"Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me", alternatively sung as "Ma, She's Making Eyes at Me", is a song published in 1921. The lyric is by the American composer and comedian

Sidney Clare Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include " On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and " P ...

, and the music by the American songwriter and producer

Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober; June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...

Notable recordings

Some of the earliest recordings were by The Benson Orchestra of Chicago and Ted Lewis & His Orchestra, both in 1921. It was also released by Isham Jones Orchestra in November 1921 as the A-side of " Wabash Blues". Later recordings include Dick Robertson & His Orchestra released in December 1939 on

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 ...

with the B-side "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor". Soon after, the Merry Macs made a recording released in February 1940, again on Decca Records, with the B-side as "Breezin' Along with the Breeze", followed by

Riley Puckett George Riley Puckett (May 7, 1894 – July 13, 1946) was an American country music artist, best known as a member of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers. His dynamic single-string guitar playing, featuring dramatic bass runs, earned for him an ...

in October 1940 on

Bluebird Records Bluebird Records is an American record label best known for its low-cost releases, primarily of children's music, blues, jazz and swing in the 1930s and 1940s. Bluebird was founded in 1932 as a lower-priced subsidiary label of RCA Victor. Bluebi ...

with "Walking My Baby Back Home" as the B-side. The Greek-American singer and band leader

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...

had a hit with it, after including it in his album ''The Greatest Johnny Otis Show'' featuring Marie Adams on the tune "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me". The single credited to "Johnny Otis & His Orchestra with Marie Adams & The Three Tons of Joy" was released on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, and charted in the UK Singles Chart peaking at number 2 in November and December 1957. The song became the title track of a similarly titled debut album by child singer Lena Zavaroni, '' Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)''. Zavaroni's version was also released as a single in the United Kingdom on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1974. Zavaroni, just turning ten, also sang it live on American network television on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' hosted by

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

. The song also reached number 91 on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. The song has been interpreted by many artists, including Billy Eckstine on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', January 10, 1965, and with Quincy Jones Orchestra, 1961;

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16- to 18-piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 19 ...

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 ...

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

, The Ray Conniff Singers,

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

, Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards,

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene Ammo ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. She began her professional career at age 12, becoming one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original ''The Mickey Mouse Club, Mickey Mouse Cl ...

, and

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

recorded it on her album '' Tiny Tina and Little John'',

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...

on his album '' Beauty and the Beard'', and

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...

on his album '' The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef''.

In other languages

The song has been translated into a number of languages. It was sung in Finnish as by

Brita Koivunen Brita Koivunen (married name: Brita Koivunen-Einiö; 31 August 1931 – 12 April 2014) was a Finnish schlager singer. Some of her most famous songs include "Suklaasydän", "Sävel rakkauden" and "Mamma, tuo mies minua tuijottaa", a Finnish versi ...

. In 1957, it was released in Swedish as by

Lill-Babs Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers ...

, Simon Brehms orkester and in 1962 also in Swedish as by Inger Berggren, Hans Wahlgrens orkester. In French, René Simard had a hit with in 1974. The song was also sung in Czech by Jana Robbová with lyrics by Josef Fousek (, 1975).

Film adaptations

Within four years of its publication in 1921, it was used in a 1925 film short, considered an early sound film, titled '' Theodore Case Sound Test: Gus Visser and His Singing Duck'' directed by

Theodore Case Theodore Willard Case (December 12, 1888 – May 13, 1944) was an American chemist who invented the Movietone sound system, Movietone sound-on-film, sound-on-sound film, film system. Early life and education Case was born on December 12, 1 ...

. The film depicts Visser singing the song "Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me" while holding a duck. The duck quacks each time the word "Ma" is said, sounding as if she is saying "Ma". The film was shot on May 12, 1925 in Case's sound studio at his home in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

. The film was shown in June 1925 at the Exposition of Progress in Auburn. The title was also adopted for the 1940 film '' Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me'' directed by Harold D. Schuster and screenplay by Charles Grayson and Edmund L. Hartmann based on "Fashions for Sale", a story by Ed Sullivan, and starring Tom Brown in the role of main character Tommy Shaw.

References

{{authority control 1921 songs 1974 singles Songs with lyrics by Sidney Clare Songs with music by Con Conrad Bluebird Records singles Eddie Cantor songs