Carolina In The Morning: A Song History

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"Carolina in the Morning," with a lyric by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, was published in New York by Jerome H. Remick & Co. in 1922[1]. The two men were close friends who wrote more than a hundred songs together[2], and Britannica names this one among Donaldson's most popular compositions[3]. Its Broadway outing came in The Passing Show of 1922, a revue that opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on 20 September 1922 and ran for 85 performances, with the song in its first act[4]. The early sheet music states on its cover that Willie and Gene Howard introduced it in that show[1], and another Remick edition carried a photograph of Aileen Stanley, billed as featuring the song[5].

George Inness painting of sunrise glowing through trees over a misty meadow

George Inness, Sunrise, oil on canvas, 1887. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0). Not a Carolina scene; shown for its morning light, and it has no connection to the song.

Eddie Elkins' Orchestra began work on a dance version for Columbia on 15 September 1922, finishing it in early October[6]; the duo Van and Schenck recorded it for Columbia on 18 September[7]; and Paul Whiteman's orchestra made its fox-trot version for Victor on 21 September[8]. Marion Harris recorded it for Brunswick at about the same time[9], and the American Quartet, with Billy Murray among its tenors, cut a Victor version in Camden, New Jersey, at the turn of the new year[10].

Al Jolson recorded it for Decca on 11 June 1947 with Morris Stoloff's orchestra[11], and portions of it turn up in medleys in the film Jolson Sings Again, released in 1950[12].

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Sources

  1. The Morgan Library & Museum: "Carolina in the morning / lyric by Gus Kahn ; music by Walter Donaldson" (Jerome H. Remick & Co., c1922).
  2. Songwriters Hall of Fame: "Walter Donaldson".
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Walter Donaldson".
  4. Internet Broadway Database: "The Passing Show of 1922".
  5. York University Libraries, YorkSpace: "Carolina in the morning" (Remick, 1922).
  6. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Columbia matrix 80544. Carolina in the morning / Eddie Elkins' Orchestra".
  7. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Columbia matrix 80552. Carolina in the morning / Van and Schenck".
  8. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Victor matrix B-26789. Carolina in the morning / Paul Whiteman Orchestra".
  9. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Brunswick 2329 (10-in. double-faced)".
  10. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Victor matrix B-27356. Carolina in the morning / American Quartet".
  11. Discography of American Historical Recordings (UCSB): "Decca 9-24109 (45-rpm 7-in.). (Album 9-8)".
  12. AFI Catalog of Feature Films: "Jolson Sings Again (1950)".