Louise (Maurice Chevalier song) explained

Louise
Type:	single
Artist:	Maurice Chevalier
B-Side:	"On Top of the World, Alone"^[1]
Released:	1929
Label:	His Master's Voice

"Louise" is a song written by Leo Robin and Richard A. Whiting for the 1929 film Innocents of Paris, where it was performed by Maurice Chevalier.^[2] ^[3] The song was Chevalier's first hit in the United States, and was among the best selling records for 10 weeks in the summer of 1929.^[4] Chevalier recorded the song again in 1946 with Henri René's Orchestra for RCA Victor.^[5]

Other recordings

The same year of Chevalier's recording, Bing Crosby also recorded the song. Crosby's version was recorded on March 15, 1929 with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra^[6] and was a hit in that summer.^[4] Crosby also recorded a comedy version with The Rhythm Boys on April 10, 1929.
Ben Pollack & His Central Park Orchestra, vocal Charles Roberts, (recorded March 1, 1929 for Victor Records – catalog No. 21941A).^[7]
Frankie Trumbauer (recorded April 17, 1929 for Okeh Records, catalog No. 41231).^[8]
Benny Goodman (recorded December 12, 1938 for Victor Records, catalog No. 26125).^[9]
Dean Martin recorded the song and his version was included in his 1953 album Dean Martin Sings.
Pierre Lalonde's cover of "Louise" hit No. 1 on the Québec charts in 1964.

Film and television appearances

1929 Innocents of Paris – sung by Maurice Chevalier
1944 You Can't Ration Love – sung by Betty Rhodes and Johnnie Johnston
1945 The Lost Weekend – played on piano and sung by Harry Barris at Harry and Joe's.^[10]
1951 The Stooge
1953 Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, William Frawley, and Vivian Vance each sang a portion of the song, in a manner imitating Chevalier, on the I Love Lucy episode, "The French Revue".^[11]
1954 The Country Girl
1963 A New Kind of Love
1973 Robert Reed sang a portion of the song on an episode of The Brady Bunch, "A Room at the Top".^[12]
1974 Harry and Tonto – sung by Art Carney.
1975 Demond Wilson and Whitman Mayo sang a portion of the song on an episode of Sanford and Son, "The Older Woman"."^[13]
1988 'Allo 'Allo!- sung by Arthur Bostrom.
1990 The Simpsons - a portion sung by Bart Simpson in The Crepes of Wrath.

External links

Fan Page: "Louise through ages" & forum

Notes and References

"Maurice Chevalier – Louise / On Top Of The World, Alone", Discogs. Accessed August 16, 2015
Don Tyler, "Hit Songs, 1900–1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era", McFarland & Company, (2007) p. 163
David A. Jasen, "Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song", Routledge, (2004)
Jean Pierre Lion, "Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend : Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke (1903–1931)", A&C Black, (2005) pp. 212–213
Web site: Maurice Chevalier With Henri René And His Orchestra – Louise / Just A Bum (Ma Pomme) . Discogs . August 29, 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170830003711/https://www.discogs.com/Maurice-Chevalier-With-Henri-Ren%C3%A9-And-His-Orchestra-Louise-Just-A-Bum-Ma-Pomme/release/3460954 . Aug 30, 2017 .
Web site: A Bing Crosby Discography - part 1a . BING magazine. International Club Crosby. April 29, 2017.
Web site: Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 21500 - 22000 . Steve . Abrams . Tyrone . Settlemier . July 9, 2017 . The Online Discographical Project. August 29, 2017.
Web site: Okeh 78rpm numerical listing discography: 41000 - 41499 . Steve . Abrams . Tyrone . Settlemier . April 3, 2016 . The Online Discographical Project. August 29, 2017.
Web site: Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 26000 - 26500 . Steve . Abrams . Tyrone . Settlemier . June 15, 2014 . The Online Discographical Project. August 29, 2017.
Web site: The Lost Weekend (1945) - Soundtracks . IMDb . August 29, 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801131834/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037884/soundtrack . Aug 1, 2022 .
"The French Revue", Season 3, Episode 7, I Love Lucy, (1953)
"A Room at the Top", Season 4, Episode 23, The Brady Bunch, (1973)
"The Older Woman", Season 4, Episode 22, Sanford and Son, (1975)