"Charley, My Boy" is a song with music by

Ted Fio Rito Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...

and lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

. The Russo-FioRito Oriole Orchestra introduced the song in 1924. The most popular recording was released by

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

. The sheet music was published for voice and piano by Irving Berlin Inc., and in Australia by J. Albert & Son. The refrain is four lines, of which the first two are: :''Charley, my boy; oh, Charley, my boy '' :''You thrill me, you chill me, with shivers of joy'' It is sung from the viewpoint of a woman enamored of a man whom she finds to be an exceptional lover, even better than

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

: :''And when we dance, I read in your glance'' :''Whole pages and ages of love and romance'' :''They tell me Romeo was some lover, too'' :''But boy, he should have taken lessons from you'' On July 18, 1923, singing comedian

recorded the song, which he released as a single on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1924. It was recorded by several of his contemporaries, including Billy Murray. Murray's version is wrapped inside a lively instrumental that is clearly intended for dancing the Charleston or other popular

Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...

dances. Murray's version featured a short instrumental interlude between the two sets of verses, which included a bar from an earlier Murray recording with a similar theme, also introduced by Eddie Cantor: :''He's not so good in a crowd,'' :''But when you get him alone,'' :''

You'd Be Surprised "You'd Be Surprised" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which Eddie Cantor interpolated it into Ziegfeld's ''Follies of 1919''. Cantor soon recorded it and it became a major hit. Other popular versions in 1920 were by the All-Star Trio ...

'' In 1949, "Charley" was recorded on the

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

label by the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezz ...

as the A-side of a single which had "

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. It is the second film in Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", along with '' Fort Apache'' (1948) and ''Rio Grande'' (1950). With a budge ...

" (from the popular 1949

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

movie of the same name) as the B-side. It was also one of two theme songs used by the popular radio program ''

The Spike Jones Show ''The Spike Jones Show'' was the name of several separate American comedy and variety series that aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was presented by actor and musician Spike Jones, his wife, musician Helen Grayco and their ...

''. It is now most easily found as a

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dan ...

tune, with at least three different publications, two by MacGregor and one by Hi Hat Records, the latter using the alternate spelling and punctuation "Charlie, My Boy.""Charley My Boy"
, Cedar.net square dance calls Several of the old versions, including the performance by Billy Murray, are available on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

External links

Charley My Boy
lyrics

References

{{1920s-song-stub 1924 songs Billy Murray (singer) songs Eddie Cantor songs Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn