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School Days (Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards song)
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Wikipedia article
"'School Days'" is an American popular song written in 1907 by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards. Its subject is of a mature couple looking back sentimentally on their childhood together in primary school. The song was featured in a Broadway show of the same name, the first in a series of Edwards' school acts. It was the inspiration for many subsequent school acts, including the Marx Brothers' 'Fun in Hi Skule', their first major Vaudeville success.
The best known part of the song is its chorus:
Recordings
"School Days" has been recorded many times over the years. Byron G. Harlan was an early recording star who made it a hit.[http://www.library.ucsb.edu/OBJID/Cylinder3231 "School Days"], Byron G. Harlan (Edison Gold Moulded 9562, 1907)'[http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/index.php Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project]'. Billy Murray and Ada Jones also sang it as memorable duet, referenced decades later by Tiny Tim on one of his albums, in which he sang 'both' parts, using his famous falsetto voice.
Louis Jordan recorded a jump blues version of "School Days" in 1949 under the title "'School Days (When We Were Kids)'". Although it credited the original songwriters, Jordan's record had little in common with earlier versions of the song other than the words of the chorus. The original melody was replaced with a twelve bar blues and the lyrics of most of the verses were replaced with nursery rhymes.
References
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