HONEYSUCKLE ROSE
Music: Fats Waller- Lyrics: Andy Razaf
Year: 1929
Origin of the song
Fats Waller wrote ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ as a dance act for the musical revue Load of Coal, which was released in the Connie’s Inn of Harlem in 1929. A little after, already with Andy Razaf’s lyrics, Mildred Bailey performed this song for Paul Whiteman’s radio show.
Connie’s Inn was a little hot spot in Harlem where there were musical revues and dances. Located in the intersection of 131st Street and 7th Avenue, only the Cotton Club outdid its popularity. In his performances in this nightclub, Fats Waller socialised with such high standing artists as Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, or Ethel Waters.
The recordings of ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ made by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers (February 3, 1930) and Frankie Trumbauer’s orchestra (June 24, 1931) didn’t get the song to the top. Finally, in 1933, Fletcher Henderson got it into the top charts, where it remained for two weeks and reached the eighteenth position.
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
Fletcher Henderson Orchestra |
1932.12.09 |
1933.02.04 |
2 |
18 |
Instrumental |
|
Dorsey Brothers Orchestra |
1934.08.23 |
1935.01.19 |
1 |
17 |
Don Mattison, Skeets Herfurt, Roc Hillman (voc) |
|
Fats Waller & His Rhythm |
1934.11.07 |
1935.02.09 |
1 |
17 |
Fats Waller (p, voc) |
|
1935.01.25 |
1935.07.27 |
4 |
9 |
Instrumental |
|
|
Jam Session at Victor |
1937.05.31 |
1937.04.24 |
4 |
4 |
Instrumental |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1932.12.09 |
Fletcher Henderson (p, dir), Rex Stewart (cnt), Russell Smith, Bobby Stark (tp), Sandy Williams, J.C. Higginbotham (tb), Hilton Jefferson (as), Russell Procope (as, cl), Coleman Hawkins (ts, cl), Freddy White (g), John Kirby (tu, b), Walter Johnson (d) |
|
|
1933.09.26 |
Joe Sullivan (p) |
|
|
Red Norvo Swing Octet |
1935.01.25 |
Red Norvo (xil), Bunny Berigan (tp), Jack Jenney (tb), Johnny Mince (cl), Chu Berry (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), George van Eps (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Gene Krupa (d) |
|
1937.01.21 |
Count Basie (p, dir), Joe Keyes, Carl Smith, Buck Clayton (tp), George Hunt, Dan Minor (tb), Caughey Roberts (as), Jack Washington (as, bars), Lester Young, Herschel Evans (ts, cl), Claude Williams (g), Walter Page (b), Jo Jones (d) |
|
|
1937.04.28 |
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Benny Carter (tp, as), André Ekyan (as), Alix Combelle (ts, cl), Stéphane Grappelli (p), Django Reinhardt (g), Eugene d'Hellemes (b), Tommy Benford (d) |
|
|
1937.05.31 |
Fats Waller (p), Tommy Dorsey (tb), Bunny Berigan (tp), Dick McDonough (g) |
|
|
1938.01.16 |
Buck Clayton (tp), Johnny Hodges (as), Lester Young (ts), Harry Carney (bars), Count Basie (p) |
|
|
1938.01.31 |
Django Reinhardt (g), Stéphane Grappelli (vn), Roger Chaput, Eugene Vees (g), Louis Vola (b) |
|
|
1944.01.06 |
Cootie Williams (tp), Eddie Vinson (as), Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis (ts), Bud Powell (p), Norman Keenan (b), Sylvester Payne (d) |
|
|
1944.05.01 |
Art Tatum (p), Slam Stewart (b), Tiny Grimes (d) |
|
|
1947.07.02 |
Nat Cole (p), Oscar Moore (g), Johnny Miller (b) |
|
|
1951.01.11 |
Erroll Garner (p), John Simmons (b), Shadow Wilson (d) |
|
|
1954.07.24 |
Edmond Hall (cl), Ralph Sutton (p), Walter Page (b), Charlie Lodice (d) |
|
|
1956.04.03 |
Thelonious Monk (p), Oscar Pettiford (b), Art Blakey (d) |
|
|
1961.11.13 |
Benny Carter (as, dir), Phil Woods (as), Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Rouse (ts), Dick Katz (p), John Collins (g), Jimmy Garrison (b), Jo Jones (d) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1930.02.03 |
Don Redman (as, dir), Joe Smith (cnt), John Nesbitt, Langston Curl (tp), Ed Cuffee (tb), Benny Carter (cl), George Thomas (as), Prince Robinson (ts), Todd Rhodes (p), Dave Wilborn (bjo, voc), Billy Taylor (tu), Cuba Austin (d) |
|
|
1934.08.23 |
George Thow, Jerry Neary, Charlie Spivak (tp), Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller (tb), Don Mattison (tb, voc), Jimmy Dorsey (as), Jack Stacey (ts), Skeets Herfurt (ts, voc), Bobby van Eps (p), Roc Hillman (g, voc), Delmar Kaplan (b), Ray McKinley (d) |
|
|
1934.11.07 |
Fats Waller (p, voc), Bill Coleman (tp), Gene Sedric (cl, as), Albert Casey (g), Billy Taylor (b), Harry Dial (d) |
|
|
1936.12.06 |
Mildred Bailey (voc), Bunny Berigan (tp), Johnny Hodges (as), Teddy Wilson (p), Grachan Moncur (b) |
|
|
1943.04.27 |
Lena Horne (voc), Benny Carter Orchestra |
|
|
1955.04.26 |
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Trummy Young (tb), Barney Bigard (cl), Billy Kyle (p), Arvell Shaw (b), Barrett Deems (d), Velma Middleton (voc) |
|
|
1957.08.06 |
Sarah Vaughan (voc), Jimmy Jones (p), Richard Davis (b), Roy Haynes (d) |
|
|
1994.01.25 |
Jeanie Bryson (voc), Claudio Roditi (tp), Jay Ashby (tb), Don Braden (ts), Paquito D'Rivera (as), Ted Brancato, Danilo Perez (p), Vic Juris (g), Christian McBride (b), Ron Davis, Ignacio Berroa (d), Rudy Byrd (per) |
On cinemas
The song 'Honeysuckle Rose' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL
TITLE |
TITLE IN
SPAIN |
YEAR OF
PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Tin Pan Alley |
No se estrenó en
España |
1940 |
Betty Grable |
|
Thousands Cheer |
Miles de aplausos |
1943 |
Lena Horne with Benny Carter Orchestra |
|
To Paris With Love |
A París con el amor |
1955 |
|
|
That’s Entertainment! |
Érase una vez en Hollywood |
1974 |
Secuence of 'Thousands Cheer' |
|
New York, New York |
Nueva York, Nueva York |
1977 |
Diahnne Abbott |
|
The Marrying Man |
Ella siempre dice sí |
1991 |
Kim Basinger |
|
Kate And Leopold |
Kate y Leopold |
2001 |
Django Reinhardt |
|
The Human Stain |
La mancha humana |
2003 |
Jess Stacy |
|
Anything Else |
Todo lo demás |
2003 |
Teddy Wilson Quartet |
|
The Perfect Man |
El hombre perfecto |
2005 |
The Frank & Joe Show |
|
Surf’s Up |
Locos por el surf |
2007 |
Nedwards & Keoki Kaapana |