South of the Border (1939 song)
"South of the Border" is a popular song describing a trip to Mexico, written by Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr and published in 1939 for the film of the same name starring country star Gene Autry.[1]
In the lyrics, a man looks back with regret and pain for having lied to the woman he can't forget ("...and now as I wander, my thoughts ever stray...") and returned far too late, to discover she had become a nun.[2] The lyric is in juxtaposition with the music, which swings with syncopated joy.
The song was a hit in 1939 for Shep Fields, vocal by Hal Derwin.[3] Other successful recordings in 1939 were by Guy Lombardo, Gene Autry, Ambrose (vocal by Denny Dennis) and Tony Martin.[4]
Frank Sinatra recorded the song on April 30, 1953[5] for Capitol Records and it reached the Billboard charts with a top position of #18 in a 4-week stay.[6]
Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[7]
Other notable recordings
- Al Bowlly recorded May 11, 1939 (see Al Bowlly Discography)
- Acker Bilk -included in the album Clarinet Moods (2002)[8]
- Bing Crosby included in his album Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1965)
- Chris Isaak for his album Baja Sessions (1996)
- Chuck Berry - for the album Chuck Berry (1975) (a few liberties taken with the lyrics)
- Dean Martin for his album Dino Latino (1962)
- Engelbert Humperdinck - for the album The Winding Road (2007)[9]
- Fats Domino included in his album Here He Comes Again! (1963)[10]
- Frankie Laine (1953)[11]
- Gale Storm - issued as a single[12] and also included in the album Gale Storm Sings (1957)[13]
- Herb Alpert for his album South of the Border (1964)
- Keely Smith for the album Keely Sings Sinatra (2001)[14]
- Malcolm Vaughan - included in the EP Requests for Malcolm Vaughan (1960)[15]
- Mel Tormé - included in the album ¡Olé Tormé!: Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May (1959)
- Patsy Cline - included in her album Showcase (1961)
- Patti Page - recorded for her album Let's Get Away from It All (1957)[16]
- Perry Como recorded for his album We Get Letters (1957)
- Russ Conway - for his album Piano Requests (1958)[17]
- Sam Cooke - included in his Cooke's Tour album (1960)
- The Shadows - for their album Out of the Shadows (1962)
- Slim Whitman - included in the album In Love the Whitman Way (1968)[18]
- Willie Nelson - for his album What a Wonderful World (1988) and for his album Let's Face the Music and Dance (2013)
References
- ↑ Soundtrack: South of the Border (1939). - IMDb.
- ↑ Frederick B. Pike, "FDR's Good Neighbor Policy: Sixty Years of Generally Gentle Chaos" (1995), University of Texas Press. P. 198.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 157. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 583. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ↑ "Frank Sinatra Discography". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 394. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ↑ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014.
- ↑ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.