"Baubles, Bangles & Beads" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song from the 1953

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Kismet'', credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest.

Background

Like almost all the music in that show, the melody was based on works by

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

, in this case the second theme of the second movement of his '' String Quartet in D.'' The "Kismet" setting maintains the original's 3/4

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

rhythm; pop music settings change the rhythm to a moderate four-beat accompaniment.

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians are especially drawn to the song's beguiling melody and advanced harmonic structure. The familiar AA'BA+Coda structure of the song is energized by a

key change In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, a ...

up a

major third In classical music, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept and P ...

interval for every section; the transition is marked by a harmonic progression from the central major key of one section to the tritone minor key of the following section.

1953 recordings

The best-selling version of the song was recorded by

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

on September 16, 1953 and charted briefly that year. Other versions were recorded that year by Lu Ann Simms and

Georgia Gibbs Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s interp ...

Other recordings

The song has appeared on numerous albums over the years including: *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

- ''

On Stage and in the Movies ''On Stage and in the Movies'' is Dionne Warwick's seventh album for Scepter Records, and was recorded and released on May 14, 1967. The LP was issued as number 559 in the Scepter Catalog. History The cover art for this LP was simple: Warwick in ...

'' (1967) *

Eydie Gorme Eydie may refer to: * Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer. * Steve and Eydie, an American pop vocal duet, * Eydie Whittington Eydie D. Whittington is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission While ...

- ''Gorme Sings Showstoppers'' (1958) *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

- '' Come Dance with Me!'' (1958), ''

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim ''Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim'' is a 1967 album by Frank Sinatra and Antônio Carlos Jobim. The tracks were arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman, accompanied by a studio orchestra. Along with Jobim's original compositions, t ...

'' (1967) *The

Kirby Stone Four The Kirby Stone Four were an American vocal ensemble popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. Kirby Stone founded the group in the years after World War II and began playing clubs in the New York area. They won slots on local television, including ''T ...

re-make hit No. 25 in the Billboard Top 100 in 1958 and remains a favorite on adult standard stations. *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

- '' So Nice'' (1966) *

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...

- '' The Cool School'' (1960) *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

- ''Movin' on Broadway'' (1960) *

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

- '' Recorded in Boston at Storyville'' (1956) *

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

- ''

Fingerpickin' ''Fingerpickin' '' is an album by the American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Background Most of the album was recorded in Indianapolis on December 30, 1957. From that session, six songs were released as the album ''The Montgomery Brothers and F ...

'' (1957) *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

- ''

Give the Lady What She Wants ''Give the Lady What She Wants'' is a 1958 studio album by Lena Horne, with Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra. The third studio album Lena Horne released on the RCA Victor label, this album peaked at #20 in the Billboard 200 album charts. The a ...

'' (1958) *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

- ''

You're Mine You ''You're Mine You'' is a 1962 studio album by the American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, orchestrated and conducted by Quincy Jones. Reception The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album three stars and said that "Vaughan's voice is typical ...

'' (1962) *

Eumir Deodato Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...

recorded an instrumental in a popular LP of 1972 called ''Prelude''. *

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

- ''

Soprano Sax The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

'' (1976) *

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

- '' Benny Carter Meets Oscar Peterson'' (1986) *Argentine composer

Ernesto Acher Ernesto Acher (born in Buenos Aires on October 9, 1939) is an Argentine comedian, actor, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and orchestral conductor. Between 1971 and 1986 he was a member of the celebrated Argentine group Les Luthiers, with ...

mixed the ''

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...

'' of Borodin's string quartet with this piece of music, under the name "Borodin, Bangles & Beads" in 1987 on his album ''Juegos'' "Borodin, Bangles & Beads" (Borodin's ''Scherzo'' from the Quartet n° 2/Baubles, Bangles & Beads) is also on the album
''Mischief with Mozart - Comical Combat with the Classics''
(Stradivari Classics). *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

- '' Travelin' (Chet Atkins album)'' (1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baubles, Bangles, and Beads 1954 songs Songs from musicals Songs written by Robert Wright (writer) Songs written by George Forrest (author) Benny Goodman songs