Easter Parade (song)

"Easter Parade" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin and published in 1933. Berlin originally wrote the melody in 1917, under the title "Smile and Show Your Dimple", as a "cheer up" song for a girl whose man has gone off to fight in World War I. A recording of "Smile and Show Your Dimple" by Sam Ash enjoyed modest success in 1918.[1] Berlin resurrected it with modifications and new lyrics for the 1933 revue As Thousands Cheer.[2]

"Easter Parade"
Song
LanguageEnglish
WrittenIrving Berlin
Released1933 (1933)

The song was introduced by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb in the Broadway musical revue As Thousands Cheer (1933), in which musical numbers were strung together on the thematic thread of newspaper headlines.[3] Like many of Berlin's songs, it later appeared in films. It was performed by Don Ameche in Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)[4] which was loosely based on Irving Berlin's life. Bing Crosby sang it in the film Holiday Inn (1942) which featured an Irving Berlin song about each major holiday.[3] In 1948, it was performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in the musical film Easter Parade, which was constructed around the song. The song was also featured in the Rankin/Bass special The First Easter Rabbit in 1976.

Artists who had a hit record with the song include Leo Reisman & Clifton Webb (1933),[5] Bing Crosby (recorded June 1, 1942),[6] Harry James (1942), Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians (1947), and Liberace (1954).[4]

The song is often considered to be one of the most popular Easter songs of all time, along with "Peter Cottontail".

Notes
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 36. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  2. Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael L. (2006). America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Taylor & Francis. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-415-97246-8.
  3. Bergreen, Laurence (1996). As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. Da Capo Press. pp. 316–317, 385. ISBN 0-7867-5252-1.
  4. Paymer, Marvin E.; Post, Don E. (1999). Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920–1945. Noble House. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-1-881907-09-1.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 495. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  6. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
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