Tommy Dorsey's On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Do you have a few minutes to relax and listen to one of the greatest big band recordings?

Here is Sy Oliver's swinging arrangement for Tommy Dorsey of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." (Please read the question of authorship at the bottom of this article)

The lyrics: (multiple versions!)

Grab your coat, don't forget your hat
But, leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet, just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street

Can’t you hear the pitter-pat
You know that happy tune is my step
Life can be complete
On the sunny side of the street
Used to walk in the shade with my blues on parade
But what a drag old man, gettin' stuck in the shade, Get hip, don't be afraid...move it on over, get yourself in the clover
If I never had a cent
I’d be rich as Rockefeller, can't be beat
Gold dust round my feet
On the sunny side of the street

Who wrote this classic tune? Jimmy McHugh is the published composer of “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” but there are  rumors that “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and “If I Had You” were originally Fats Waller compositions that he sold the rights to for quick cash.  This is believed to be a not uncommon situation. For example, many question whether Irving Berlin actually composed all of the 1500 songs published in his name. Note: the Rutgers Jazz library has sheet music written in Waller's hand that seems to support the claim that Waller composed the music.

Here is the recording...vocals by the Clark Sisters. Enjoy.

Also read more about Sy Oliver: http://www.examiner.com/swing-and-big-band-in-national/frank-sinatra-fights-racial-discrimination

To buy this recording or more big band greats CLICK HERE

Frank Sinatra fights ’Jim Crow’ - National Frank Sinatra | Examiner.com

Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra fights ’Jim Crow’ - National Frank Sinatra | Examiner.com

Sinatra fights discrimination on the road (On The Sunny Side of the Street)

Life on the road for the big bands was difficult at the best of times, but for the integrated bands travel, particularly in the South with the "Jim Crow" laws, could be overwhelmingly cruel. Black members were rarely  permitted to stay in the same hotels or eat in the same restaurants as the white members.

One story concerns Frank Sinatra during his Dorsey years in the early 40's, and the band's arranger Sy Oliver, who was black. While the band was checking into a hotel, the clerk dispensed room keys to Sinatra and the other white members, but froze when he spotted the black arranger in the group. He refused to give him a key and indicated that he was not welcome in the hotel. Francis Albert Sinatra, no stranger to ethnic discrimination from his days in Hoboken, New Jersey, reportedly reached across the counter, grabbed the clerk by the tie, pulled him across the counter and simply said, "He stays". Sy Oliver stayed.

 Second only to Frank's monumental  contribution to popular music, he should  be remembered (and honored) for his lifelong fight against racial, ethnic and religious discrimination.

 Listening suggestion: Oliver's's arrangement of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" was his biggest hit for Tommy Dorsey.