April in Paris (song)

"April in Paris"
Song
Written1932
Composer(s)Vernon Duke
Lyricist(s)E.Y. Harburg
"April in Paris" refrain, mm.8-11.[1] Playⓘ
"April in Paris"
Song by Count Basie Orchestra
from the album April in Paris
Released1957
GenreJazz
Length2:58
LabelVerve
Songwriter(s)Vernon Duke (composer)
Producer(s)Norman Granz

"April in Paris" is a popular song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by Yip Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical Walk a Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake (inspired by the movie of the same name) was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50. Composer Alec Wilder writes, "There are no two ways about it: this is a perfect theater song. If that sounds too reverent, then I'll reduce the praise to 'perfectly wonderful,' or else say that if it's not perfect, show me why it isn't."[2]

  1. ^ Scott DeVeaux (Autumn, 1999). "'Nice Work if You Can Get It'- Thelonious Monk and Popular Song", p.179, Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2, New Perspectives on Thelonious Monk.
  2. ^ Wilder, Alec (1972). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 357. ISBN 0-19-501445-6.