"Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" is a 1936 song written by

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

Sammy Lerner Samuel Lerner (January 28, 1903 – December 13, 1989) was a Romanian-born songwriter for American and British musical theatre and film. Career Lerner emigrated with his parents into the United States at age seven, and the family settled in Detro ...

and

Gerald Marks Gerald Marks (October 13, 1900 – January 27, 1997) was an American composer from Saginaw, Michigan. He was best known for the song " All of Me" which he co-wrote with Seymour Simons and has been recorded about 2,000 times. He also wrote the s ...

. The lyrics begin: "Is it true what they say about Dixie? Does the sun really shine all the time? Do the sweet magnolias blossom at everybody's door?". The song was a #1 hit for

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

and His Orchestra in May and June 1936 with

Bob Eberly Robert Eberly (born Robert Eberle; July 24, 1916 – November 17, 1981) was an American big band vocalist best known for his association with Jimmy Dorsey and his duets with Helen O'Connell. His younger brother Ray was also a big-band singer, ma ...

on vocal.

Ozzie Nelson Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in '' The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', a radio and te ...

and

Willie Bryant William Stevens Bryant (August 30, 1908 – February 9, 1964) was an American jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey, known as the "Mayor of Harlem". Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, while growing up he took trumpet l ...

also charted with the song that year. The song has been parodied in various versions, such as the Beau Jesters' parody questioning Lyndon Johnson.

Other versions

Erhard Bauschke Erhard Bauschke (27 September 1912 in Breslau – 7 October 1945 in Frankfurt) was a German jazz and light music reedist and bandleader. Bauschke learned to play violin, piano, and saxophone as a student in Breslau, and played with José Wolff ...

Orchestra recorded Germany (Berlin?) 1937 Polydor 17246 under the title "Sag mir bloß, was ist los mit der Lilly?" with humorous verses about a pair of lovers. This record was produced and sold despite bans on playing or broadcasting music by Jewish composers under the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 ...

and

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

– recorded December 8, 1948. *

– recorded May 24, 1949. * Dean Martin on '' Swingin' Down Yonder'' 1955 *

Bill Haley and His Comets Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

– ''

Rockin' the Oldies ''Rockin' the Oldies'' was the fifth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Produced by Milt Gabler, the album was released by Decca Records in 1957. It was the first of three "themed albums" that Haley recorded for Decca. ...

'' (1957) *

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

– for the album ''Max and Ted - The Hits of the Thirties'' (1960). *

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

– recorded by Brian Wilson on piano and his mother Audree singing in 1968 released in 2018 for the archival release "I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions".

Film appearances

*1936

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

– sung briefly at the beginning of the campfire scene *1937

Ali Baba Goes to Town ''Ali Baba Goes to Town'' is a 1937 musical film directed by David Butler and starring Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, and Roland Young. Cantor plays a hobo named Aloysius "Al" Babson, who walks into the camp of a movie company that is making the ...

– played briefly during the Ali Baba campaign parade *1937 Stand-In – sung by an unidentified child actress called Elvira with Anne O'Neal playing harmonica *1938 Hold That Co-ed – in the score at the football game *1943 His Butler's Sister – sung by

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage, film actress and dancer. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who ...

and

Robin Raymond Robin Raymond (born Rayemon Robin, October 4, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American film actress. Early life Raymond graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree and worked as a press agent in Chicago. Personal life Ray ...

*1949

Jolson Sings Again ''Jolson Sings Again'' is a 1949 American musical biographical film directed by Henry Levin, and the sequel to ''The Jolson Story'' (1946), both of which cover the life of singer Al Jolson. It was the highest-grossing film of 1949 and received ...

– performed by

Larry Parks Samuel Lawrence Klausman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been ...

(dubbed by Al Jolson) *1987

Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

*2016

Rules Don't Apply ''Rules Don't Apply'' is a 2016 American romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Warren Beatty. It is loosely based on the life of businessman and film producer Howard Hughes. The ensemble cast features Beatty, in his first sc ...

References

{{authority control 1936 songs Songs with lyrics by Irving Caesar Songs with lyrics by Sammy Lerner Songs with music by Gerald Marks Songs about the American South