"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

song written by Clarence Muse,

Leon René Leon René (February 6, 1902 – May 30, 1982) was an American music composer of pop, R&B and rock and roll songs and a record producer in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas or Jimmie Thoma ...

and

Otis René Otis Joseph René Jr. was an American songwriter and record label owner. As a songwriter, he is notable as the co-author of "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", which became a signature song for Louis Armstrong. Biography Otis René was born in Ne ...

. It was sung in the 1931 movie ''

Safe in Hell ''Safe in Hell'' is a 1931 American pre-Code thriller film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook, with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Nina Mae McKinney, Clarence Muse, and Noble Jo ...

'' by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, who recorded it almost a hundred times during his career.Charles Hersch: ''Subversive Sounds: Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans''. University of Chicago Press, 2008. . p. 199 The song is now considered a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

and it has been recorded by a plethora of artists. A popular recording in 1931 was by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

and his Orchestra (vocal by

Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentimenta ...

History

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 ...

released a version on his 1963 album, ''

Our Man in New Orleans ''Our Man in New Orleans'' is an album by Al Hirt (RCA-LPM-2607) released by RCA Victor. The album was conducted and arranged by Marty Paich and produced by Steve Sholes. The album landed on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart in 1963, reaching No. ...

,'' and

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 ...

released a version on his 1972 album ''Mr. Trumpet'' ( Longines Symphonette Society SYS 5459/LS 217C/LS 217U). A British cover version was released in 1932 by

Bob and Alf Pearson Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson (15 August 1907 – 30 December 1985) and Alfred Vernon Pearson (15 June 1910 – 7 July 2012), who were mainly known for their singi ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

recorded the song in 1975 for his album ''

A Southern Memoir ''A Southern Memoir'' is a 1975 vinyl album recorded by Bing Crosby at his own expense at TTG Studios, Los Angeles, California in January 1975. He was accompanied by Paul Smith and his Orchestra. Crosby leased the tracks to the English branch ...

''. The lyrics concern the Great Migration in the United States, the movement of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

from the South to cities in the North, with the singer talking about the "dear old Southland... where I belong", and contain many racial stereotypes. Armstrong's popularity among African-American audiences dropped because of the song, but at the same time it helped the trumpeter to make his fan base broader. In protest during the 1950s, African Americans burned their copies of the song, which forced Armstrong to re-evaluate and change the song's lyrics in a reissue. There is a 1942 film short of the song where Armstrong and others played slaves and farm workers.

Notes

External links

"When It's Sleepy Time Down South"
at ''jazzstandards.com'' Songs about sleep Songs about the American South 1931 songs 1930s jazz standards Songs written by Leon René Mildred Bailey songs Louis Armstrong songs Al Hirt songs {{1930s-song-stub

History

See also

Notes

External links