| Louisiana Fairy Tale | |
| Artist: | Fats Waller |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Composer: | Haven Gillespie |
| Lyricist: | Mitchell Parish, J. Fred Coots |
"Louisiana Fairy Tale" (or "Louisiana Fairytale") is a song written in 1935 by Haven Gillespie, with lyrics by Mitchell Parish and J. Fred Coots, and was originally popularized by Fats Waller.[1] [2]
Waller's version opens with him playing a four-bar solo piano lead-in to a clarinet melody backed by drums, guitar, clarinet, trumpet and piano. A muted trumpet bridge precedes Waller's vocal verses, and a Dixieland-style improvisational instrumental jam closes the recording.[3]
The instrumental introduction (32 bars featuring clarinet and the trumpet bridge) was used as the theme for the PBS television series This Old House from 1979 to 2002.[4] [5]
In 1990, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington presented Louisiana congresswoman Lindy Boggs with "three gifts" from the collection of the Library of Congress, including "a facsimile of sheet music for a 1935 piece, 'Louisiana Fairy Tale,' accompanied by a cassette of the music with Fats Waller on piano and vocal".[6]
In 2010, the song was part of a mid-week New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival event with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and My Morning Jacket,[7] where the entire piece was performed acoustically and without the use of electricity.[8]
The song has been performed by many artists, including Tom Sancton.[9]