1939 song
"
When You Wish Upon a Star
" is a song written by
Leigh Harline
and
Ned Washington
for the 1940
Disney
animated film
Pinocchio
, based on the children's fairy tale novel
The Adventures of Pinocchio
by Italian author
Carlo Collodi
.
[1]
The original version was sung by
Cliff Edwards
in the character of
Jiminy Cricket
,
[1]
and is heard over the
opening credits
and in the final scene of the film. The recording by Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by
Victor Records
as catalogue number 261546 and 26477A (in the US) and by
EMI
on the
His Master's Voice
label as catalogue number BD 821.
Edwards recorded another version in 1940 for an American
Decca Records
"cover version" of the score of
Pinocchio
, conducted by
Victor Young
and featuring soprano Julietta Novis and The King's Men. It was first released on a 4-record 78-RPM album set, and years later as one side of an LP, backed by selections from
The Wizard of Oz
. A recording with
Christian Rub
(with
Mister Geppetto
's voice), Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by
Victor Records
as catalogue number 26479B (in the US) and by
EMI
on the
His Master's Voice
label as catalogue number BD 823. It won the 1940
Academy Award for Best Original Song
.
[1]
It was also the first Disney song to win an Oscar.
"When You Wish Upon a Star" is widely considered as the signature song of
The Walt Disney Company
and is often used as such in the
production logos
at the beginning of many
Disney films
since the 1980s.
Development
[
edit
]
Harline and Washington delivered "When You Wish Upon a Star" to the
Pinocchio
story crew in early autumn 1938, and they recognized it right away as a spotlight song that should be given prominence in the film. Disney decided that the song should play over the opening credits, and used as a musical theme throughout the film.
[2]
In October, Edwards recorded the song as a "test take", because Edwards was cast as Jiminy Cricket, and at the time the cricket's role in the story was limited. When the producers decided to promote Jiminy to the narrator role, using Edwards' recording made sense as the title theme. In the film, Edwards' performance plays over the titles, and bridges into Jiminy's opening scene.
[2]
Legacy and influence
[
edit
]
The
Library of Congress
deemed Edwards's recording of the song "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and inducted it into the
National Recording Registry
in 2009.
[3]
The
American Film Institute
ranked "When You Wish Upon a Star" seventh in their
100 Greatest Songs in Film History
, the highest ranked of only four Disney animated film songs to appear on the list, the others being "
Someday My Prince Will Come
" from
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
ranked at No. 19, "
Beauty and the Beast
" from
Beauty and the Beast
ranked at No. 62, and "
Hakuna Matata
" from
The Lion King
, ranked at No. 99.
The song reached the top five in
Billboard
's
Record Buying Guide
, a predecessor of the retail sales chart. Popular versions in 1940 were by
Glenn Miller
with vocal by
Ray Eberle
(No. 1 for five weeks),
[4]
Guy Lombardo
(vocal by
Carmen Lombardo
),
Horace Heidt
and Cliff Edwards.
[5]
It is the oldest song to be certified by the
Recording Industry Association of America
. It has been recorded by many other artists since then. In more recent times,
Beyonce
sang a cover of the song as part of
The Disney Family Singalong
.
Brian Wilson
has said that the melody of
the Beach Boys
hit song, "
Surfer Girl
", which has the same
AABA form
,
[6]
is loosely based on the
Dion and the Belmonts
version of "When You Wish Upon a Star".
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
In Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, the song has become a
Christmas song
, often referring to the
Star of Bethlehem
. The
Swedish
version is called "
Ser du stjarnan i det bla
", (
lit.
'
Do you see the star in the blue
'
), and the Danish title is "
Nar du ser et stjerneskud
" (
lit.
'
When you see a shooting star
'
). The song features in Disney's one-hour Christmas special
From All of Us to All of You
, originally broadcast in 1958 in the US, but now considered a Christmas tradition in the
Nordic countries
, where it is broadcast each Christmas Eve.
The song was covered by
John Williams
for
Steven Spielberg
's 1977 film
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
. Spielberg himself called Williams's work "
When You Wish Upon a Star
meets science fiction".
[
citation needed
]
The song was covered by
Kiss
bassist
Gene Simmons
on his
self-titled 1978 solo album
. "It spoke to me," he declared. "I thought
Jiminy Cricket
was actually talking to me! He said,
When you wish upon a star, doesn't matter who you are… Yes, it's you, Gene. Gene, I'm talking to you. Go and get it ? it's all yours.
"
[11]
In 1987, actor and singer
Michael Crawford
with the
London Symphony Orchestra
recorded a version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" for his debut album
Songs from the Stage and Screen
. Released as a single, it reached number 97 in the
UK Singles Chart
.
[12]
Over the Christmas period in 2011, the finalists of
The X Factor UK
that year covered "When You Wish Upon A Star" for the year's Christmas advertising campaign for UK department store
Marks & Spencer
.
[13]
Disney icon
[
edit
]
"When You Wish Upon a Star", along with
Mickey Mouse
, has become an icon of
The Walt Disney Company
. In the 1950s and 1960s, Disney used the song in the opening sequences of all the editions of the
Walt Disney anthology television series
. It has also been used to accompany the
Disney
logos
? including the present-day logo ? since the 1980s. All of the ships of the
Disney Cruise Line
use the first seven notes of the song's melody as their horn signals. Additionally, many productions at
Disney theme parks
? particularly firework shows and parades ? employ the theme song.
Different arrangements of the theme were used in the Disney logo. The one in the 1985 logo was arranged by
John Debney
. A different arrangement by
Mark Mancina
, with
David Metzger
as the co-arranger and orchestrator, was used for the 2006 logo, while a new arrangement by
Christophe Beck
, with
Tim Davies
as the orchestrater, is used for the 2022 logo, in honor of the studio's 100th anniversary in 2023. The version used in the 2006 Disney logo is in the pilot episode of
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
, entitled "Mickey the Brave!"
In December 2008, a number of prominent performers gathered for a concert called
BBC Radio 2
Celebrates the Music of Disney
. It was hosted by
Josh Groban
, who performed "When You Wish Upon A Star."
[14]
To commemorate the centennial anniversary of The Walt Disney Company,
Sara Bareilles
recorded a cover of the song as part of the company's "100 Years of Wonder" campaign and was released as a single on May 14, 2023 after being performed live as part of Disney Night on
season 21 of
American Idol
.
[15]
The finale of the
Walt Disney Animation Studios
short film
Once Upon a Studio
(2023) features a cast of 543 Disney animated characters singing the song, with the original
Cliff Edwards
recording being utilized for
Jiminy Cricket's
vocals.
[16]
The first five notes of the song are featured multiple times in Dave Metzger's underscore for Walt Disney Animation Studios' feature film
Wish
.
[17]
Earth, Wind & Fire
[
edit
]
The lyrics of
Earth, Wind & Fire's
song
Shining Star
directly reference the Disney song.
As a jazz standard
[
edit
]
The piece has become a
jazz standard
.
[18]
Family Guy
parody and lawsuit
[
edit
]
The owner of the rights to the song,
Bourne Co. Music Publishers
, sued
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
,
Fox Broadcasting Company
,
Fuzzy Door Productions
,
Cartoon Network
,
Walter Murphy
and
Seth MacFarlane
to try to stop distribution of a 2003
Family Guy
episode entitled "
When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
" that
parodies
the song in a version called "I Need a Jew". A federal judge ruled against Bourne Co, stating that a parody of the song did not infringe on the company's
copyright
.
[19]
Certifications
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums
(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134.
ISBN
1-904994-10-5
.
- ^
a
b
Kaufman, J.B. (2015).
Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic
. Weldon Owen. p. 124.
ISBN
978-1616288099
.
- ^
"The Sounds of Fighting Men, Howlin' Wolf and Comedy Icon Among 25 Named to the National Recording Registry"
.
Library of Congress
.
- ^
Fragias, Leonidas (2016).
US Hit Singles
. Arts & Charts.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel (1986).
Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954
. Wisconsin, US: Record Research Inc. p.
609
.
ISBN
0-89820-083-0
.
- ^
Philip Lambert,
Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius
(Continuum, 2007):28.
- ^
Brian Wilson, in
@BrianWilsonLive
, February 16, 2011: "We're doin' "When You Wish Upon A Star" for the new album. It kinda inspired "Surfer Girl." ? Brian".
- ^
Philip Lambert,
Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius
(Continuum, 2007):27.
- ^
Jim Fusilli,
Pet Sounds
, Volume 19 of
33 1/3
(Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005):23.
- ^
Domenic Priore,
Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece
(Sanctuary, 2005):32.
- ^
Gitter, Mike (6 March 1993). "Talkin' 'bout revolutions".
Kerrang!
. No. 433. p. 39.
- ^
"MICHAEL CRAWFORD"
.
Official Charts
. January 10, 1987.
- ^
"X Factor Marks & Spencer advert"
.
The Telegraph
. Archived from
the original
on November 11, 2011.
- ^
"Groban Hosts Starry BBC Radio 2 Celebrates the Music of Disney Concert Dec. 8"
.
Playbill
.
- ^
Hopper, Alex (15 May 2023).
"Sara Bareilles Joins 'Idol' Contestants for 'When You Wish Upon A Star'
"
.
American Songwriter
. Retrieved
June 27,
2023
.
- ^
"JoBlo Gets an Early Look at Disney's Wish (plus new trailer) and Once Upon A Studio"
.
Joblo
. 27 September 2023
. Retrieved
21 October
2023
.
- ^
Tangcay, Jazz (2023-10-18).
"Disney's 'Wish': How Composer Dave Metzger Pays Homage to 'When You Wish Upon a Star'
"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
2023-11-22
.
- ^
"When You Wish Upon A Star"
. Jazz Standards.com
. Retrieved
2 March
2012
.
- ^
Owner of Wish Upon A Star Son Loses Lawsuit
Yahoo News, March 16, 2009
- ^
"American single certifications ? Cliff Edwards, Disney Studio Chorus ? When You Wish Upon A Star"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
October 17,
2021
.
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