music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!" is a popular American song composed by Abe Olman (1887–1984), lyricized by Ed Rose (pseudonym for Edward Smackels Jr.; 1875–1935),[1] and published by Forster Music Publisher, Inc. The music was copyrighted 7 February 1917 and the copyright was renewed 29 December 1944.[2][3] Under the Copyright Term Extension Act (1998), the sheet music is in the public domain, as is all music published in the U.S. prior to 1923. Its melody and structure form the basis of a self-calling circle dance, using square dance steps and popular in summer camps.

Lyrics

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Self-Calling circle dance version, date unknown

Inspiration for the song

According to an August 1945 United Press article, Ed Rose (lyricist) wrote the song when his friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen of Akron, Ohio, began dating while attending college in Indiana. They were so conspicuously in love that Rose, also their classmate, wrote the song about them and presented them with the original manuscript.[4]

Notable recordings

• Premier Quartet

Blue Amberol Records, wax cylinder (1917) OCLC 39869865

• The Andrews Sisters with the Vic Schoen Orchestra

2840 Decca, 78 rpm; 10 inch (1939) OCLC 166342298

Recorded November 9, 1939, New York City

Side A matrix 66498[5][6]

Audio sample

• Bonnie Baker with Orrin Tucker and His Orchestra[7]

Columbia, 78 rpm; 10 inch (1939)

Recorded August 20, 1939, Los Angeles

Side A — vocal version by Bonnie Baker

Side B — instrumental version by Orin Tucker and His Orchestra

Audio sample

Pop hit on the Billboard Charts for 14 weeks, quickly became the top-selling record for the Columbia Recording Corporation, with 1.5 million records by the end of 1940[8][9]

• Peggy Lee with orchestra conducted by Jack Marshall

Album: I Like Men!

Capitol Records, 33 1/3 rpm, 12 inch (April 1959) OCLC 26592062 stereo OCLC 10894054 mono

Recorded 1959

Audio sample

• Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra

NBC broadcasts OCLC 811140658

Recorded January 25, 1940, at the Savoy, New York[10]

• Kathy Linden released a version of the song as a single in 1958 entitled "Oh Johnny, Oh!".[11]

Filmography

• Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love (1940 film), directed by Charles Lamont, Universal Pictures
• Spotlight Scandals (1943 musical film), directed by William Beaudine

Starring Billy Gilbert, Bonnie Baker, Harry Langdon

• Swing Shift Cinderella (1945), directed by Tex Avery

Sung as "Oh, Wolfy" by Red (voiced by Imogene Lynn) as Cinderella

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005 film)

During the scene when the children are playing hide and seek — when Lucy goes through the wardrobe

Original publications

• Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh, OCLC 741366211

Sheet music (public domain)

See sheet music collections:

• Indiana University Bloomington — IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana
• University of Southern California — USC Music Library: Sheet Music Catalog

References

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