most big band arrangements of that era, which were limited in length to about 3 minutes so that they could be recorded on one side of a standard 10-inch 78-rpm record, the Goodman band's version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" was an extended work. The 1937 recording lasted 8 min 43 seconds, and took up both sides of a 12-inch 78. At its longest, a live recording (with several impromptu solos) was actually recorded and took up a whole 12 min 30 sec. Mundy's arrangement incorporated "Christopher Columbus", a piece written by Chu Berry for the Fletcher Henderson band, as well as Prima's work.

Benny Goodman is quoted as saying, "'Sing, Sing, Sing' (which we started doing back at the Palomar on our second trip there in 1936) was a big thing, and no one-nighter was complete without it...." Many swing aficionados consider the definitive performance of "Sing, Sing, Sing" to be from Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall jazz concert, in a performance that was very different from both the previous year's commercial release and from subsequent performances with the Goodman band. The personnel of the Goodman band for the Carnegie Hall concert was the same as for the 1937 recording session, except that Vernon Brown had replaced Murray McEachern on trombone, and Babe Russin had replaced Vido Musso on tenor sax.

In the decades since, "Sing, Sing, Sing" has gone on to be one of the most visible symbols of the swing era. Easily accessible to rock audiences due to its big beat and showy drum breaks structure, it is heard everywhere from television commercials to high school marching bands. In 2005, Anita O'Day's version was remixed by RSL and was included on the Verve Remixed 3 compilation.

1 Uses in popular culture

[edit] Uses in popular culture

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[edit] Film

In the 1936 movie After the Thin Man: at the unexpected New Year party given at the Charles residence
In the 1955 biopic The Benny Goodman Story. The song is played at the climax of the film, a recreation of Goodman's triumphant Carnegie Hall concert. Many of the era's premier musicians appear.
In the 1981 movie American Pop (1981), directed by Ralph Bakshi
In the 1986 movie Power (film) (1986), featuring recurring images of the central character, played by Richard Gere, playing the drums
In the 1988 Jim Abrahams movie Big Business (1988 film)
In the 1993 Thomas Carter movie Swing Kids
In the 1993 Woody Allen movie Manhattan Murder Mystery: during the car chase scene to the scrapyard
In the 1994 movie The Mask.
In the 1997 Woody Allen movie Deconstructing Harry: during the Hell scene
In the 1997 movie Tower of Terror during the opening and closing scenes
In the 1999 movie The Girl on the Bridge, directed by Patrice Leconte.
In the 2000 Ed Harris movie Pollock: used
In the 2002 submarine ghost movie Below
In the 2002 Martin Scorsese movie Gangs of New York: used anachronistically
In the 2003 Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things: opening titles
In the 2004 Japanese film Swing Girls by Shinobu Yaguchi
In the 2008 movie Leatherheads

[edit] Games

In the 2003/2004 Nintendo GameCube game Donkey Konga
In the 2006 Xbox Live arcade game Outpost Kaloki X

[edit] Television

Chto Gde Kogda (1975–present), one of the longest running TV shows in the Soviet Union/Russia: uses "Sing, Sing, Sing" regularly
Cinescape, a popular Peruvian TV program about films and movies: has this song as its introduction
In a 1993 commercial for the Nabisco Chips Ahoy! cookies
In the 1994 The Simpsons episodes "Lady Bouvier's Lover", and Simpsons Christmas Stories.
In the 1994 Ken Burns documentary Baseball, episode "The Sixth Inning"
In the 1997 made-for-TV movie Tower of Terror
In the Everybody Loves Raymond episode "Dancing with Debra" (1999, season 3)
In the 3rd Rock from the Sun episode "Shall We Dick": used in a dancing contest
In the Gilmore Girls episode "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?": the song is played at the beginning of the dance marathon
In The Sopranos episode "Remember When": during the closing credits
In the 2004 Malcolm in the Middle episode "Dewey's Special Class"
In a 2007 episode of Doctors^[clarify]
In the Carnivàle episode "The Road to Damascus": in a fight scene (erroneously taking place in 1935! There was also a radio in a truck, duh)
The character of Rose Nylund dances to Sing, sing, Sing, in an episode of The Golden Girls