Margie (song)

"Margie"
Cover of the original Sheet music
Single by Original Dixieland Jazz Band
B-side"Palesteena"
Released1920
Recorded1920
GenreJazz
LabelVictor
Songwriter(s)Con Conrad, J. Russel Robinson, Benny Davis
Audio sample
Original recording of "Margie", performed by Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1920)

"Margie", also known as "My Little Margie", is a 1920 popular song composed in collaboration by vaudeville performer and pianist Con Conrad and ragtime pianist J. Russel Robinson, a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Lyrics were written by Benny Davis, a vaudeville performer and songwriter. The song was introduced by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920 as Victor 78, 18717-A, in a medley paired with "Singin' the Blues". The B side was "Palesteena".[1] The ODJB recorded their instrumental version on December 1, 1920.[2][3]

Other popular versions in 1920-1921 were by Gene Rodemich; Eddie Cantor; Ted Lewis; and Frank Crumit.[4] The Rega Dance Orchestra recorded the song in October, 1920 for Okeh Records, 4211.

The song was published in 1920 and was named after the five-year-old daughter of singer and songwriter Eddie Cantor. Cantor is credited with popularizing the song with his 1921 recording that stayed at the top of the pop charts for five weeks.[5]

The song has appeared in the movies Stella Dallas (1937), Margie (1946), The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) and The Drowning Pool (1975).[5] The song was also used in a Phonofilm sound-on-film cartoon produced by Max Fleischer and released 30 October 1926.[6]

The song was the Preston North End unofficial club anthem during 1950s and played at Sir Tom Finney's funeral in 2014.

  1. ^ The Jazz Age, p.106
  2. ^ Margie: Second Hand Songs.
  3. ^ "Red Hot Jazz. Original Dixieland Jass Band". Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 547. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  5. ^ a b Margie at jazzstandards.com - retrieved on 19 May 2009
  6. ^ SilentEra entry for the film