"Hello, Dolly!" is the title song of the popular musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. A recording by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

released in 1964 was a widely popular success, winning the Song of the Year and Male Vocal Performance awards at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards. Armstrong's rendition was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2001.

History

At the behest of his manager,

made a demonstration recording of "Hello, Dolly!" in December 1963, for the song's publisher to use to promote the Broadway show. In January 1964, the same month ''Hello, Dolly!'' opened in New York City,

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

released Armstrong's publishing demo as a commercial single. His version reached 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ending

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' streak of 3 chart-topping hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks. "Hello Dolly!" became the most successful single of Armstrong's career, followed by a Gold-selling album of the same name. The song also spent nine weeks atop the adult contemporary chart shortly after the opening of the musical. The song also made Armstrong the oldest artist ever to reach 1 on the Hot 100 since its introduction in 1958. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the 3 song of 1964, behind the Beatles' "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

" and "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom c ...

". "Hello, Dolly!" won the

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...

in 1965, and Armstrong received a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Louis Armstrong also performed the song alongside

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

for the musical's 1969 screen adaptation. In 2018, the song was listed at number 178 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 60th Anniversary chart. There were other charting versions of the song also in 1964 by Kenny Ball, Frankie Vaughan, The Batchelors and Frank Sinatra. Liberace also recorded a vocal version of the song.

"Hello, Lyndon!"

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, often referred to by the moniker "LBJ", used the tune, rechristened "Hello, Lyndon!", as a campaign song for his run in the 1964 U.S. presidential election. This version of the song was performed by Carol Channing at that year's

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

, and a recording was made by

Ed Ames Edmund Dantes Urick (July 9, 1927 – May 21, 2023), known professionally as Ed Ames or Eddie Ames, was an American pop singer and actor. He was known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone (1964 TV series), Daniel Boone'', and ...

for distribution at the convention.

The "Sunflower" controversy

"Hello, Dolly!" became caught up in a lawsuit which could have endangered plans for filming the musical.

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

, a composer, sued for infringement of copyright, because the first four bars of "Hello, Dolly!" were the same as those in the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

of David's song "Sunflower" from 1948. As he recounts in his memoirs, Herman had never heard "Sunflower" before the lawsuit, and wanted a chance to defend himself in court, but, for the sake of those involved in the show and the potential film, he reluctantly agreed to pay a settlement before the case would have gone to trial.

In popular culture

*In 1984, Carol Channing sang a parody of the song on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' called "Hello, Sammy!", a love song to a character known as Sammy the Snake (as voiced by its creator,

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

). Carol tells Sammy just how much she loves and adores him while Sammy coils himself around Carol's arms. They are soon joined by four giant, swaying letter S's wearing top hats. Carol ends the song by telling Sammy how much she'd miss his hisses if they ever parted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hello Dolly 1964 singles 1964 songs 1964 controversies Songs written by Jerry Herman Louis Armstrong songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Songs about New York City Songs from musicals Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Presidential campaign songs