"Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" is a 1935
popular song
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
with words and music by
James F. Hanley. It was introduced by
Hal Le Roy
Hal Le Roy (born John LeRoy Schotte, December 10, 1913 – May 2, 1985) was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer appearing on stage, in film, and on television.
Life and career
Hal Le Roy was born John LeRoy Schotte in Cincinnati, Ohio, o ...
and Eunice Healey in the Broadway revue ''
Thumbs Up!.''
Notable recordings
*The most notable recordings were made by
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
, who recorded it numerous times, including in the 1938 film ''
Listen, Darling
''Listen, Darling'' is a 1938 American musical film, musical comedy film starring Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, and Walter Pidgeon. It is best known as being the film in which Judy Garland sings "Zing! Went the Strings of My Hear ...
'' and for
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 ...
in 1939. It later became a standard number in her
concerts
A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
and
TV shows
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...
when she performed it as an up-tempo arrangement by
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...
from her 1958
Capitol album.
* In 1941 a
Soundie short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
was made of
Eleanor French singing "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart".
*
The Kirby Stone Four - ''Baubles, Bangles, And Beads'' (1958)
*
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...
released a rock & roll version in April 1958 as the flip side of their #1 hit "
Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States), the R&B chart ...
". This version would inspire the British band
The Move
The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...
to record the song in the late '60s.
*In 1962, the song was recorded by
The Furys.
*In December 1960, after
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 ...
founded his own music label
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
, he recorded his rendition of the song.
*In 1972, a recording by
the Trammps reached No. 17 on the ''
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 ...
'',
Best Selling Soul Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
and No. 64 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 ...
. It reached No. 29 in the UK in 1974.
References
1934 songs
Songs written by James F. Hanley
Judy Garland songs
The Trammps songs
1930s jazz standards
Buddah Records singles
{{1930s-song-stub