"Baby Face" is a popular

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...

jazz song. The music was written by Harry Akst, with lyrics by

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. I ...

, and the song was published in 1926. The first recording of it was by Jan Garber and his Orchestra, featuring lyricist Benny Davis singing the chorus only. The record was a number one hit in 1926. The first full version of the song sung on record was released later that same year by

Whispering Jack Smith Jack Smith (born Jacob Schmidt, May 30, 1896 – May 13, 1950), known as "Whispering" Jack Smith, was an American baritone singer who was a popular radio and recording artist. He was at his most popular during the 1920s and 1930s, making a br ...

, backed on piano by Arthur Johnston. Smith sang in a half-talking style and started the first verse with "baby cheeks" instead of the familiar "rosy cheeks." He started the second verse with "When you were just a baby, and that's not so long ago."

Recordings

"Baby Face" was performed and recorded by many recording artists of the time, including

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

. It has remained a commonly performed song. An instrumental version of the song was used in the 1933 film '' Baby Face'' starring Barbara Stanwyck. In 1958,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

peaked at No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 41 on the pop chart with his version of the song. It also reached No. 2 in the UK in January 1959, becoming Little Richard's highest charting single in the United Kingdom. In 1962, American singer

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

recorded a version as a single. In 1967, a refrain was mixed with the Hallelujah chorus in ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve yo ...

''. In 1974, in the

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their com ...

special '' One Hand Clapping'', McCartney performed the song at a piano. He later sang the song on his 2007 Secret Tour. In late 1975,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

studio group

Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps was an American disco group in existence from 1975 to 1978. The assemblage of studio musicians (which, contrary to its name, had no fife players) were put together by Harold Wheeler; the group's vocalists we ...

recorded a version of the song where it peaked at number two for two weeks on the disco chart. This version also went to No. 32 on the soul chart, No. 6

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

and No. 14 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

during the winter of 1976. In the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at No. 12, in February 1976, spending 7 weeks within the Top 50. On December 31, 1976, bandleader

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...

and the Royal Canadians kicked off their New Year's Eve concert (a tradition since 1929), with an instrumental performance of the song on CBS television. The concert was Lombardo's last before his death on November 5, 1977. The Royal Canadians New Year's specials would end on the network in 1978.

Swan Districts The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...

, an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

club in the WAFL since 1934, bases its club song on this tune. A version done by the Muppet Chickens appears on ''

The Muppet Show 2 ''The Muppet Show 2'' is the second soundtrack album released from the TV show of the same name. It follows the same format of sketches and songs as the first album, but also includes guest-star appearances by Bernadette Peters and Peter Sellers ...

'' album. The first singing of it was done with a simple beat in the background, then the rest of the song is sung with more rock-oriented background music. Other major recordings of the song have been (''listed alphabetically'') by:

In popular culture

In 1976, the Brady family performed the song for the opening number for the pilot episode of ''

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour ''The Brady Bunch Hour'' is an American variety show featuring skits and songs produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television. It ran on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977. The series starred the o ...

''. A parody of the song, retitled "Baby Pants," was used in a

Luvs Luvs is a brand of disposable diapers made by Procter & Gamble. Luvs were sold as "Deluxe" diapers in the late 1980s. Today they are sold as budget diapers since 1994. The Luvs brand also includes baby wipes. Brand history *1976: The brand is i ...

diapers A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or conta ...

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

in the 1980s.Luvs Babypants, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7HVK-pjWsw

References

External links

* * "Baby Face" is also a song by

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

singer

Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omola ...

. It was released on November 5, 2013 and a few days after it was released,

got departed from Mavin Records. {{authority control 1926 songs 1926 singles 1958 singles 1976 singles 1983 singles Little Richard songs Whispering Jack Smith songs Disco songs Songs with music by Harry Akst Songs written by Benny Davis Eddie Cantor songs Julie Andrews songs