"
Easter Parade" is a
popular songPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to art music, and traditional music which was disseminated orally...
that was written by
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
and was published in
1933-Events:*January 23 - Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 is premiered in Frankfurt*National Association for American Composers and Conductors is founded by Henry Hadley.*Billie Holiday is "discovered" singing at Monette's club....
. The lyrics describe the singer's involvement in an American cultural event called the Easter parade.
The song was introduced by
Marilyn MillerMarilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
and
Clifton WebbClifton Webb was an American actor, dancer and singer.-Early life:Webb was born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck in a rural part of Marion County, Indiana, which would, in 1906, become Beech Grove, a self-governing city entirely surrounded by Indianapolis. As a result, virtually all printed sources give...
in the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
musical revue
As Thousands CheerAs Thousands Cheer is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including "Heat Wave," "Easter Parade" and "Harlem on my Mind." The sketches were loosely...
(1933), in which musical numbers were strung together on the thematic thread of newspaper headlines. It was repeated in
Holiday InnHoliday Inn is a 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve new songs, one brief use of "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," written in 1917 for the World War I musical "Yip Yip Yaphank" which was reprised on Broadway in 1942 under the...
(1942), which featured an Irving Berlin song about each major holiday.
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"
Easter Parade" is a
popular songPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to art music, and traditional music which was disseminated orally...
that was written by
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
and was published in
1933-Events:*January 23 - Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 is premiered in Frankfurt*National Association for American Composers and Conductors is founded by Henry Hadley.*Billie Holiday is "discovered" singing at Monette's club....
. The lyrics describe the singer's involvement in an American cultural event called the Easter parade.
The song was introduced by
Marilyn MillerMarilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
and
Clifton WebbClifton Webb was an American actor, dancer and singer.-Early life:Webb was born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck in a rural part of Marion County, Indiana, which would, in 1906, become Beech Grove, a self-governing city entirely surrounded by Indianapolis. As a result, virtually all printed sources give...
in the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
musical revue
As Thousands CheerAs Thousands Cheer is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including "Heat Wave," "Easter Parade" and "Harlem on my Mind." The sketches were loosely...
(1933), in which musical numbers were strung together on the thematic thread of newspaper headlines. It was repeated in
Holiday InnHoliday Inn is a 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve new songs, one brief use of "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," written in 1917 for the World War I musical "Yip Yip Yaphank" which was reprised on Broadway in 1942 under the...
(1942), which featured an Irving Berlin song about each major holiday. In
1948The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
...
, it was featured in the musical film of the same title, which was constructed around it. The song was also featured in the Rankin/Bass special
The First Easter RabbitThe First Easter Rabbit is a 1976 animated Easter special created by Rankin-Bass, it tells the origin story of the Easter Bunny and is loosley based on The Velveteen Rabbit, a children's book by Margery Williams. It tells the story of "Stuffy", a plush rabbit, a little girl receives as a Christmas...
in 1976 and has since become a standard.
Berlin originally wrote the melody in 1916, under the title
Smile and Show Your Dimple. The song flopped but the composer filed away the melody for later use.