Bye Bye Blackbird

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Bye Bye Blackbird (disambiguation).

"Bye Bye Blackbird"
Sheet music cover featuring the Angelus Sisters, 1926
Song
Published1926[1]
GenreJazz
ComposerRay Henderson
LyricistMort Dixon

"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a 1926 song written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon and published by Jerome Remick. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926.[2]

Song information

Popular recordings in 1926 were by Nick Lucas, Gene Austin, Benny Krueger, and by Leo Reisman.[3] It was the number 16 song of 1926 according to Pop Culture Madness.[4]

Recordings of the song often include only the chorus; the verses are far less known.[5]

Recordings and performances

Julie London recorded it on her 1957 album Julie. The same year, Miles Davis recorded "Bye Bye Blackbird" for his album Round About Midnight.

In 1968, Joe Cocker made a recording of "Bye Bye Blackbird" that was included on his 1969 album With a Little Help From My Friends. AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald described it as a "classic pop gospel ballad".[6]

Ringo Starr also included a version on his first solo album, Sentimental Journey, arranged by Maurice Gibb, released in 1970.

in the season 1 episode titled "Whatever Happened to the Old Songs?" of the TV series The Partridge Family (1970), Ray Bolger, guest starring as Shirley's father, performs the song when he temporarily joins the band. [7]

In 1972, Liza Minnelli performed "Bye Bye Blackbird" (with choreography by director Bob Fosse) in her Emmy award-winning TV special Liza with a "Z".

In 1987, Sharon, Lois & Bram performed the song on their television series, Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show on the "Mother Goose" episode in 1987, and again in 1988 on the "Curio Shoppe" episode.

Tiny Tim recorded the song with Brave Combo on what would be his final recording,[8] the 1996 album Girl.

In 2012, Paul McCartney covered "Bye Bye Blackbird" on his album Kisses on the Bottom.

In 2025, jazz pianist Francis Hon of New York University recorded an arrangement by American jazz composer Jeff Novotny.[9]

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.[10][11]

In "Goodbye Nkrumah" (1966) Beat poet Diane Di Prima asks:

And yet, where would we be without the American culture
Bye bye blackbird, as Miles plays it, in the ’50s[12]

Segregationists opposed to the American Civil Rights Movement, notably at the Selma to Montgomery marches, played the song over loudspeakers as a taunt.[13]

Joe Cocker's 1968 cover was featured in the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle.

In 1982, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) posthumously awarded John Coltrane a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Solo Performance for the work on his album Bye Bye Blackbird at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.[14]

In 2005, Peggy Lee's version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" was used in Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong.

In 2006, the song features near the end of the British film The History Boys. It is sung by the main cast of young actors in front of a school assembly that is paying tribute to an eccentric but inspirational teacher who has just died.

In 2017, the song was featured in series 4 episode 3 of Peaky Blinders.

See also

References

  1. ^ Zbikowski, Lawrence M. (2002). "5. Cultural Knowledge and Music Ontology". Conceptualizing Music: Constructive Structure, Theory, and Analysis. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 229. ISBN 0-19-514023-0. LCCN 2001058756.
  2. ^ Mort Dixon. "Cover versions of Bye Bye Blackbird by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra – SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 482. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  4. ^ "Pop Music Hits of 1926 Song Chart". popculturemadness.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  5. ^ "What are the rest of the lyrics to 'Bye, Bye, Blackbird?'". The Straight Dope. August 14, 2001. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  6. ^ "Bye Bye Blackbird by Joe Cocker - Track Info | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  7. ^ "The Partridge Family" Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? (TV Episode 1970) - Soundtracks - IMDb. Retrieved March 13, 2026 – via www.imdb.com.
  8. ^ "RSD '22 Special Release: Tiny Tim & Brave Combo - Girl", Record Store Day, retrieved August 20, 2023
  9. ^ Jeff Novotny JAZZPRJKT - "Variations on Bye Bye Blackbird". Youtube. December 1, 2024.
  10. ^ "Bye Bye Blackbird (1926)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  11. ^ "Bye Bye Blackbird by Peggy Lee with Orchestra directed by Harold Mooney". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Di Prima, Diane. (1979). Revolutionary letters, etc., 1966–1978 (4th ed.). San Francisco: City Lights Books. ISBN 0872860590. OCLC 5886747.
  13. ^ Renata Adler (April 10, 1965). "Letter from Selma". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  14. ^ John Coltrane, The Official Site Archived 2015-12-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 21, 2012.

Further reading

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