Stardust Melodies

With more than 1500 recordings, Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" is one of the most recorded songs in the history of recorded music.  Inspired by Bix Beiderbecke, Carmichael wrote the song as a medium-to-up tempo instrumental, and he first recorded "Star Dust," as the title was written then, in 1927.  Mills Music published the music as "Stardust," in January, 1929.  The publishing house subsequently contracted Mitchell Parish to add lyrics and published this version later that year.

The first commercially-successful recording of "Stardust," that of Louis Armstrong in 1931, remains one of the most well-known and popular.  Ken Burns featured this recording prominently in his documentary, Jazz, and Armstrong biographer, James Lincoln Collier described it as "... the epitome of pop songs in a great age of pop songs."




"Stardust" was frequently recorded during the big band era.  I am aware of two versions by the Benny Goodman orchestra, one up-tempo along with a slower version.  The flip side of the 1936 Goodman version presented below is a Tommy Dorsey version of the same song. Goodman also recorded it in a small group session featuring electric guitar pioneer, Charlie Christian.  Arguably the definitive big band recording is the one that Artie Shaw made in 1940.





"Stardust" continued to be a popular choice for the "crooners," both male and female, of the '50s & '60s.  Nat King Cole made a hit recording in 1956, and Frank Sinatra recorded a remarkable version in 1961.  Sinatra's version is unusual because the introduction supplies few hints of the song's melody and he sings only the verse of the song and omits the chorus altogether.





The lyrics of "Stardust" include the phrase "leaving me a song that will not die."  It's doubtful that Mitchell Parish realized that those words would come to characterize his lyrics and the music for which he wrote them.  Although composed over 80 years ago, "Stardust" continues to be recorded by artists from all sorts of genres as well as artists who weren't even gleams in their grandfather's eyes when the song was written. 

Although usually considered a pop or jazz song, Willie Nelson countrified "Stardust" up a bit in the late '70s. The final video is crooner reincarnate, Michael Buble'.  





If you wish to learn more about Hoagy Carmichael and all the other wonderful songs he wrote, check out the fine Hoagy Carmichael biography, Stardust Melody, by Richard Sudhalter.
In the early '90s the Indiana Historical Society in collaboration with the Smithsonian released The Classic Hoagy Carmichael, a 3-CD set with booklet of recordings of many of Carmichael's songs recorded over the years by various artists.  Although currently out of print, used copies can be found easily enough.  The 3 CDs contain six versions of "Stardust."