"Java" is an instrumental adaptation from a 1958 LP of piano compositions, ''The Wild Sounds of New Orleans'', by Tousan, also known as
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
producer/songwriter
Allen Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...
. As was the case of the rest of Toussaint's LP, "Java" was composed in studio, primarily by Toussaint.
The first charting version, although it fell just short of the U.S. Top 40, was done by
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...
in 1962.
In 1963, trumpet player
Al Hirt
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...
recorded the instrumental, and the track was the first single from his album ''
Honey in the Horn
''Honey in the Horn'' is a 1935 debut novel by Harold L. Davis. The novel received the Harper Prize for best first novel of 1935 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1936. The title of the book is from a line in a square dancing tune, ...
''. It was Hirt's first and biggest hit on the US pop charts, reaching #4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on February 29, 1964 and spending four weeks at #1 on the
easy listening chart
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
in early 1964. The song was also featured on his greatest hits album, ''
The Best of Al Hirt
''The Best of Al Hirt'' is a compilation album by Al Hirt released by RCA Victor in 1965. The album peaked at No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart.Live at Carnegie Hall''. He also recorded "Java" with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops for the RCA Red Seal album ''Pops Goes the Trumpet (Holiday for Brass)'' in 1964.
Hirt's recording won the
Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra The Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many ...
in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
;Floyd Cramer
;Al Hirt
Later uses
"Java" was used as the closing theme for '' Vision On'', a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976, with Hirt's version featured until the early 70's, and
Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the musi ...
's rendering used thereafter.
The Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut performed her gold medal-winning floor routine at the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in Munich to a live piano version condensed to about 1 minute 9 seconds.
Henson Alternative Henson may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places United States
* Henson, Colorado, a ghost town
* Henson, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Henson Creek, Colorado
* Henson Branch, Missouri, a stream
Antarctica
* Mount Henson, Ross Dependency
Other
* H ...
and ''
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...
'' featured "Java" at the beginning of episode 22, as accompaniment for a dance by two tube-like creatures. The bigger creature constantly stomped the smaller one flat and pushed it away, only for the smaller one to blast it off the stage as the piece ended.
The Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...
performed "Java" on Al Hirt’s ''Fanfare '' on July 31, 1965, and twice on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'' on November 27, 1966 and May 26, 1968.
An arrangement of "Java" was used in the
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
game ''Jumpin' Jack'' in 1983.
Cover versions
Hugo Winterhalter
Hugo Winterhalter (August 15, 1909 – September 17, 1973) was an American easy listening arranger and composer, best known for his arrangements and recordings for RCA Victor.
Biography
Hugo Ferdinand Winterhalter was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsy ...
covered it on his ''Best of '64'' album in 1964.
The Angels, in 1965 as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to the song "Little Beatle Boy".
Bobby Hackett, on the 1965 album ''Trumpet's Greatest Hits''.The Beautiful South, in 1994, releasing it as a B-side to " One Last Love Song". Despite being a band with three vocalists, this was an instrumental version. They also performed the track live, often ending gigs with it, with the vocalists playing handheld percussion instruments or bouncing round the stage on giant space hoppers.
See also
*
List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1964 (U.S.)
In 1964, ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine published a record chart, chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States which were considered to be "middle of the road (music), middle of the road". The chart has undergone v ...