April in Paris (song)



"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical Walk A Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake (inspired by the movie of the same name) was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.

Composer Alec Wilder writes, "There are no two ways about it: this is a perfect theater song. If that sounds too reverent, then I'll reduce the praise to 'perfectly wonderful,' or else say that if it's not perfect, show me why it isn't."

It has been performed by many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Sinatra, Mary Kaye Trio, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, Doris Day, Alex Chilton, Tommy Dorsey, Blossom Dearie, Wynton Marsalis, Andy Williams, and Dawn Upshaw. Basie's 1955 recording is the most famous, and that particular performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On this recording, trumpeter Thad Jones played his famous "Pop Goes the Weasel" solo, and Basie directs the band to play the shout chorus "one more time," then "one more once."


 * Shirley Bassey recorded the song for her 1959 album "The Fabulous Shirley Bassey".
 * Sammy Davis, Jr. recorded the song for his album "When the Feeling Hits You!" (1965)

The song is also featured in the film Blazing Saddles.

The song is also featured on the game Grand Theft Auto 4.

Literature

 * Ted Gioia The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire Oxford University Press; Oxford 2012; ISBN 978-0199937394