"Catch a Falling Star" is a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. It is best known and was made famous by

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

's hit version, recorded and released in late 1957.

Background and chart performance

The song's melody is based on a theme from Brahms' ''

Academic Festival Overture ''Academic Festival Overture'' (german: Akademische Festouvertüre), Op. 80, by Johannes Brahms, was one of a pair of contrasting concert overtures — the other being the ''Tragic Overture'', Op. 81. Brahms composed the work during the ...

''.

's version features the Ray Charles Singers, who sing the refrain as a repeated round. It was Como's last number one hit in the US, reaching number 1 on the ''Billboard'' "Most Played by Jockeys" chart but not in the overall top 100, where it reached number 3. It was the first single to receive a

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

gold record certification, on March 14, 1958. Overseas, in 1958, the song also topped the Australian charts. In the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, "Catch a Falling Star" peaked at number nine, whereas its B-side "

Magic Moments "Magic Moments" is a popular song with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David, one of the first compositions by that duo. The song was published in 1957. The song was recorded by Perry Como as the B-side of his "Catch a Falling Star". I ...

" topped the charts.

Accolades

The single won Como the 1959 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male.

In popular culture

The song has been featured in several films, including: *''

The Princess Diaries ''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...

'' *''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' *'' Everybody's Fine'' *''

Welcome to Me ''Welcome to Me'' is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Shira Piven and written by Eliot Laurence. The film stars Kristen Wiig as Alice Klieg, a lottery winner with borderline personality disorder who uses her newfound wealth to writ ...

'' *'' Never Been Kissed'' *It was often featured in the TV series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'', and was most often associated with Claire Littleton and her baby, Aaron. *It is also featured in an episode of the FX black comedy ''

Mr Inbetween ''Mr Inbetween'' is an Australian black comedy-crime drama television series which premiered on FX on 25 September 2018 in the United States, followed by Fox Showcase in Australia on 1 October 2018. The series is a serialisation of the 2005 fe ...

''. *A musical phrase from the song appears in

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

's score for ''

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and the fourth installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' series. Released and taking place 19 years after the previous ...

'' during the motorcycle chase through the college."A Whirl Through Academe" track title,

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

, Concord Records, 2008 *It was also in the musical ''

Forever Plaid ''Forever Plaid'' is an Off-Broadway musical revue written by Stuart Ross, and first performed in New York in 1989 and now performed internationally. Overview The show is a revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" (''e.g.'' The Four Aces, The ...

References

Perry Como songs 1957 songs 1957 singles 1958 singles Number-one singles in the United States Songs written by Lee Pockriss Songs written by Paul Vance Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance 1950s ballads RCA Victor singles {{1950s-single-stub