"I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" is a song from 1927, which was written by
Mort Dixon with music by
Harry M. Woods. Original recordings were made during 1927 by
Nick Lucas (No. 2),
Ben Bernie
Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...
(No. 3), and
Jean Goldkette (No. 10).
History
Written in 1927 by Mort Dixon (lyrics) and Harry M. Woods (music),
the song became a success that same year with the release of recordings by Nick Lucas, Ben Bernie, and Jean Goldkette.
The song was then
revived during 1948 by several artists, most notably
Art Mooney
Arthur Joseph Mooney (February 11, 1911 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer and bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and "Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955. His ...
, whose recording
topped the charts for three weeks. Other charting 1948 versions were made by
Russ Morgan (No. 6),
Alvino Rey
Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader.
Career
Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...
(No. 6),
The Three Suns (No. 10), The Uptown String Band (No. 11), and
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
(No. 14).
During modern times the song is perhaps most associated with ''
Merrie Melodies
''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...
'' cartoons, as it was used in several of them, and a common tune played by the string bands in Philadelphia's
Mummers Parade. The
Sons of Ben, the official supporters' group of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
's
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...
, have adopted the song as one of their chants, singing at every home match at the 20 minute, ten second mark, symbolic as the founding year of the Union.
Renditions
*The
UCLA Band has played an arrangement of this tune since 1954, and uses the chorus as the second part of
Rover, the Bruin victory song. Similar lyrics have been used for two other songs.
** "My Dead Dog Rover" by Hank Stu Dave and Hank (Hank Landsberg & Dave Whited) from 1977, which is featured in the
Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection - The parody version "I'm Looking Over My Dead Dog Rover" was played on
Dr. Demento's show for a time.
** "I'm Lookin' Over My Dead Dog Rover" by Kevin Gershon from 1973 and played on
KMET FM in Los Angeles.
* In 1948,
Al "Jazzbo" Collins
Albert Richard "Jazzbo" Collins (January 4, 1919 – September 30, 1997) was an American disc jockey and musician who hosted ''The Tonight Show'' in 1957.
Career
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1919, Collins grew up on Long Island, New York. In ...
, a popular Salt Lake City disk jockey, is credited with popularizing Art Mooney's version of the song after he pulled a stunt playing the song repeatedly for hours on end. Some sources state 3 1/2 hours, other say it was 24 hours. For 120 minutes Mooney’s record played on while telephone calls were received from listeners who added insult to Collins’ injury by praising him "for playing something good for a change".
"The music business: career opportunities and self-defense" by Dick Weissman
/ref>
* Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Mer ...
sang this song in two different shorts. In '' Operation: Rabbit'', he sang, "I'm lookin' over a three-leaf clover that I overlooked bethree". In '' Backwoods Bunny'', as part of a running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...
at the end of the short, he sings "I'm lookin' over a four (BANG!) leaf clover that I overlooked before... (BANG!) fore... (BANG!) fore... (BANG!) fore... (BANG!)"
Sources
{{authority control
1927 songs
Songs about plants
Songs with lyrics by Mort Dixon
Songs written by Harry M. Woods
Philadelphia Union
Pop standards