"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]
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It was the #16 song of 1926 according to Pop Culture Madness.[2] In 1982, the RIAA posthumously awarded John Coltrane a Grammy Award of " Best Jazz Solo Performance" for the work on his album, "Bye Bye Blackbird". Grammy.[3] Recordings of the song often include only the chorus; the verses are far less known.[4]
The song was also copied by "Charlie and His Orchestra," German Karl Schwedler, of "The Templin Band" during World War II as part of Joseph Goebbels' propaganda campaign. But, the lyrics were changed to reflect the German political rhetoric of the time and intended to demoralize the Allied forces. The tune(s) were sung in English and aimed at United States and British troops, as well as British citizens. The song and melody were not permitted to be played in National Socialist Germany because Nazi leadership forbade progressive styles of music like jazz.
There is much speculation about the meaning of the song.[5] At least two commentators (using the same source) attribute the song to a prostitute's leaving the business and going home to her mother.[6][7] As such, it is the opposite of "House of the Rising Sun," where the prostitute returns to the business.[8] The reason for the song's apparent ambiguity is that the opening verse and the verses about the bluebird are rarely sung.
"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" has been recorded by many artists, including:
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It has been featured in the soundtracks of at least seven movies since 1969, including Sleepless in Seattle[14] and The History Boys, where it is performed by Samuel Barnett and Jamie Parker,[15] 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. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone, February 25, 2004.
The song is featured in the Tony-winning Broadway musical revue "Fosse," which showcases the choreography of the late Bob Fosse. Fosse originally included the song in Liza Minnelli's Emmy-winning 1972 television concert film "Liza with a Z," which Fosse directed, produced and choreographed.
The song is given a fictional, mystical importance in Theodore Roszak's novel Flicker.[16] In E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate, the mafia victim sings the song on his final voyage through New York harbor in cement shoes.
"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" was a background theme for the 2009 film, Public Enemies with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette. In the final scene of the film an officer tells Billie, now in prison, that he knelt to hear John's final words: "Tell Billie for me: 'Bye, Bye, Blackbird.'"
In 2002, the song was sung by The Whiffenpoofs, Yale University's a cappella group, on The West Wing Season 4 episode entitled "Holy Night".
The song also appeared in 1968 movie Anzio, an episode of "Mad Men," and the movie A River Runs Through It, and it was performed as a duet by Jerry Van Dyke and Ty Hardin in the 1963 film Palm Springs Weekend. Peggy Lee's performance was used in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005 film).
The song also appears, though partially, in Terrence Davies' 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' (1988).
Glenn Close sung it in the movie Maxie[17] in 1985. She plays `Jan´, a housewife who get possessed by the main character of the title. Maxie´s first manifestation is in a party where she decides to show how talented she is, despite she had died in the 1920´s in a car crash in the way to her big audition for Hollywood. As she sings this music, Maxie becomes the life and soul of the event. The scene is part of the movie´s trailer.
In episode № 3 of The Partridge Family, "Whatever Happened to the Old Songs?" (9 October 1970), Shirley's father (played by Ray Bolger) sings this song on stage, backed up by the family.[18]