Stardust (1927 song)

"Stardust"
Song by Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals
Written	1927
Published	January 19, 1929 by Mills Music, Inc.[1]
Released	October 1928
Recorded	October 31, 1927
Studio	Gennett Studios, Richmond, Indiana
Genre	Jazz
Length	3:02
Label	Gennett Records
Composer(s)	Hoagy Carmichael
Lyricist(s)	Mitchell Parish
Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals singles chronology
"Stardust" (1928) ""Barnacle Bill The Sailor"" (1936)

"Stardust" is a 1927 song composed by Hoagy Carmichael, with lyrics later added by Mitchell Parish. It has been recorded as an instrumental or vocal track over 1,500 times. Carmichael developed a taste for jazz while attending Indiana University. He formed his own band and played at local events in Indiana and Ohio. Following his graduation, Carmichael moved to Florida to work for a law firm. He left the law sector and returned to Indiana, after learning of the success of one of his compositions. In 1927, after leaving a local university hangout, Carmichael started to whistle a tune that he later developed further. When composing the song, he was inspired by the end of one of his love affairs, and on the suggestion of a university classmate, he decided on its title. The same year, Carmichael recorded an instrumental version of the song for Gennett Records.

In 1928, Carmichael left Indiana after Mills Music hired him as a composer. Mills Music then assigned Mitchell Parish to add words to the song. Don Redman recorded the song in the same year, and by 1929 it was performed regularly at the Cotton Club. Isham Jones's 1930 rendition of the song made it popular on radio, and soon multiple acts had recorded "Stardust". Because of the song's popularity, by 1936, RCA Victor pressed a double-sided version that featured Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman on respective sides.

By 1940 the song was considered a standard, and it was later included in the Great American Songbook. That year, RCA Victor released two more recordings of "Stardust": one by Dorsey featuring Frank Sinatra as the singer, and one by Artie Shaw. Shaw's recording sold one million copies, and Glenn Miller's rendition was published in the same year. Artists including Jo Stafford, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Billy Ward and his Dominoes, Ringo Starr, and Willie Nelson have recorded "Stardust". The song was featured in several films, including My Favorite Year, Goodfellas, Sleepless in Seattle, and Casino. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995 and added to the National Recording Registry in 2004.