"Let a Smile Be Your Umbrellas" 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 A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

. The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by

Irving Kahal Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903, Houtzdale, Pennsylvania – February 7, 1942, New York City) was a popular American song lyricist active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 19 ...

and Francis Wheeler. The song was published in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

and was the first collaboration between the Fain / Kahal team. Successful early recordings were made by

Roger Wolfe Kahn Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, bandleader (Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra) and an aviator. Life and career Roger Wolfe Kahn (originally spelled "Wolff") was born in ...

(vocal by

Franklyn Baur Franklyn Baur (April 5, 1903 – February 24, 1950) was a popular tenor vocal recording artist.Gracyk, Tim with Frank Hoffman, ''Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895--1925'', Haworth Press, New York, 2000, pp. 39--42. DeLong, Thomas A., ''Radio ...

) and by

Sam Lanin Samuel Charles Lanin (September 4, 1891 – May 5, 1977) was an American jazz bandleader. Lanin's brothers, Howard and Lester, were also bandleaders, and all of them had sustained careers in music. Lanin was one of ten children born to Benjamin ...

(vocal by Irving Kaufman), and these both reached the charts of the day in 1928.

Other notable recordings

*1928

Lee Morse Lena Corinne "Lee" Morse (née Taylor; November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was an American jazz and blues singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and actress. Morse's greatest popularity was in the 1920s and early 1930s as a torch singer, a ...

and Her Bluegrass Boys - recorded for Columbia Records on January 23, 1928. *1949

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

*1950

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

and His Original "Dorseyland" Jazz Band – included in the album ''Dorseyland Dance Parade'', vocal by Claire "Shanty" Hogan. *1957 Bing Crosby included the song in his album ''

Bing with a Beat ''Bing with a Beat'' was Bing Crosby's seventh long play album but his first with RCA Victor. It was recorded at the Radio Recorders "Annex" Studio in Los Angeles and released on vinyl in September 1957. ''Bing with a Beat'' is a 1957 concept ...

''. *1959 Perry Como - recorded for his album ''

Como Swings ''Como Swings'' was Perry Como's fifth RCA Victor 12" long-play album, released in 1959. The album's concept was one of lively swing arrangements by Joe Lipman of standards from the Great American Songbook. The album was, in part, recorded to ...

''. *1965

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 mus ...

and His Orchestra – included in their album ''Love Letters''.

Film appearances

*1929 It's a Great Life - performed by unseen male singer in the theater. *1932 The song is used in the Van Beuren cartoon ''

The Wild Goose Chase ''The Wild Goose Chase'' is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, first performed in 1621. It is often classed among Fletcher's most effective and best-constructed plays; Edmund Gosse called it "one of the brightest a ...

''. *1948

Give My Regards to Broadway "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Americ ...

Homage

* The song's title is referenced in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated animated short

Disney 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 ...

musical film, '' A Symposium on Popular Songs'' during the song, " Although I Dropped $100,000" written by Robert & Richard Sherman. * A 1974 ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' record spoofs the song as "Let a Frown Be Your Umbrella," containing a song of the same name sung by Oscar the Grouch. * The song's title was referenced in ''Twin Peaks'', season 2 episode 11, when Agent Dale Cooper is given advice paraphrasing the song's title, by his supervisor Agent Gordon Cole. *

Joey Reynolds Joseph Pinto, better known as Joey Reynolds, is a long-time radio show host and disc jockey. Reynolds' broadcasting career started on TV in Buffalo at WGR TV 2 and he worked at various stations, including at WNBC. Career His first radio job was ...

's autobiography is titled ''Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella, but Don't Get a Mouthful of Rain''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella 1927 songs Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Irving Kahal