"Hong Kong Blues" is a popular song composed by American songwriter

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

in 1939. It was featured in the 1944 film ''

To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in th ...

'', an adaptation of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

's novel by the same name. Former

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

covered the tune on his 1981 album ''

Somewhere in England ''Somewhere in England'' is the ninth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released on 1 June 1981 by Dark Horse Records. The album was recorded as Harrison was becoming increasingly frustrated with the music industry. The album's ...

''. Also, the Quebecer

Dédé Fortin André "Dédé" Fortin (17 November 1962 – 8 May 2000) was a founding member, frontman, and vocalist of the Québécois band Les Colocs, formed in 1990. Early life Fortin was born to Alfred Fortin and Gisèle Tremblay on a farm near the smal ...

presented his cover of "Hong Kong Blues" with

Les Colocs Les Colocs (''The Roommates'') were a rock music group from Québec formed in 1990 in Montreal. Profile Founded in 1990 and fronted by Dédé Fortin, ''Les Colocs'' made music in Quebec French. Their sound, infused with brass sounds, was inspi ...

on their album ''Atrocetomique''.

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

covered it on his 1957 album ''

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''. In 1964 it was a UK single from Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. Japanese musician

Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop for ...

, who was influenced by Denny to found the

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is conside ...

, covered the song on his 1976 album ''

Bon Voyage co. is Haruomi Hosono's third solo album. This album continues the tropical style of ''Hosono House'' and '' Tropical Dandy'' (which would continue later on with '' Paraiso'') while showing influence from the music of New Orleans and also features ...

'', as well as on two live albums, ''Harry Hosono and Tin Pan Alley in Chinatown'', recorded in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

the same year, and ''America'', recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 2019.

Spanky and Our Gang Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the si ...

covered “Hong Kong Blues” on their third album, Anything You Choose/Without Rhyme or Reason, 1969.

References

{{authority control Song recordings produced by George Harrison George Harrison songs Songs with music by Hoagy Carmichael 1944 songs Songs with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster