"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926. Most agree that the blackbird in the title represents a dark period that the narrator is finally willing to move beyond.
"Bye Bye Blackbird" was first popularized by Eddie Cantor. This standard has been recorded by numerous artists. Gene Austin's original version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005; Josephine Baker's version was recorded in 1927. The song retained its popularity through the Great Depression, probably because of its optimism, and has featured in several films, including most notably and unsurprisingly the 1953 biopic The Eddie Cantor Story. The song was featured in the 1955 movie musical Pete Kelly's Blues, sung by Peggy Lee in the role of alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins, and Lee’s version is featured in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong.
During the American Civil Rights Movement, segregationists adopted this as an anti-black anthem, spinning the title into hate speech against African Americans, blasting it from loudspeakers during the Selma to Montgomery marches. Many African American artists, however, have covered the song before and since, including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, Miles Davis, and Sammy Davis Jr. John Coltrane also performed a near 18-minute jazz rendition on his album Bye Bye Blackbird, which earned him a posthumous Grammy Award in 1982 for Best Jazz Solo Performance.
Bye Bye Blackbird by Ray Henderson
Arr S Schultz
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