"When Sunny Gets Blue" is a song written by Marvin Fisher (music) and Jack Segal (lyrics), which has become a jazz standard.[1] The song was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff and his Orchestra in 1956 as the reverse side of their hit "Wonderful! Wonderful!". The song has subsequently been recorded by many artists.[2]

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"When Sunny Gets Blue"
Single by Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff and his Orchestra
from the album Johnny's Greatest Hits
A-side	"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Released	November 5, 1956
Recorded	1956
Studio	Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	2:34
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Marvin Fisher Jack Segal
Producer(s)	Ray Conniff
Johnny Mathis singles chronology
"When Sunny Gets Blue" (1956) "It's Not for Me to Say" (1957)

Notable recordings

• Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff and his Orchestra (1956) - Released as the 'B' side of "Wonderful! Wonderful!"
• Nat King Cole - for his album Love Is the Thing (1957).
• June Christy - for her album Fair and Warmer! (1957)
• Duke Pearson - for his album Tender Feelin's (1959)
• Anita O'Day - for her album Waiter, Make Mine Blues (1961)
• Charlie Rouse - for his album We Paid Our Dues (1961)
• Sarah Vaughan - for her album Sarah + 2 (1962).
• Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake - for their album The Newest Sound Around (1962)
• McCoy Tyner - for his album Today and Tomorrow (1963)
• Blossom Dearie - for her album May I Come In? (1964)
• Carmen McRae - for her album Bittersweet (1964)
• Matt Monro - for his album Here's to My Lady (1966)[3]
• Barbra Streisand - for her album Simply Streisand (1967)
• Kenny Rankin - for his album The Kenny Rankin Album (1977)
• Dexter Gordon - for his album Something Different (1987)
• Norah Jones - for her album Come Away with Me (2002)

Legal case

"When Sunny Gets Blue" begins with the lyrics "When Sunny gets blue, her eyes get grey and cloudy; then the rain begins to fall." In 1984, DJ Rick Dees, a radio personality at Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, recorded a parody of the song for an album, including the lyrics "When Sunny sniffs glue, her eyes get red and bulgy, then her hair begins to fall". Dees sought permission to use the lyrics, but was refused; subsequently, he used 8 bars of the song under the fair use doctrine. In 1986, composer Marvin Fisher and lyricist Jack Segal sued Dees for copyright violation and defamation in U.S. District Court for Los Angeles. At the request of the parties involved, the district court issued a summary judgment, finding for Dees.[4] Fisher appealed the case to the U.S Court of Appeals for the 9th District, in Pasadena, California. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the lower court in Fisher v. Dees 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986), stating that the parody was intended to "criticize" for the purposes of humor, not to "copy", and did not damage the marketability of the original because they were two different markets of music.[5][6] The case has become a landmark one, further refining the doctrine of fair use in U.S. copyright law.

References