Star Dust

Artie Shaw and his Orchestra : Star Dust

‘Star Dust’ was conceived by Hoagy Carmichael in 1927 as a jazz instrumental, influenced by Bix Beiderbecke.  Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics in 1929 the song became a hit the following year in a recording by Isham Jones, who led one of the most popular orchestras of the pre-swing era.  In 1938, Orson Welles’s radio broadcast ‘The War of the Worlds’ featured an excerpt of ‘Star Dust’ played by the fictional Ramón Raquello Orchestra.  In the 1940 movie titled ‘Star Dust’, actress Linda Darnell sings ‘Star Dust’ on a theater stage with the song’s lyrics being projected on a screen alongside her.  Later, in May 1953 Shaw’s version of  “Star Dust” ranked on the Ten Pop Standard Records list three times, topping the list and selling over 1 million records.  ‘Star Dust’ can also be heard in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, a 1976 science fiction movie starring David Bowie.

Album:  

Style:  Fox Trot / Jazz

Date Recorded: 1940

Composer: Hoagy Carmichael, 1927

Arrangement: Lenny Hayton

Lyricist: Mitchell Parish

Instrumentation:  Clarinet, Alto Saxaphone (2), Cello, Bass, Drums

Charted: Stardust charted in 1941 on Billboard at #2 for 11 weeks

Wikipedia > Stardust

Instrumental

Lyrics for Stardust

And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb

Always reminding me that we′re apart

You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by

Sometimes I wonder why I spend
The lonely night dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
Now my consolation
Is in the stardust of a song

Beside a garden wall
When stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
A paradise where roses bloom
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love’s refrain

Label: Victor

Artie Shaw and his Orchestra

• Artie Shaw (clarinet)
• Billy Butterfield (trumpet)
• Jerry Jerome (tenor saxophone)
• Johnny Guarnieri (piano)
• Nick Fatool (drums)
• Jack Jenney and Vernon Brown (trombones)