1935 song by Harry Warren and Al Dubin
"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The lyrics salute the nightlife of Broadway and its denizens, who "don't sleep tight until the dawn."
The song was introduced by Wini Shaw in the musical film "Gold Diggers of 1935", and, in an unusual move, it was used as background music in a sequence in the Bette Davis film "Special Agent" that same year. Furthermore, again that year, it was sung by Jeane Cowan in a night club scene in the James Cagney film "G Men". In three Warner Bros. films, it won the 1935 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Lyrics.
Unlike the song "Manhattan" and many others, "Lullaby of Broadway" does not name-check any Broadway locations. The line, "The daffydils who entertain / At Angelo's and Maxie's" references a fictitious place (or places). "Daffydils" — often sung as "daffodils" — was a slang term for chorus girls (or indeed boys, depending on the venue). Since the song was written, several real establishments have opened on or around Broadway, adopting the name from the song, rather than vice versa.
Popular recordings.
Hit versions in 1935 were by:
Other versions have been recorded by:
In popular culture.
It is also featured in an episode of "Taxi" (performed by Marilu Henner) and the Broadway musical "42nd Street", originated by Jerry Orbach playing Julian Marsh in the 1980 original cast.
In 1976, Wini Shaw's original recorded version of the song was released as a 45 rpm single and made no. 42 in the UK charts. Subsequently, the BBC interviewed Wini Shaw O'Malley in New York about her new success with it. She could not believe it.
The song was used in a commercial for the Milford Plaza Hotel, where it was called the "Lullabuy of Broadway".
The song was performed by a group of Muppet eskimos in the Gilda Radner episode of "The Muppet Show".
In Lisa Stansfield's 1990 music video for her cover of Cole Porter's "Down in the Depths (On the Ninetieth Floor)", the beginning and ending are both references to the song. The video begins with her disembodied head zooming in, while singing the opening to the song, and ends with it zooming out, while singing the outro.
Linda Lavin and Martha Raye sang this song in the 1970s TV show "Alice" in the episode "Sharples vs. Sharples".
In 2005, Idina Menzel recorded a pop/hip-hop version of the song for the end credits of "."
The song appears in the dancing video game "Dance on Broadway".
References.
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