"Sam's Song (The Happy Tune)" is an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song written in 1950 with music by Lew Quadling and lyrics by Jack Elliott. It was first released as a Capitol single by Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops in May 1950. By June of that year, Carr's single had made it to all three of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s music popularity charts, and several other artists had released the song, including bandleaders

Freddy Martin Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...

and

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Young was posthumously awarded the ...

. Gary and

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 ...

's release of the song in July 1950 was a hit, ranked as the 4th best selling record of 1950 according to

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

also released a recording of the song which hit the

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), ...

in 1962.

Recording history

The first recording of the song, released in May 1950 by Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops, stayed on the ''Billboard'' charts for 13 weeks, peaking at #7 on the Jukebox chart and #8 on the Best Sellers chart. On June 23, 1950,

's son Gary Crosby recorded the song for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

with his father, along with "

Play a Simple Melody "Play a Simple Melody" is a song from the 1914 musical, '' Watch Your Step'', with words and music by Irving Berlin. Background The show was the first stage musical that Berlin wrote. It ran for 175 performances at the New Amsterdam Theater in N ...

" as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

, making his record debut at the age of 17. After its release in July, the Crosbys' recording stayed on the Billboard Best Sellers chart for 19 weeks, peaking at #3. It was also a hit on the Radio and Jukebox charts, peaking at #3 on both. The recording was also ranked #4 on Billboard's list of the top popular records of 1950 according to retail sales. The next recording to chart was in 1962, when

and

released the song as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of a Reprise single, which peaked at #94 on the

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), o ...

. The A-side was Davis' duet with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, " Me and My Shadow," and both tracks include banter between the singers and comical changes to the lyrics. Their recording of "Sam's Song" stayed on the Hot 100 for three weeks.

References

{{Bing Crosby singles 1950 songs 1950 singles 1962 singles Bing Crosby songs Sammy Davis Jr. songs Dean Martin songs