"Ruby" is the 1952 theme song for the film ''

Ruby Gentry ''Ruby Gentry'' is a 1952 film directed by King Vidor, and starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, and Karl Malden. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to K ...

'' starring

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

, written by

Mitchell Parish 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 190 ...

and

Heinz Roemheld Heinz Roemheld (May 1, 1901 – February 11, 1985) was an American composer. Early life and career Born Heinz Eric Roemheld in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was one of four children of German immigrant Heinrich Roemheld and his wife Fanny Rauterberg ...

. There were six chartered versions of the song in 1953. The theme enjoyed much popularity in orchestral recordings by

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica ...

, with harmonica solo by Danny Welton.,

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

And His Singing Strings with George Fields on harmonica (Columbia DO-70040, Australia),

Richard Hayman Richard Hayman (March 27, 1920 – February 5, 2014) was an American musician who was the chief music arranger of the Boston Pops Orchestra for over 50 years, and served as a pops conductor for orchestras including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, ...

And His Orchestra with Richard Hayman on harmonica, and Jerry Murad and the

Harmonicats Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group. Background The band was founded in 1947. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad ( chromatic lead harmonica), Bob Hadamik (bass ha ...

Notable recordings

It has subsequently become a jazz and

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

, both as an instrumental and with lyrics by

: *

and His Orchestra. This reached No. 3 in the Billboard charts in 1953. *

and His Orchestra (harmonica solo by Danny Welton) had a hit with the song in 1953, peaking in the No. 7 position. *

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

and his Orchestra. A No. 20 hit in 1953. *

and His Singing Strings. Reached number 20 in the charts in 1953. *

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

and His Orchestra, reaching number 27 in the charts in 1953. * Les Brown and His Band of Renown - briefly charted in 1953 at number 29. *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

- reached No. 28 in the Billboard charts in 1960. * Adam Wade accompanied by

George Paxton George Paxton (March 24, 1914 – April 19, 1989) was an American big band leader, saxophonist, arranger, and publisher during the 1930s and 1940s. He was president of Coed Records and a producer for the label. Early career He was born in Jacks ...

& His Orchestra with The Bel-Aire Singers. This directly competed against the Ray Charles version and reached No. 58 in the charts in 1960.Joan Potter African American Firsts, 4th Edition, 2013, , p. 73, "His first ADAM WADE record, “Ruby,'' was a hit, and a year" Wade's B-side was "Too Far" written by Pat Lambert and

Bob Haymes Robert William Haymes (March 29, 1923 – January 27, 1989), also known by the stage names Robert Stanton and Bob Stanton, was an American singer, songwriter, actor and radio and television host. He is best remembered for co-writing the song " Th ...

References

{{Reflist Film theme songs 1952 songs 1960 singles Songs written for films Songs with lyrics by Mitchell Parish