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Hello, Dolly! (song)
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Wikipedia article
as the orchestra leader with Barbra Streisand, singing the song in the 1969 film.
"'Hello, Dolly!'" is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. Louis Armstrong's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
The music and lyrics were written by Jerry Herman, who also wrote the scores for many other popular musicals including 'Mame' and 'La Cage aux Folles'.
History
"Hello, Dolly!" was first sung by Carol Channing, who starred as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the original 1964 Broadway cast. In December 1963, at the behest of his manager, Louis Armstrong made a demonstration recording of "Hello, Dolly!" for the song's publisher to use to promote the show.[ All Music: Hello, Dolly! history] 'Hello, Dolly!' opened on January 16, 1964, at the St. James Theatre in New York City, and it quickly became a major success.
The same month, Kapp Records released Armstrong's publishing demo as a commercial single. His version reached 1 on the U.S. 'Billboard' Hot 100, ending the Beatles' streak of 3 chart-topping hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks. "Hello Dolly!" became the most successful single of Armstrong's career, followed by a Gold-selling album of the same name.Bronson, Fred. 'The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits' (2003), Billboard Books, The song also spent nine weeks atop the adult contemporary chart shortly after the opening of the musical. The song also made Armstrong the oldest artist ever to reach 1 on the Hot 100 since its introduction in 1958. 'Billboard' ranked the record as the 3 song of 1964, behind the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You."Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1964
"Hello, Dolly!" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1965, and Armstrong received a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Louis Armstrong also performed the song (together with Barbra Streisand) in the popular 1969 film 'Hello, Dolly!'.
Charts
All-time charts
Notable cover versions
"Hello, Dolly!" is a pop standard, and has been covered by many artists, including:
* Ella Fitzgerald (1964) for her albums 'Hello, Dolly!' and 'Ella at Juan-Les-Pins'
* Frank Sinatra (1964) for his album 'It Might as Well Be Swing'. Sinatra improvised the words, paying tribute to Armstrong.
* Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli (1964)
* Sammy Davis, Jr. (1965) for his album 'Sammy's Back on Broadway'
* Louis Prima (1967)
* Pearl Bailey (1967)
* Barbra Streisand (featuring Louis Armstrong) for the soundtrack album 'Hello, Dolly!' (1969)
"Hello, Lyndon!"
Lyndon B. Johnson, often referred to by the moniker "LBJ", used the tune, rechristened "Hello, Lyndon!", as a campaign song for his run in the 1964 U.S. presidential election. This version of the song was performed by Carol Channing at that year's Democratic National Convention, and a recording was made by Ed Ames for distribution at the convention.
The "Sunflower" controversy
As successful as the stage show and title song itself turned out to be, however, the tune "Hello, Dolly!" became caught up in a lawsuit which could have endangered timely plans for bringing the musical to the silver screen. Mack David, an Academy Award-nominated composer, sued for infringement of copyright, because the first four bars of "Hello, Dolly!" were the same as those in the refrain of David's song "Sunflower" from 1948. As he recounts in his memoirs, Herman had never heard "Sunflower" before the lawsuit, and wanted a chance to defend himself in court, but, for the sake of those involved in the show and the potential film, he reluctantly agreed to pay a settlement before the case would have gone to trial.[http://www.nydailynews.com/play-jerry-broadway-tunesmith-jerry-herman-back-years-revue-article-1.815870] Riedel, Michael. "Play it Again, Jerry. Broadway Tunesmith Jerry herman Looks Back on Years in Revue". 'New York Daily News'. 12 July 1998.
Footnotes
References
#Jerry Herman (with Marilyn Stasio). 'Showtune: A Memoir'. New York: Donald I. Fine Books, 1996, pp. 102108.
Category:1964 singles
Category:1964 songs
Category:Songs written by Jerry Herman
Category:Louis Armstrong songs
Category:Ella Fitzgerald songs
Category:Benny Goodman songs
Category:Liza Minnelli songs
Category:Barbra Streisand songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Grammy Award for Song of the Year
Category:Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Category:Songs about New York City
Category:Songs from musicals
Category:Bobby Darin songs
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