"Alice in Wonderland" is the theme song composed by Sammy Fain for the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

1951 animated film '' Alice in Wonderland''. It was performed by The Jud Conlon Chorus and

The Mellomen The Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s. The group was founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith in 1948. They recorded under a variety of names, including Big John and the Buzzards, the Crackerj ...

. The lyrics were written by

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentle ...

and were arranged by

Harry Simeone Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song " The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit. Early years Simeone was born ...

for treble voices. The song plays during the opening and end credits.

Izumi Yukimura is a Japanese popular singer and actress. Yukimura made her debut with the song in 1953. Her style of singing varied from jazz to rock and roll. She became one of the three most popular female singers in the early postwar Japan, along with Chie ...

sang her own theme song for the Japanese release of the film. The "dreamy" song has become a jazz standard that has been performed by Bill Evans,

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

, Dave Brubeck, and others. In his book ''The History of Jazz'',

Ted Gioia Ted Gioia (born October 21, 1957) is an American jazz critic and music historian. He is author of eleven books, including ''Music: A Subversive History'', '' The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire'', ''The History of Jazz'' and ''Delta Blu ...

cites "Alice in Wonderland" as one of Evans's most beautiful performances, likening its "pristine beauty" to his " Waltz for Debby". Evans recorded it at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...

which featured on his 1961 album ''

Sunday at the Village Vanguard ''Sunday at the Village Vanguard'' is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his Trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Released in 1961, the album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jaz ...

''. Rosemary Clooney recorded the ballad with "The Unbirthday Song" which also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie, and

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

has also recorded it along with the other songs from the movie in a medley. The original recording for the film was in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

, but the jazz standard is usually played in C major, as it was by both Evans and Peterson.

References

{{authority control Songs about fictional female characters 1951 songs 1950s jazz standards Jazz compositions in G major Music based on Alice in Wonderland Songs from Alice in Wonderland Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Bob Hilliard