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Mitchell Parish
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Key Information
Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993)[1] was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.
Biography
[edit]Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 1900.[2][3] His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 aboard the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old. They settled first in Louisiana where his paternal grandmother had relatives, but later moved to New York City, where he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan[4] and received his education in the public schools.
He attended Columbia University and N.Y.U. and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He eventually abandoned the notion of practicing law to become a songwriter. He served his apprenticeship as a writer of special material for vaudeville acts, and later established himself as a writer of songs for stage, screen and numerous musical revues.[5] By the late 1920s, Parish was a well-regarded Tin Pan Alley lyricist in New York City.[1]
Parish's grandnephew, Steve Parish, was a roadie for the band Grateful Dead. He described Mitchell Parish's meeting with Jerry Garcia in his autobiography, Home Before Day Light.
Career
[edit]His first steady employer was the music publisher Jack Mills, brother of Irving Mills, who signed him for $12 a week to write comedy lyrics for vaudeville acts and to be a song-plugger. His first hit, "Carolina Rolling Stone", was recorded by the musical comedy team Van and Schenck for Columbia Records in 1922.[4] Parish tended to write his lyrics to completed melodies, hits that originated in other languages, or adaptations of classical music.[4]
Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Peter De Rose, Leroy Anderson, Glenn Miller, Sammy Fain, and Benny Goodman were among the composers. As one of the first inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the romantic quality of many of his lyrics such as "Stardust", "Stairway to the Stars", "Deep Purple", and "Moonlight Serenade" contributed to his being called by other songwriters "the poet laureate of the profession".[5] In an interview in 1987, Parish claimed to have written the lyrics to the Duke Ellington standard "Mood Indigo", though they were credited to Irving Mills. He remained "somewhat rueful, though no longer bitter" about it.[6]
His best-known works include the lyrics to songs such as "Stardust", "Sweet Lorraine", "Deep Purple", "Stars Fell on Alabama", "Sophisticated Lady", the translation to English lyrics of "Volare" and "Blue Skirt Waltz", "Moonlight Serenade", "Mr. Ghost Goes to Town", "Sleigh Ride", "One Morning in May", and "Louisiana Fairy Tale",[1] which was the first theme song used in the PBS Production of This Old House.
Besides providing the lyrics to Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust", the two collaborated on standards such as "Riverboat Shuffle" and "One Morning in May".[7]
In 1949, Parish added lyrics to bandleader Al Goodman's tune "The Allen Stroll", which was played as radio comedian Fred Allen took a stroll down "Allen's Alley", a featured segment of Allen's weekly show. The new song, "Carousel of Love", premiered on The Fred Allen Show on April 4, 1949. It was sung by the DeMarco Sisters and played by Al Goodman and his Orchestra.
In 1950, he wrote lyrics to Leroy Anderson's "The Syncopated Clock".[8] In 1951, he wrote the English lyrics of the French song "Maître Pierre" which was written in 1948 by Henri Betti (music) and Jacques Plante (lyrics). The title song became "The Windmill Song" and the song was recorded by The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra.
He participated in the episode of To Tell the Truth aired on December 25, 1956, as a challenger.
In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of their Johnny Mercer Award.[5]
Song Lyrics (selected)
[edit]| Song title | Composer | Year | Notable recording | Label |
| All I Need is You (English lyrics, translated from French, written by Henri Contet) | ||||
| All My Love (subtitle: "Bolero"). (English lyrics, translated from French, original lyrics by Henri Contet) | Paul Durand | 1950 | Patti Page (1950) | Mercury Records (catalog number #5455) |
| Blue Tango (instrumental composition, for orchestra)) | Leroy Anderson | 1951 (written), 1952 (published) | Instrumental version recorded by Leroy Andersen (c. 1951/1952) | Decca Records (catalogue number; 27875) |
| Blue Skirt Waltz | ||||
| Carolina Rolling Stone | ||||
| Carousel of Love | ||||
| Deep Purple (composition for piano, Parish wrote lyrics in 1938) | Peter Derose | 1933 | Larry Clinton and His Orchestr, featuring Bea Wain (23 December 1938) | Victor Records |
| Is That Religion? | Maceo Pinkard | 1930 | ||
| The Lamp Is Low | Peter Derose, Bert Shefter | 1930s | (1) Mildred Bailey (April 24, 1939) (2) Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocal by Jack Leonard (May 1, 1939) | Vocation Records (catalogue number #4845) (2) Victor Records (catalogue number. 26259) |
| Louisiana Fairy Tale (written with J. Fred Coots) | Haven Gillespie | 1935 | Fats Waller | |
| Moonlight Serenade | Glenn Miller | 1939 | Glenn Miller (1939) | |
| Mr. Ghost Goes to Town | ||||
| One Morning in May | Hoagy Carmichael | 1933 | Hoagy Carmichael, recorded October 10, 1933 | Victor Records |
| Organ Grinder's Swing (written with Irving Mills | Will Hudson | 1936 | Jimmy Lunceford and Orchestra | |
| Riverboat Shuffle | Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Mills and Dick Voynow | 1924 | Bix Beiderbecke and The Wolverines | |
| Ruby (theme song from film Ruby Gentry | Heinz Roemheld | 1952 | Les Baxter and His Orchestra (featuring Harmonica solo by Danny Welton) (1953) | |
| Sleigh Ride | Leroy Anderson | 1948 | Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra (1949) | RCA Red Seal Records |
| Sometime | Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, Mitchell Parish | 1939 | Glenn Miller | RCA Victor |
| Sophisticated Lady | Duke Ellington | |||
| Stairway to the Stars | Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra featuring, Ray Eberle, recorded May 9, 1939) | ||
| Stardust | Hoagy Carmichael | 1927 | Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals | |
| Stars Fell on Alabama | Frank Perkins | 1934 | Guy Lombardo Orchestra, featuring Carmen Lombardo performing Vocals | Decca Records (cataloguee number #104) |
| Sweet Lorraine | Cliff Burwell | 1928 | Nat King Cole | Capitol Records |
| The Syncopated Clock | Leroy Anderson | 1945 | Leroy Anderson recorded in 1950 | Decca Records |
| Volare (Nei blu di Pinto di blu | Domenico Modugno | 1 February 1958 | ||
| The Windmill Song (original French lyrics by Jacques Plante) | Henri Betti | 1948 | The Andrews Sisters, featuring Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra |
Work on Broadway
[edit]- Continental Varieties (1935) - revue - featured lyricist
- Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939 (1939) - revue - performer
- Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1940 (1940) - revue - featured lyricist
- Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976) - revue - featured lyricist
- Sophisticated Ladies (1981) - featured lyricist for "Sophisticated Lady"
- Stardust (1987) - revue - lyricist
Death
[edit]Parish died in 1993 in Manhattan, New York at the age of 92. He was buried in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.[4]
References
[edit]- Hill, Tony L. "Mitchell Parish, 1900-1993," in Dictionary of Literary Biography 265. Detroit: Gale Research, 2002.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1903/4. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (2006-12-19). "The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs". InterfaithFamily. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (December 22, 2014). "All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!". Jewish World Review.
- ^ a b c d Holden, Stephen (April 2, 1993). "Mitchell Parish, 92, the Lyricist Of 'Star Dust' and 'Volare,' Dies". New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Songwriters Hall of Fame". Songwritershalloffame.org. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (1987-02-01). "Theater; Mitchell Parish: A Way With Words". New York Times.
- ^ He wrote the lyrics to the Glenn Miller ballad "Sometime" from 1939, co-written with Glenn Miller and John Chummy MacGregor.Holden, Stephen (1987-02-01). "Theater; Mitchell Parish: A Way With Words". New York Times.
- ^ "Leroy Anderson—-American composer and conductor of light concert music: Lyrics". Leroyanderson.com.
External links
[edit]- Entry at Internet Broadway Database
- Mitchell Parish recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
- Mitchell Parish discography at Discogs
- Mitchell Parish at IMDb
- To tell the Truth's episode with Parish as challenger
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Mitchell Parish
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Early Life and Education
Birth and Family Background
Mitchell Parish was born on July 10, 1900, in Lithuania, which was then part of the Russian Empire, to a Jewish family. His birth name was Michael Hyman Pashelinsky, though some sources list it as Michael Hyman Peretz.[4][5][6] Parish's parents were Meyer Pashelinsky and Rose Rosenstock, both of whom were part of the Jewish community in Lithuania.[7][4] The family background was rooted in Eastern European Jewish traditions, including Yiddish language and religious observance, which shaped the early environment of Parish's infancy.[8][2] He had at least one sibling, a brother named Harry Parish.[7] This close-knit Jewish family emigrated to the United States when Parish was just seven months old.[5]Immigration and Childhood
Mitchell Parish, born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania on July 10, 1900, emigrated with his family to the United States in 1901, arriving in New York on February 3 aboard the SS Dresden when he was just seven months old.[5][2] The family initially settled in Shreveport, Louisiana, where they lived until Parish was about four years old, around 1904.[5] This early period in the South exposed him to a blend of regional cultural elements, including the sounds of local music and the rhythms of everyday life in a growing American port city, which subtly influenced his developing sense of storytelling through words.[2] In 1904, the family relocated to New York City's Lower East Side, a densely packed immigrant enclave teeming with Eastern European Jewish newcomers facing economic hardship and the pressures of rapid assimilation into American society.[5] Life there was marked by poverty, with tenement housing, street vendors, and communal Yiddish theaters shaping daily existence amid the challenges of learning English and navigating urban labor markets.[2] Parish's family, like many others, grappled with cultural dislocation while embracing opportunities in the bustling metropolis. During this formative time, he began early exposure to American music through penny arcades featuring Edison cylinders and to literature via books that sparked his love for poetry and verse-writing by age 11.[2] The family's surname was eventually Americanized from Pashelinsky to Parish, and Parish's first name was later changed from Michael to Mitchell by a music publisher, reflecting broader patterns of immigrant adaptation to forge a distinctly American identity.[5][9]Academic Achievements
Mitchell Parish received his early education in the public schools of New York City, where he developed a strong foundation in literature and languages following his family's relocation from Shreveport, Louisiana, to the Lower East Side.[3] His scholarly aptitude became evident during this period, setting the stage for higher education pursuits.[5] In the early 1920s, Parish enrolled at Columbia University, initially focusing on law as a potential career path, though he ultimately dropped out without completing his degree.[4] During his time there, he began writing poetry, a pursuit that highlighted his emerging talent in verse and foreshadowed his later creative endeavors in lyrics.[5] This phase underscored his intellectual interests in literature and poetry, though professional ambitions shifted away from legal studies.[1] Later in life, Parish returned to academia and completed his studies at New York University (NYU), earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950.[4] His exceptional academic performance culminated in election to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society in 1949, recognizing his outstanding scholarly achievements in the liberal arts, particularly in literature and poetry.[3] This honor affirmed his intellectual prowess and marked a significant pivot from formal legal training to a lifelong commitment to creative writing.[6]Professional Career
Vaudeville Beginnings
Mitchell Parish began his songwriting career around the age of 17 in 1917, crafting what were known as "special material" lyrics—custom songs and additional verses tailored for vaudeville performers to enhance their acts.[10] This early work immersed him in the fast-paced world of vaudeville, where he honed his skills by writing humorous and topical content that could be quickly adapted for live stage performances. His background in literature, developed through studies at Columbia University, provided a strong foundation for crafting evocative and poetic lyrics.[5] In 1922, Parish secured his first steady employment as a lyricist with music publisher Jack Mills, earning $12 per week to produce comedy lyrics specifically for vaudeville acts. He also took on the role of a song-plugger, actively promoting new compositions to performers and bandleaders in the bustling Tin Pan Alley scene, which helped him network and refine his understanding of what resonated with audiences. This hands-on involvement in revues and stage productions allowed Parish to learn the nuances of timing, rhythm, and audience engagement essential to popular songwriting.[10] Parish's professional debut came with his first published song, "Carolina Rolling Stone," released in 1921 with music by Eleanor Young and Harry D. Squires.[11] The track was recorded by the vaudeville duo Van and Schenck for Columbia Records in 1922, marking an early success that validated his emerging talent in the competitive entertainment industry.[1] Through these initial efforts in vaudeville, Parish built the practical experience that would shape his lifelong contributions to American song lyrics.[12]Breakthrough Hits and Collaborations
Mitchell Parish achieved his first major success in 1928 with the lyrics he wrote for "Sweet Lorraine," an instrumental composition by pianist Cliff Burwell that had been published the previous year.[9] The song, popularized by singer Rudy Vallee, became a hit and marked Parish's entry into the upper echelons of Tin Pan Alley songwriting.[13] Parish's collaboration with Hoagy Carmichael on "Stardust" solidified his reputation as a premier lyricist. Originally composed by Carmichael as an instrumental in 1927 and recorded that year with his college band, the piece gained new life in 1929 when Parish added romantic, nostalgic lyrics at the urging of publisher Irving Mills.[14] The vocal version transformed the upbeat jazz tune into a dreamy ballad, achieving widespread popularity through recordings by artists like Irving Mills' Hotsy Totsy Gang and later Bing Crosby, and it has since become one of the most recorded songs in history, with over 1,500 versions and frequent chart appearances across decades.[15] In the early 1930s, Parish contributed lyrics to several Duke Ellington compositions, including uncredited work where Irving Mills took official credit, such as "Sophisticated Lady" (1933).[16] These additions helped elevate the instrumentals into enduring vocal standards, blending Ellington's sophisticated jazz harmonies with Parish's poetic phrasing, though his involvement remained largely unrecognized at the time.[17] Parish continued his ascent with lyrics for "Deep Purple" in 1938, originally a 1933 piano piece by Peter De Rose that had sold well in sheet music form.[18] The song topped the charts in 1939 via recordings by Larry Clinton and Bea Wain, reaching number one on Billboard's predecessor lists and becoming a million-seller. That same year, he penned words for Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade," an instrumental theme that Miller had developed for his orchestra; Parish's lyrics turned it into a romantic hit, peaking at number three on the charts and serving as Miller's signature tune.[19] In 1933, Parish collaborated with Carmichael on "One Morning in May," a gentle ballad, which gained traction through vocal renditions by artists like Dick Todd.[20] Throughout this period, Parish's signature approach involved crafting evocative, romantic lyrics for established instrumentals, often years after their creation, infusing them with emotional depth that broadened their appeal from jazz circles to mainstream audiences.[21] This method, honed from his vaudeville roots, allowed him to partner with leading composers like Carmichael, Ellington, and Miller, producing timeless hits that defined the swing era.[22]Broadway and Revue Contributions
Mitchell Parish contributed additional lyrics to the 1935 revue Continental Varieties, a short-lived production that ran for just six performances at the 44th Street Theatre in New York City.[23] His work in this show highlighted his emerging role as a featured lyricist in early Broadway revues, blending sophisticated wordplay with the era's lighthearted theatrical style.[24] In 1939, Parish provided lyrics for several songs in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, an all-Black revue that opened at the Hudson Theatre and featured performers including Lena Horne, who sang "You're So Indifferent," a number co-written by Parish and composer Sammy Fain.[25] The production, which lasted only nine performances, showcased Parish's ability to craft material that supported dynamic live performances by emerging talents like Horne, integrating his lyrics into the revue's vibrant musical sequences.[26] Parish's contributions extended to Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1940, where he served as an additional lyricist for the revue's score, which ran for 25 performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre.[27] His lyrics enhanced the show's glamorous, spectacle-driven format, often tailored to highlight the performers' talents in a manner similar to his work aiding artists like Horne in earlier productions. While not directly credited to Cotton Club revues, Parish's songwriting style influenced the era's nightclub-to-stage transitions, with his pieces frequently adapted for live revue settings that blurred the lines between Harlem's cabaret scene and Broadway.[28] Later in his career, Parish provided English lyrics for Domenico Modugno's "Volare" in 1958, which found application in various theatrical and revue contexts, including international stage adaptations and musical performances that incorporated the song's dreamy narrative.[29] His involvement culminated in the 1987 revue Stardust, a Broadway production at the Biltmore Theatre that centered on 35 of his lyrics set to music by composers like Hoagy Carmichael and Duke Ellington, running for 101 performances and celebrating his legacy through a blend of songwriting and live theatrical elements.[30] This show exemplified Parish's enduring role in musical revues, where his words animated screen-to-stage transitions and performer-driven narratives.[31]Notable Works
Iconic Songs and Lyrics
Mitchell Parish's lyrics for "Stardust," added in 1929 to Hoagy Carmichael's 1927 instrumental melody, exemplify romantic nostalgia through vivid poetic imagery of lost love and lingering memories. The song evokes a dreamlike reverie where the melody itself becomes a haunting reminder of past intimacy, transforming an abstract tune into an emotional narrative of longing. Key verses include:Sometimes I wonder why I spendThis lyrical enhancement elevated the original instrumental, infusing it with universal themes of bittersweet romance that resonated across jazz and pop interpretations.[34] In 1950, Parish provided lyrics for Leroy Anderson's 1948 orchestral piece "Sleigh Ride," adapting the festive instrumental into a holiday classic that captures joyful winter escapism and communal warmth. The words emphasize playful imagery of snow-covered landscapes and shared merriment, making it ideal for choral arrangements and family sing-alongs, as seen in versions by the Andrews Sisters and later ensembles. Excerpted lyrics highlight this spirited adaptation:
The lonely nights dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
Now my consolation
Is in the stardust of a song
Beside the garden wall
When stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
A paradise where roses grew
Tho' you wander far away
While we are apart
In my heart's garden
There's a pathway to the stars above
That leads to your arms of love[32][33]
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling tooThe addition of Parish's text broadened the piece's appeal, turning it into a perennial Yuletide staple performed in choral settings worldwide.[37] Parish's 1939 lyrics for "Stairway to the Stars," composed by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli, employ celestial metaphors to convey aspirational romance and transcendent emotion, inviting listeners to envision love as a journey to ethereal heights. The words build on the instrumental's dreamy quality, using starry imagery to symbolize idealized union and escape from earthly bounds. Representative verses include:
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling "yoo hoo"
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, let's go
Look at the snow
Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, let's go
Look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, it's grand
Just holding your hand
We're gliding along with a song of a wintry fairyland
Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy cozy are we
We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you[35][36]
There's a lane of misty moonlight leading upward to the skyThis collaboration enriched the original melody, amplifying its evocative potential through Parish's poetic elevation of romantic yearning.[40] Another landmark contribution was Parish's 1938 lyrics for "Deep Purple," originally a 1933 piano instrumental by Peter De Rose. The song's lyrics evoke a passionate, enveloping romance likened to the flower's deep hue, blending sensuality and tenderness in a jazz standard that gained popularity through recordings by Artie Shaw and others. Key verses include:
And the night is like a velvet lullaby
Over the rim of the hill
Can't we sail away on a little dream
And settle high on the crest of a thrill Let's build a stairway to the stars
The lovely stairway to the stars
It would be heaven to climb to Heaven with you
And if we build a stairway to the stars
The lovely stairway to the stars
We could linger long in the rapture above
And touch the stars that shine
And kiss the night that is divine
For that is where love is
Where love is, where love is[38][39]
When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden wallsThis adaptation transformed the instrumental into a romantic ballad, cementing its place in popular music. Parish also penned the 1933 lyrics for Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," adding witty yet poignant words to the composer's melody (with Irving Mills credited). The song portrays a worldly woman with a mix of admiration and melancholy, becoming a cornerstone of the jazz repertoire. Excerpted lyrics:
Someone's sighin' someone's sighin' a lover's lullaby
When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
Someone's sighin' someone's sighin' a lover's lullaby When the twilight brings the sunset's afterglow
Deep purple falling, lovers calling, sweethearts calling
I dream of you, deep purple, deep purple, dream of you[41][18]
They say into your early life romance cameThe lyrics enhanced the tune's elegance, making it an enduring Ellington classic. Across Parish's oeuvre, recurring themes of romance, nature, and raw emotion unify his contributions, often transforming instrumental works by composers like Carmichael, Anderson, De Rose, or Ellington into deeply personal expressions. His lyrics frequently draw on natural elements—stars, gardens, snow, purple—to mirror human feelings of nostalgia, joy, and intimacy, enhancing the originals' emotional depth without overpowering their musical essence. Other notable works include "Sweet Lorraine," "Stars Fell on Alabama," and "Moonlight Serenade" with Glenn Miller.[34][44] In 1965, Parish compiled a collection of his lyrics as poems in the book For Those in Love, published by The Richmond Organization in New York, offering readers intimate access to his romantic verse beyond musical contexts.[45]
And in this heart of yours burned a flame
A flame that flickered one day and died away
Then with a reverie you'd sit and sigh
And watch the clouds that drift on by
And wish that you could be a free bird in the sky But you're a sophisticated lady
A beautiful rose of the garden of love
You're a sophisticated lady
But you're nobody's fool, oh no[42][43]