Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me) is a pop song written by Con Conrad (music) and Sidney Clare (lyrics) and released in 1921. The song was often covered and used in two feature films.

background

The songwriting team Conrad and Clare wrote the humorous song Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me for the singer and comedian Eddie Cantor , who introduced him in the revue the Midnight Rounders of 1921 . Music magazine Variety added the song to their Hit Parade of a Half Century list .

First recordings and later cover versions

Musicians who covered the song from 1921 included Billy Jones, the Fleming Novelty Orchestra (Royal 10161), the Benson Orchestra of Chicago ( Victor 18819), the Isham Jones Orchestra ( Brunswick 5065) and the Al Jocker's Dance Orchestra ( Homokord ). The pianists Victor Arden and Max Kortlander recorded the song as a duo.

In Germany, the Marek Weber artist band from the “Esplanade” Berlin recorded the title at Parlophon and the dance orchestra [Willy] Rosé Petösy at “Grammophon”. The Berlin bandmaster Willy Metschke played him on the gramophone record for Homocord as 'Geigen-Primás Jenö Fescay'.

In the American Billboard charts with the song was successful Dick Robertson (1940, # 12), in Great Britain Johnny Otis and His Orchestra (with Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy ; 1957, # 2) and the child star Lena Zavaroni , who In 1974 it hit # 10 on the UK charts and # 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. The discographer Tom Lord lists a total of 48 (as of 2016) cover versions in the field of jazz , u. a. from 1937 by Candy Candido, Johnny McGhee , Tony Pastor , Bud Freeman , Frank Froeba , Raymond Scott , Pearl Bailey , Gerry Wiggins , Johnny Otis, Hank D'Amico , Enoch Light , Yusef Lateef , Count Basie , Oscar Peterson , Rare Earth , Sammy Rimington and Percy Humphrey .

Was covered Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me also pop singers such as Mary Ann Mercer (with Mitchell Ayres and his Fashions in Music, Bluebird B-10541-B), Sully Mason (with Kay Kyser Orchestra, Columbia 35411), Sally Foster , Rita Hovink , Jaye P. Morgan , Judy Garland , Ann-Margret , Anneke Grönloh , Eydie Gormé and Teresa Brewer ( Naughty, Naughty, Naughty , 1960), also from The Hoosier Hot Shots , The Merry Macs (1940) and the Ray Conniff Singers . Lill-Babs recorded a Swedish version in 1957 ("Mamma, en karl har sett på mej"). The song was also used in the feature film Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me (1940, directed by Harold D. Schuster ), where he was sung by Constance Moore , and in the Fellini film La Dolce Vita .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Don Tyler: Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era . Jefferson, North Carolina & London, McFarland, 2007, p. 117.
  2. ↑ a b Tom Lord: Jazz discography (online)
  3. ↑ QRS Piano Roll # Q-317
  4. ↑ Parlophon P.1433-II (matr. 2-6140) "Ma! One-Step (Conrad) ”. December 21, 1922
  5. ↑ Grammophon 14 443 (Matr. 735 at) "Dance Orchestra Rosé Petösy", open. circa December 1923
  6. ↑ Homocord B. 8128 (Matr. M 50 787), publ. January 1923
  7. ^ The Official Charts: Johnny Otis Singles
  8. ^ The Official Charts Lena Zavaroni singles
  9. ↑ a b Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942 , ed. by Tony Russell, Bob Pinson. 2004, p. 1100.
  10. ↑ Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me (1940) soundtracks
  11. ^ M. Thomas Van Order: Listening to Fellini: Music and Meaning in Black and White . Danvers, 2009, p. 214.