A Parade of 'Easter Parades'

What you see at left is perhaps the first Easter parade in song - it is a still from As Thousands Cheer, the 1933 revue with music by Irving Berlin that introduced his "Easter Parade."

I believe the right foreground displays Clifton Webb and Marilyn Miller, who first sang the number. At left is co-star Helen Broderick.

Webb recorded the song for Victor with conductor Leo Reisman, and it's the first entry in today's "Parade of 'Easter Parades'," a collection of 10 diverse interpretations of the song, including the best known renditions and some lesser recognized discs as well.

Henry Hall

Following its introduction, it wasn't long before Berlin's holiday classic made it across the Atlantic and intro the hands of Henry Hall, the conductor of the BBC Dance Orchestra. The label for his 1935 recording says that the song is from a West End revue called Stop Press, about which little information has survived. We do know that either the producers or Berlin himself altered the lyrics to fit London - removing the reference to Fifth Avenue, and to "the rotogravure," which, come to think of it, is a term that may baffle anyone younger than me. ("Rotogravure" refers to the picture supplements of Sunday newspapers, taking its name from the printing process used for their production.)

A much different approach to the song was taken in 1939 by the Jimmie Lunceford band, performing a stylish arrangement by Sy Oliver. This swing version has a smooth vocal by Trummy Young, trombonist in the band and later a long-time associate of Louis Armstrong.

Jimmie Lunceford and Trummy Young

Our next selection could hardly be more of a contrast - it is Andre Kostelanetz's lush reading from his 1942 album Musical Comedy Favorites, Volume II. Both volumes are available on my other blog.

Bing Crosby had a go at the song for his 1942 film Holiday Inn, where he warbled to Marjorie Reynolds and her Easter bonnet, as seen below. For his commercial recording Bing had to be content with the Decca microphone and maestro John Scott Trotter. (The complete Holiday Inn recordings are here.)

Bing and Marjorie Reynolds

The most famous recording of "Easter Parade" may be the one in the 1948 film of the same name, as performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, who look splendid promenading below. The soundtrack version may be celebrated, but in truth Garland's singing does blare a bit.

Judy and Fred

Freddie Mitchell

Judy is not nearly as blaring, however, as the tenor sax of Freddie Mitchell in his 1949 R&B version for the Derby label. Freddie turned most everything into a boogie - literally so in this release, which first came out as "Easter Boogie," with Mitchell as co-author, but later was retitled "Easter Parade," with Berlin reinstated as composer. On the disc, the leader's tenor sax solo quotes Illinois Jacquet's legendary break in Lionel Hampton's "Flying Home." As usual on Mitchell's records, a tinny sounding upright piano is prominent.

The following year, the duo of Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely were in the Capitol studios to record one of their bigger hits, "Let's Go to Church (Next Sunday Morning)" along with its flip side, their take on "Easter Parade." Both featured the same creaky organ accompaniment.

Back then, the fashion in jazz circles was to record a noted soloist accompanied by sumptuous strings, following the success of alto saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in that setting. Trumpeter Roy Eldridge got the treatment in late 1951, with his accompaniment arranged and conducted by George Williams. Eldridge recorded this cushiony interpretation for Mercury.

Roy Eldridge

To close we have an enjoyable version from the Ray Charles Singers, who made a long series of excellent records in the 1950s and 60s. This is from their Spring Is Here collection for M-G-M. The recording, from 1955, also features the Columbus Boychoir, for reasons that aren't obvious.

The Ray Charles Singers at a recording session. The leader is to the right of the microphone.

The recordings in this collection were remastered from Internet Archive and my collection.

LINK