"Shrimp Boats" was 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 in the 1950s. It was written by Paul Mason Howard and

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the ...

and published in 1951. The original sheet music was arranged by Hawley Ades. Charting versions were recorded by

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

(Weston's wife) and

Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (born Sylvia Dolores Finkelstein; June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life She was born as Sylvia ...

. It was also recorded by Claude Gray (a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer) in 1963, and by

Pete Fountain Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist. Early life and education LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style f ...

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

The Orioles The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Balt ...

, and Buddy Tate. The recording by

was made in July 1951 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39581, with the flip side "Love, Mystery, and Adventure". It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 9, 1951 and lasted for 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 2. The recording by

was released by Decca Records as catalog number 27832, with the flip side "More! More! More!" It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 30, 1951 and lasted 6 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 25. A British version was recorded by

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) as Billy Cotton was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio a ...

and his band, also in 1951. A Yiddish parody by

Mickey Katz Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey. Early life Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court in ...

, entitled "Herring Boats", was also recorded.

Court case

In 1952, bandleader

Ben Pollack Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

filed a suit against Paul Weston, Mason Howard, and the publishers, Disney Music, alleging that the words of "Shrimp Boats" infringed his rights in relation to a non-copyrighted song, "The Cajun Song", which he claimed Weston had heard in 1945. A later case was brought against Disney Music by

Harold Spina Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Her ...

and Bob Russell, who claimed to have given the partial lyric to Fred Raphael at Disney Music. The suit was dismissed in January 1953.

References

1951 songs Songs written by Paul Weston Jo Stafford songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub