"Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

for his musical play ''

Little Johnny Jones ''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Bac ...

'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to America, looking for evidence aboard the ship that will clear his name for allegedly throwing the English Derby. He is sure he'll become a star on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, therefore signing off with: "Give my regards to Broadway."

Recordings

The song has been recorded many times. It was featured prominently in a solo song-and-dance sequence done by James Cagney in his

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-winning performance in the 1942 film about Cohan's life, ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...

''. It has also been performed by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

Jimmy Roselli Michael John "Jimmy" Roselli (December 26, 1925 – June 30, 2011) was one of the most significant Italian-American pop singers of his time, during an era of competition from such performers as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Perry Co ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, and

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of F ...

. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album ''

Join Bing and Sing Along ''Join Bing and Sing Along'' is a long-playing vinyl album issued first by RCA Victor (LPM/LSP-2276) and immediately thereafter by Warner Bros. Records (W/WS-1363) in 1960. The album consists of twelve medleys of 33 old songs in a singalong form ...

'' (1959) In 1999,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

included this song in the "NPR 100," in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century. The song was included in the 1968 musical ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine ...

'', which was based on Cohan's life. Tony Award-winning actor

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical '' Cabaret'' on Broadway as well as in the 1972 fi ...

played Cohan in the original Broadway cast and performed the song for the soundtrack. One of its earliest recordings was by Billy Murray. His recording's short instrumental interludes contain the two closing lines of the chorus to ''

The Yankee Doodle Boy "The Yankee Doodle Boy", also well known as "(I'm a) Yankee Doodle Dandy" is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical ''Little Johnny Jones'' written by George M. Cohan. The play opened at the Liberty Theater on November 7, 1904. The play conc ...

'', which was the other famous song from ''Little Johnny Jones'': ''Verse 1'' :Did you ever see two

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

s part upon a foreign shore :When the good ship's just about to start for Old New York once more? :With a tear-dimmed eye they say goodbye, they're friends without a doubt; :When the man on the pier shouts loud and clear, as the ship strikes out... ''Verse 2'' :Say hello to dear old Coney Isle, if there you chance to be, :When you're at the Waldorf have a "smile" and charge it up to me; :Mention my name ev'ry place you go, as 'round the town you roam; :Wish you'd call on my gal, now remember, old pal, when you get back home... ''Chorus'' :Give my regards to

, remember me to

Herald Square Herald Square is a major commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas), and 34th Street. Named for the now-defunct ''New ...

, :Tell all the gang at Forty-Second Street, that I will soon be there; :Whisper of how I'm yearning to mingle with the old time throng; :Give my regards to old Broadway and say that I'll be there ere long.

In popular culture

*In episode 100 of ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'', Felix and Oscar after being stuck on a subway car sing the song along with the other occupants of the car. *

Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer Isaac Asimov used the song as a

feghoot A feghoot (also known as a story pun or poetic story joke) is a humorous short story or vignette ending in a pun (typically a play on a well-known phrase), where the story contains sufficient context to recognize the punning humor. History Ferdinan ...

, or elaborate story pun in his

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

"Death of a Foy". *In the episode " A Fish Called Selma" of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', Troy McClure tells the audience they may remember him from such films as "Give My ''Remains'' to Broadway". *One of the beauty pageant children in the 2006 American indie comedy '' Little Miss Sunshine'' performs the song. *In

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's ''

Give My Regards to Broad Street ''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, " No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden ...

'' the title alludes to this tune, and also to London's Broad Street railway station, which closed in 1986. *In the song " Thousands Are Sailing" by

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

, a verse refers to Cohan and the song, as follows: "Then we said goodnight to Broadway / Giving it our best regards / Tipped our hats to Mister Cohan / Dear old Times Square's favourite bard". *In the film ''

Bring It On Bring It On may refer to: Books * ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson * ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung Film and stage * ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...

'', a would-be male cheerleader auditions for the Toros with the song while believing he was auditioning for ''

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...

''. *

JibJab JibJab is an American digital entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1999 by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it first achieved widespread attention during the 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 US pres ...

uses this song's tune as the year in review for 2013.Jibjab year in review 2013
Archived a
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Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

used the tune for ''Get On The Garden Freeway'' on the album ''

My Son, the Celebrity ''My Son, the Celebrity'' is a musical comedy album by Allan Sherman, released in the United States by Warner Bros. in January 1963. The album was the second of three straight albums by Sherman to reach #1 on the Billboard album charts. It rea ...

'' in 1963 * The Replacements song "I'll Buy" contains the lines "Hey, give my regards to Broadway / Tell 'em I got change to spare." * In ''

Mortal Kombat 11 ''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 2015's '' Mortal ...

'', Johnny Cage's Friendship move, "Dub Dub WB", has him dancing to an instrumental version of "Give My Regards To Broadway".

References

External links

Billy Murray's recording
{{DEFAULTSORT:Give My Regards To Broadway Songs about theatre Songs about New York City Songs written by George M. Cohan Songs from Little Johnny Jones 1904 songs Billy Murray (singer) songs

Recordings

See also

In popular culture

References

External links