When You Were Sweet Sixteen
Encyclopedia
"When You Were Sweet Sixteen" is a popular
song
. It was written by James Thornton
. The song was published in 1898
. Its chorus:
The song was inspired by Thornton's wife, Bonnie, when she asked her husband if he still loved her. Thornton replied, "I love you like I did when you were sweet sixteen."
The original sheet music attributed Bonnie Thornton, Raymon Moore, Helene Mora, and others as having sung the song with "great success"; however, the song has been recorded by many artists. One of the best-known versions of the song was made by Al Jolson
in 1929
. In 1938, it occurred in the movie Little Miss Broadway
with a short solo by Shirley Temple
. In 1946
it appeared in the film The Jolson Story
, where Al Jolson was his own voice-double for actor Larry Parks
. The song was changed to a different format and became the version that most people remember. The song was then recorded by Perry Como
in 1947 and was a hit.
The 1947 revival of the song led to a number of artists recording it that year, including Jolson:
Lyrics with guitar chords and video http://unitedireland.tripod.com/id147.html
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
. It was written by James Thornton
James Thornton (songwriter, vaudeville performer)
James Thornton was an American songwriter and vaudeville performer. He is primarily remembered today as the composer of the 1898 song, "When You Were Sweet Sixteen".-Career:...
. The song was published in 1898
1898 in music
- Events :*Scott Joplin publishes "Swipsy Cakewalk" .*January 7 - Sadko premiered at the Solodovnikov Theatre in Moscow-Published popular music:* "Because" w. Charles Horwitz m. Frederick V. Bowers* "The Boy Guessed Right" w.m. Lionel Monckton...
. Its chorus:
- I love you as I never lov'd before,
- Since first I met you on the village green.
- Come to me, or my dream of love is o'vr.
- I love you as I lov'd you
- When you were sweet, when you were sweet sixteen.
The song was inspired by Thornton's wife, Bonnie, when she asked her husband if he still loved her. Thornton replied, "I love you like I did when you were sweet sixteen."
The original sheet music attributed Bonnie Thornton, Raymon Moore, Helene Mora, and others as having sung the song with "great success"; however, the song has been recorded by many artists. One of the best-known versions of the song was made by Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
in 1929
1929 in music
-Events:*January 1 – Pianist and composer Abram Chasins makes his professional debut playing his own piano concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra.*January 11 – Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater is premiered....
. In 1938, it occurred in the movie Little Miss Broadway
Little Miss Broadway
Little Miss Broadway is a 1938 American musical film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen. The film stars Shirley Temple in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants, and was originally titled Little Lady of Broadway...
with a short solo by Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
. In 1946
1946 in music
- Events :*January 6 – A somewhat revised and streamlined revival of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat opens on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre, the same theatre at which the original production played back in 1927. This production features newly designed sets and costumes, new, more extended...
it appeared in the film The Jolson Story
The Jolson Story
The Jolson Story is a 1946 musical biography which purports to tell the life story of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as "Julie Benson" , William Demarest as his manager, Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne as his parents, and Scotty Beckett as the young Jolson.The...
, where Al Jolson was his own voice-double for actor Larry Parks
Larry Parks
Larry Parks was an American stage and movie actor. He was born Samuel Klausman Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, which led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios.-Background:Parks grew up in Joliet,...
. The song was changed to a different format and became the version that most people remember. The song was then recorded by Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
in 1947 and was a hit.
Early recordings
- George J. GaskinGeorge J. Gaskin-Career:Born in Belfast, Ireland, he became one of the most popular singers the United States in the 1890s and was nicknamed the "Silver Voiced Irish Tenor". His earliest known recordings were done for the Edison North American Phonograph Company on June 2, 1891...
(19001900 in music-Events:*January 14 - Giacomo Puccini's Tosca receives its première in Rome.*February 2 - Gustave Charpentier's opera Louise receives its première in Paris; Mary Garden makes her public debut in the title role in April....
) - Jere Mahoney (1900)
- Henry Macdonough (19011901 in music-Events:*April 18 - Contralto Mariska Horvath marries politician J. Frank Aldrich.*October 27 – First complete performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2*November 25 – Premiėre of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No...
) - J. W. Myers (1901)
- Al JolsonAl JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
(19291929 in music-Events:*January 1 – Pianist and composer Abram Chasins makes his professional debut playing his own piano concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra.*January 11 – Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater is premiered....
)
After 1946
- Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
's recording of April 10, 19471947 in music-Events:*August 7 – Carlo Bergonzi makes his professional debut as Schaunard in La Bohème at the Arena Argentina in Catania.*October – Enrico De Angelis leaves Quartetto Cetra to join the army...
was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog numberCatalog numbering systems for single recordsThis article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
20-2259. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on August 16, 1947 and lasted 12 weeks on the chart, peaking at #2. The song was one side of a two-sided hit; the flip side, "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)"Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba " is a popular song.It was written by Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman and published in 1947....
," reached #1. The record was also released, with the same flip side, in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, by HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
with catalog number BD-1180. It was re-released in the USA in 19491949 in music-Events:*February 4 – Ljuba Welitsch makes her Metropolitan Opera début in Salome.*September 5 - Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop appears at The Proms, singing "Lohengrin's Farewell", the day before his sudden death at the age of 51....
as a 78rpm single (catalog number 20-3300-A) and a 45rpm single (catalog number 47-2888), with the flip side "Song of Songs."
The 1947 revival of the song led to a number of artists recording it that year, including Jolson:
- Al JolsonAl JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
(re-recording June 18, 1947, Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, catalog number 24106) - The Mills Brothers (1947)
- Dick JurgensDick JurgensDick Henry Jurgens was an American swing music bandleader, who enjoyed great popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s....
and his Orchestra (vocal: Jimmy Castle) (1947) - Steve ConwaySteve ConwaySteve Conway is an Irish broadcaster and writer, formerly of the offshore pirate station Radio Caroline and most recently a presenter on the Dublin indie rock station Phantom 105.2....
(April 5, 19481948 in music-Events:*May 20 - The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics 1948 opens in Prague.*June 5 - Opening of the first Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears....
, released by UK Columbia as catalog number FB-3398) - Josef LockeJosef LockeJosef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....
(April 16, 1948, released by UK Columbia as catalog number DB-2409) - Joe LossJoe LossJoshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...
and his Orchestra with vocal by Howard Jones. Recorded in London on March 11, 1948. It was released by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the His Master's Voice label BD 6007. - The ChordettesThe ChordettesThe Chordettes were a female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music. The Chordettes were one of the longest lived vocal groups with beginnings in the mainstream pop and vocal harmonies of the 1940s and early 1950s...
(19501950 in music-Events:*January 3 – Sam Phillips launches Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.*August – Herbert Howells' Hymnus Paradisi is premiered at the Three Choirs Festival.*Malcolm Sargent becomes chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra....
) - The Ink SpotsThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
(19591947 in music-Events:*August 7 – Carlo Bergonzi makes his professional debut as Schaunard in La Bohème at the Arena Argentina in Catania.*October – Enrico De Angelis leaves Quartetto Cetra to join the army...
) - The FureysThe FureysThe Fureys are an Irish male folk band of four brothers - Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George, from Ballyfermot, Dublin. They have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.The group formed in 1978 and consisted initially of four brothers....
with Davey ArthurDavey Arthur- Biography :Arthur moved to Scotland at the age of two. He started to play music at the age of eight, and at 18 he returned to Ireland, where he started to compose his own music. He became world famous after he joined The Fureys, when they had their most successful hits...
, who took it to number 14 in the UK in October 19811981 in musicSee also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –... - Glen CampbellGlen CampbellGlen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
on his 1985 album It's Just a Matter of TimeIt's Just a Matter of Time (Glen Campbell album)It's Just a Matter of Time is the 42nd album by American singer/guitarist Glen Campbell, released in 1985 .-Track listing:Side 1:# "It's Just a Matter of Time" - 2:27... - Barry ManilowBarry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, on his 20102010 in music2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music...
album The Greatest Love Songs of All Time - Daniel O'DonnellDaniel O'DonnellDaniel or Danny O'Donnell may refer to:* Daniel O'Donnell, Irish singer* Daniel O'Donnell , American legislator from the state of New York* Danny O'Donnell * Danny O'Donnell...
, on his 2011 album Moon Over IrelandMoon Over IrelandMoon Over Ireland is the 31st studio album released by Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell in 2011. It contains original songs and newly recorded versions of well-known Irish songs.-Track listing:# "Moon Over Ireland"# "Maggie"# "The Fields of Athenry"...
External links
Lyrics with guitar chords and video http://unitedireland.tripod.com/id147.html