"The Gang That Sang Heart of My Heart" is a popular song. The music and lyrics were written by Ben Ryan (1892–1968) in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

. It reminisces about being in a youthful quartet, singing "Heart of My Heart".

History and origins

The quoted line, "Heart of My Heart", so longed for in the 1926 song, begins the chorus of "The Story of the Rose", written by Andrew Mack (1863–1931) in

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

. Mack was a popular American actor, singer and comedian who reportedly first sang this song in an 1899 show at

the Academy of Music ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in New York City. The show was ''The Last of the Rohans'', written and produced by Mack. "The Story of the Rose" is a standard among

barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...

s the world over. It is one of the most popular songs sung on Valentine's Day, when quartets deliver

Singing Valentines Singing Valentines is the name for a fundraising program that is popular with barbershop choruses in the U.S., Canada and Australia. The delivery of ''Singing Valentines'' is usually done by a barbershop quartet from a chapter affiliated with t ...

to oft–unsuspecting recipients going about their lives in their homes, offices, classrooms, shops, train stops, and other places. In this context, the verses are usually omitted and only the chorus ("Heart of My Heart") is sung.

Other versions

*A version of the popular 1926 song was recorded by The Four Aces, backed by the

Jack Pleis Orchestra Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, ...

, on October 14, 1953, and was issued by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. It reached #7 on ''Billboard''. Another version recorded by Don Cornell,

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequentl ...

, and Johnny Desmond also charted in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, reaching #10 on ''Billboard''. In the United Kingdom, a version by Max Bygraves charted at #7. *

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 ...

included the song in a medley on his album '' Join Bing and Sing Along'' (1959) *Other known versions of the song include recordings by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

and Trini Lopez (who included it on his album ''Trini Lopez at PJ's Vol. 2''). *In 1977, Florence Henderson and Robert Reed performed the song during a medley on an episode of '' The Brady Bunch Variety Hour''. *Ben Ryan was also the co-writer with

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

of Durante's signature song " Inka Dinka Doo" in 1933 and was, as well, a film actor and screenwriter.

Cultural references

According to the book ''Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House'' by Sally Bedell Smith, this song was a particular favorite of U.S. President John F. Kennedy; the book mentions that the president often asked his younger brother Teddy to sing it at family gatherings. The music of "The Gang that Sang" was used for the 1954 French song "Plus je t'embrasse". The French lyrics, by Max François, bear no relation to the English lyrics. Jazz versions of "Plus je t'embrasse" have been recorded by Blossom Dearie and by Diana Panton. In the '' Get Smart'' episode "Weekend Vampire," an attempt to reconstruct a tune heard just as a murder was committed led to an enthusiastic—if irrelevant—rendition of the 1926 song by Max, the Chief, and detect-o-tune operator Arrick ( Roger Price).

References

External links

* {{authority control 1926 songs The Four Aces songs Frankie Laine songs Trini Lopez songs Johnny Desmond songs Songs written by Ben Ryan (composer) Max Bygraves songs