"Charley, My Boy" is a song with music by Ted Fio Rito and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The Russo-FioRito Oriole Orchestra introduced the song in 1924. The most popular recording was released by Eddie Cantor.[1] The sheet music was published for voice and piano by Irving Berlin Inc., and in Australia by J. Albert & Son.[2]
| Charley, My Boy | |
|---|---|
| Song by Ted Fiorito | |
| Text | Gus Kahn |
| Publisher | J. Albert & Son |
| Recorded | 1924 |
| Scoring | Voice and piano |
The refrain is four lines, of which the first two are:
- Charley, my boy; oh, Charley, my boy
- You thrill me, you chill me, with shivers of joy
It is sung from the viewpoint of a woman enamored of a man whom she finds to be an exceptional lover, even better than Romeo:
- And when we dance, I read in your glance
- Whole pages and ages of love and romance
- They tell me Romeo was some lover, too
- But boy, he should have taken lessons from you
On July 18, 1923, singing comedian Eddie Cantor recorded the song, which he released as a single on Columbia Records in 1924.[3] It was recorded by several of his contemporaries, including Billy Murray. Murray's version is wrapped inside a lively instrumental that is clearly intended for dancing the Charleston or other popular Jazz Age dances.[citation needed] Murray's version featured a short instrumental interlude between the two sets of verses, which included a bar from an earlier Murray recording with a similar theme, also introduced by Eddie Cantor:
- He's not so good in a crowd,
- But when you get him alone,
- You'd Be Surprised
In 1949, "Charley" was recorded on the Decca Records label by the Andrews Sisters as the A-side of a single which had "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" (from the popular 1949 John Wayne movie of the same name) as the B-side.[4] It was also one of two theme songs used by the popular radio program The Spike Jones Show.[5]
It is now most easily found as a square dance tune, with at least three different publications, two by MacGregor and one by Hi Hat Records, the latter using the alternate spelling and punctuation "Charlie, My Boy."[6] Several of the old versions, including the performance by Billy Murray, are available on YouTube.
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Tyler, Don (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. p. 132. ISBN 9780786429462. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Fiorito, Ted; Kahn, Gus. "Charley, my boy [music] / [words] by Gus Kahn ; & [music by] Ted Fiorito". National Library of Australia Catalogue. J. Albert & Son. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ "Charley, My Boy by Eddie Cantor". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ "Charley My Boy", Stanford University
- ^ Radio Theme List, ClassicThemes.Com
- ^ "Charley My Boy" Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Cedar.net square dance calls
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