Blueberry Hill (song)
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940. Victor Records released the recording by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra with vocals by Tommy Ryan on May 31, 1940 (catalog #26643, with the flip side "Maybe"; matrix #51050[1]). Gene Krupa's version was issued on Okeh Records (#5672) on June 3. Other 1940 recordings were by: The Glenn Miller Orchestra on Bluebird Records (10768), Kay Kyser, Russ Morgan, Gene Autry (also in the 1941 film The Singing Hill[2]), Connee Boswell, and Jimmy Dorsey. The largest 1940 hit was by The Glenn Miller Orchestra, where it reached #1.[3]
Louis Armstrong's 1949 recording charted in the Billboard Top 40, reaching #29.[4] It was an international hit in 1956 for Fats Domino and has become a rock and roll standard. It reached #2 for three weeks on the Billboard Top 40 charts, becoming his biggest pop hit, and spent eight non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the R&B Best Sellers chart.[5] The version by Fats Domino was also ranked #82 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[6] The song was Domino's greatest hit and remains the song most associated with him.
Selected list of recorded versions
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Gene Autry (1941) (the original version, from the movie The Singing Hill) (1941)
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The Glenn Miller Orchestra(vocal by Ray Eberle) (1941) (The most famous version in the 1940s. Recorded in Chicago on May 13, 1940. It was released by Bluebird Records as catalog number 10768A (i USA)[7] and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog numbers BD 5632 and MH 92)
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Russ Morgan and His Orchestra (vocal by Carol Kaye) (1941)
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Kay Kyse and His Orchestra (vocal by Harry Babbitt) (1941)
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Louis Armstrong with Gordon Jenkins' Orchestra and Choir (1949) (with different lyrics)
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Fats Domino (1956)
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Elvis Presley (1957)
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Little Richard (1958)
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Ricky Nelson (1958)
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Andy Williams (1959)
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Duane Eddy (1959)
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Carl Mann (1959)
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Bill Haley & His Comets (1960)
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John Barry Orchestra (1960)
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Buster Brown (1960)
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Skeeter Davis (1961)
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Cliff Richard (1962)
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San Remo Golden Strings (1966)
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The Loved Ones, Australia, (1966)
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The Everly Brothers (1967)
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Led Zeppelin (1970 on the Led Zeppelin bootleg recording Live On Blueberry Hill)
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Freddy Fender (1970s)
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Loretta Lynn (1971)
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Jerry Lee Lewis (1973, Southern Roots)
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Ellen McIlwaine (1975)
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The Beach Boys (1976)
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Billy "Crash" Craddock (1977)
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Adriano Celentano (1977)
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Link Wray (1982)
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Mud (1982)
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Jah Wobble (1980, Betrayal - The Legend Lives On)
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Yellowman (1987)
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Bruce Cockburn with Margo Timmins (1999)[8]
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Jimmy Clanton (2006, played in Boomtown Casino)
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Johnny Hallyday with Chris Isaak (2007, La Cigale, live album recorded 2006 Flashback Tour)
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Elton John (2007, Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino)
In popular culture
- In the popular 1970s sitcom Happy Days, set in the 1950s, lead character Richie Cunningham, played by Ron Howard, would often sing "I found my thrill..." (the first line of Domino's 1950s version of "Blueberry Hill") in reference to pretty girls he dated or wanted to date.
- It is one of the songs that the time traveling James Cole enjoys in the film, 12 Monkeys, and the song is later sung by the scientists upon his return to the future.
- The song is purportedly named after a "make-out" spot in Taos, New Mexico.
- Joe Edwards' restaurant on the Delmar Loop in St. Louis, Missouri, where Chuck Berry frequently plays, is named after the song.
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The Far Side, a comic written by Gary Larson, features a comic parodying the lyrics of this song. A man is talking in a phone booth on top of a hill named "Blueberry Hill." He says into the phone "Norm? This is Mitch. ... You were right--I found my drill." The parody is of the line "found my thrill on Blueberry Hill."
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Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin made a cover performance of the song on December 10, 2010 before an audience of international film and television celebrities, in support of a charity for ill children. Videos of his performance quickly went viral worldwide.[9][10]
References
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^ "Victor 26500 - 27000, a numerical listing of issues". 78discography.com. http://78discography.com/vic26500.html. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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^ The Singing Hill Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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^ The Glenn Miller Orchestra, "Blueberry Hill" Chart Position Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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^ Louis Armstrong, "Blueberry Hill" Chart Position Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 167.
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^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Fats Domino, 'Blueberry Hill'". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/fats-domino-blueberry-hill-19691231. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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^ "BLUEBIRD numerical listings 10500 - 11000". 78discography.com. http://www.78discography.com/BB10500.htm. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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^ Bruce Cockburn Songs Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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^ "Sing-along-a-Vlad: now Putin is Blueberry Hill crooner of the Kremlin". Daily Mail (London). December 12, 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337872/Sing-Vlad-Putin-Blueberry-Hill-crooner-Kremlin.html?ito=feeds-newsxml.
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^ Martel, Frances (11 December 2010). "This Exists: Vladimir Putin Serenades Audience With Rendition Of ‘Blueberry Hill’". Mediaite. http://www.mediaite.com/tv/this-exists-vladimir-putin-condemns-audience-to-listen-to-his-singing-piano-playing/. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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