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]

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

Berlin resurrected the tune, with modifications, and gave it the now-familiar Easter lyrics for the 1933 Broadway musical revue As Thousands Cheer in which musical numbers were strung together on the thematic thread of newspaper headlines; it was first sung by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb.[2][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]

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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