Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.

Biography

Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 1900 His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901, aboard the ''

SS Dresden A number of steamships have been named ''Dresden''. *, a British passenger ship which operated, as such, from 1897 to 1915 *, a Great Eastern Railway passenger ship in service 1897–1915 *, a Norddeutscher Lloyd ocean liner in service 1927–34 * ...

'' when he was less than a year old. They settled first in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

where his paternal grandmother had relatives, but later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, where he grew up on the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

and received his education in the public schools. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

and N.Y.U. and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. He eventually abandoned the notion of practicing law to become a songwriter. He served his apprenticeship as a writer of special material for vaudeville acts, and later established himself as a writer of songs for stage, screen and numerous musical revues. By the late 1920s, Parish was a well-regarded Tin Pan Alley lyricist in New York City. Parish's grandnephew, Steve Parish, was a roadie for the band

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. He described Mitchell Parish's meeting with Jerry Garcia in his autobiography, ''Home Before Day Light''.

Career

His first steady employer was the music publisher Jack Mills, brother of Irving Mills, who signed him for $12 a week to write comedy lyrics for vaudeville acts and to be a song-plugger. His first hit, "

Carolina Rolling Stone Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in t ...

," was recorded by the musical comedy team

Van and Schenck Van and Schenck were popular American entertainers in the 1910s and 1920s: Gus Van (born August Von Glahn, August 12, 1886 – March 12, 1968), baritone, and Joe Schenck (pronounced "skenk"; born Joseph Thuma Schenck, (June 2, 1891– June ...

for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1922. Parish tended to write his lyrics to completed melodies, hits that originated in other languages, or adaptations of classical music.

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 firs ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, Peter De Rose, Leroy Anderson, Glenn Miller, Sammy Fain, and

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

were among the composers . As one of the first inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the romantic quality of many of his lyrics such as "

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

", " Stairway to the Stars", " Deep Purple", and "

Moonlight Serenade "Moonlight Serenade" is an American swing ballad composed by Glenn Miller with subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was an immediate phenomenon when released in May 1939 as an instrumental arrangement, though it had been adopted and perf ...

" contributed to his being called by other songwriters "the poet laureate of the profession." In an interview in 1987, Parish claimed to have written the lyrics to the

standard " Mood Indigo", though they were credited to Irving Mills. He remained "somewhat rueful, though no longer bitter" about it. His best-known works include the lyrics to songs such as "

", " Sweet Lorraine", " Deep Purple", " Stars Fell on Alabama", " Sophisticated Lady", the translation to English lyrics of " Volare" and " Blue Skirt Waltz", "

", "

Mr. Ghost Goes to Town ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

", " Sleigh Ride", " One Morning in May", and " Louisiana Fairy Tale", which was the first theme song used in the PBS Production of '' This Old House''. Besides providing the lyrics to Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust", the two collaborated on standards such as " Riverboat Shuffle" and " One Morning in May". In 1949, Parish added lyrics to bandleader Al Goodman's tune "The Allen Stroll", which was played as radio comedian Fred Allen took a stroll down "Allen's Alley", a featured segment of Allen's weekly show. The new song, "Carousel of Love", premiered on '' The Fred Allen Show'' on April 4, 1949. It was sung by the

DeMarco Sisters The DeMarco Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the big-band era who recorded popular music and performed in concerts and on the radio, television, and on film from the 1930s through the 1960s. They first achieved fame as weekl ...

and played by Al Goodman and his Orchestra. In 1950, he wrote lyrics to Leroy Anderson's "

The Syncopated Clock "The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire. Composition Anderson wrote "The Syncopated Clock" in 1945 while serving with the U.S. Army and ass ...

". In 1951, he wrote the English lyrics of the French song "

Maître Pierre ''Maître Pierre'' (''Master Pierre'') is an uncompleted project by Charles Gounod, intended as his twelfth opera and planned in the summer of 1877 with the librettist Louis Gallet. The "Master Pierre" of the title was Pierre Abélard, the twel ...

" which was written in 1948 by Henri Betti (music) and Jacques Plante (lyrics). The title song became "

The Windmill Song "The Windmill Song" is the English version of the French popular song "Maître Pierre", composed in 1948 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by Jacques Plante. "Maître Pierre" had already been recorded by numerous French performers when Mitchell Pa ...

" and the song was recorded by

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 (Janua ...

with

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, L ...

and his Orchestra. In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of their Johnny Mercer Award.

The Evolution of "Stardust"

" was conceived by

in 1927 as a jazz instrumental, influenced by

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical a ...

. Parish wrote the lyrics in 1929, and the song became a hit the following year in a recording by Isham Jones, who led one of the most popular orchestras of the pre-swing era. "

" was resurrected during the

swing era The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...

, when Benny Goodman and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

both had hit versions. In 1940,

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

recorded "

" and Tommy Dorsey recorded a second version featuring Frank Sinatra and the

Pied Pipers A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...

. The song went on to have three other commercially significant lives, each in a different style. In 1957, it was a hit for Billy Ward and the Dominoes and the same year was the centerpiece of one of

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

's most successful albums, " Love Is the Thing." In 1978,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

revived "

" as a country ballad, as the title track to his album of the same title "

", that sold three million copies. "

" also became the title of a revue of Parish's lyrics. It was mounted off-Broadway, then moved briefly to Broadway the following year, where it was the last production in the Biltmore Theater. It ran for 101 performances and was revived in 1999.

Song Lyrics (selected)

Work on Broadway

*''Continental Varieties'' (1935) - revue - featured lyricist *''Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939'' (1939) - revue - performer *''Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1940'' (1940) - revue - featured lyricist *'' Bubbling Brown Sugar'' (1976) - revue - featured lyricist *'' Sophisticated Ladies'' (1981) - featured lyricist for "Sophisticated Lady" *''Stardust'' (1987) - revue - lyricist

Death

Parish died in 1993 in

, New York at the age of 92. He was buried in

Beth David Cemetery Beth David Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 300 Elmont Road in Elmont, New York. The cemetery was established in 1917. As of 2012, there were approximately 245,000 burials in the cemetery. Notable interments *Sam Ash (1897–1956), violini ...

in Elmont, New York.

References

* Hill, Tony L. "Mitchell Parish, 1900-1993," in ''Dictionary of Literary Biography 265.'' Detroit: Gale Research, 2002.

Footnotes

External links

Entry at Internet Broadway Database

Mitchell Parish recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, Mitchell 1900 births 1993 deaths American lyricists American musical theatre lyricists American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American songwriters Lithuanian Jews Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana 20th-century American musicians Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana Songwriters from Louisiana Burials at Beth David Cemetery 20th-century American Jews