I'm Sitting on Top of the World

Not to be confused with Sitting on Top of the World.
"I'm Sitting on Top of the World"
Sheet music cover, 1925
Song
PublishedOctober 7, 1925 (1925-10-07) Leo Feist, Inc.[1]
Genrepopular
Composer(s)Ray Henderson
Lyricist(s)Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young

"I'm Sitting on Top of the World" is a popular song with music written by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. It was published in 1925. This composition is not to be confused with, "Sitting on Top of the World" written by Walter Vinson and notably performed by Taj Mahal and Corey Harris.

The song was most likely first recorded by Art Gillham (‘the Whispering Pianist’), who recorded ‘I'm Sitting on Top of the World’ on 24 October 1925. Al Jolson's recording was made on December 21, 1925.[2] Jolson sang it in the 1928 part-talkie film The Singing Fool and in his biographical movie The Jolson Story in 1946, where it was lip-synced by actor Larry Parks. [3]

Popular recordings in 1926 were by Jolson, Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Hotel Biltmore Orchestra, and by Frank Crumit.[4]

The song entered the public domain in the United States along with all other works from 1925 in 2021.

  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1925). Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1925 Musical Compositions For the Year 1925 New Series Vol 20 Part 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ^ Goldman, Herbert G. (1988). Jolson - The Legend Comes to Life. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 386. ISBN 0-19-506329-5.
  3. ^ ""THE JOLSON STORY" ~ HIGHLIGHTS 1946 HD - YouTube". YouTube. 21 December 2014.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 524. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.