"By a Waterfall" is a 1933 song with music by

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...

and lyrics by Irving Kahal. It was featured in an extravagant choreographic arrangement in the film '' Footlight Parade'' by Busby Berkeley that features his trademark human waterfall, with vocal performances by

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

and Ruby Keeler. It features a

water ballet Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérat ...

of chorus girls diving and swimming into the water in elaborate geometric and floral patterns. The lyrics of the song use the phrase "I'm calling you - oo-oo-oo" in much the same way as the '' Indian Love Call'' from the operetta '' Rose-Marie''. Berkeley realized that screen choreography involved the placement and movement of the camera as well as the dancers. Instead of filming numbers from fixed angles, he set his cameras into motion on custom built booms and monorails and if necessary, cut through the studio roof to get the right shot. Berkeley used a 40 x 80 foot (12.2 x 24.4 meter) swimming pool that filled an entire soundstage. Its walls and floor were glass, and before shooting started 100 chorus girls took two weeks to practice their routines in it. The actual filming lasted six days and required 20,000 gallons (75,708 liters) of water a minute to be pumped across the set.

Recordings

The recordings by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians (vocal by Carmen Lombardo), Leo Reisman & His Orchestra (vocal by Arthur Wright) and by Rudy Vallee are assessed by

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

as the most popular in 1933.

Other recordings

* Chick Bullock's Levee Loungers recorded the song for Oriole Records (catalog No. 2780A) on October 30, 1933. *Dick Powell recorded the song for Brunswick Records (catalog No. 6667) on September 27, 1933. * Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra recorded the song for Vocalion Records (catalog No. 2547) on September 5, 1933.

In popular culture

*'' Welcome Back, Kotter'': On a season one episode, Horshack gets up in front of the class and sings this song. Barbarino and Washington also join in. *''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson ...

'': In a season one episode, Mrs. Garret sings this song about

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

. * In animated shorts such as '' How Do I Know It's Sunday'' (1934), '' September in the Rain'' (1937), ''

Goofy Groceries ''Goofy Groceries'' is a 1941 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated short film directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on March 29, 1941. Bearing a similar premise to earlier WB shorts '' Speaking of the Weather'' and '' Have You Go ...

'' (1941), ''

The Pest That Came To Dinner ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1948), and ''

Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare ''Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare'' is a 1964 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' theatrical cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on March 28, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil. This marks the final pairing of ...

'' (1964), both from the ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' series but the one ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' series, the song is often used to punctuate jokes, as in the shorts when it is literally sung by a waterfall. * The British Comedy/satire band the Bonzo Dog (Doo Dah) Band also covered this song, recording it on their third album "

Tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

" released in 1969, and also performing it earlier on a UK television show called " Do Not Adjust Your Set". * The song could be heard accompanying a recreation of the waterfall sequence of ''Footlight Parade'' in

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

The Great Movie Ride before its closure in 2017. * In the novel '' The Swimming-Pool Library'' by

Alan Hollinghurst Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize. Early life and education H ...

, protagonist Will describes how a 'hard-on might pass from one end of the room to the other with the foolish perfection of a Busby Berkeley routine', evoking this choreography.

References

{{authority control 1933 songs Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Irving Kahal Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band songs Guy Lombardo songs