Carolina In The Morning - W. Donaldson

"Carolina in the Morning" is song with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was introduced by William Frawley (see below) in "The Passing Show of 1922" and subsequently became a standard. It has an unusual AAB structure (not indicated by the section marks in the chord chart), and has very interesting and well-constructed lyrics (eg: Nothing could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her; Strollin' with my girlie when the dew is pearly early in the morning).

There are many performances on Youtube including: a vocal duet by Van and Schenck, which was #1 on the charts in February, 1923 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVsW6WdhdjE); a 1953 1920s-style performance by William Frawley and Vivian Vance (as Fred and Ethel Mertz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MAtltZAlN4), a 1955 version by Judy Garland (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35jBsg8oa8g) and a virtuoso 1955 performance by Debbie Reynolds, with a double-time second chorus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6XvXaX_zm0). Finally, there is the abysmal 1947 version by Al Jolson.

For some additional background, listen to an interview with Sean Cole who is Gus Kahn's grandson (http://www.thestory.org/stories/2013...er-be-carolina). On the same page is a video of a hilarious performance by Daffy Duck!

I wrote this chart for a gig I played a couple of days ago, and was pleased when the audience sang along with my playing. It features a tag ending based on the "Shave and a haircut--two bits" motif. The notes (by beat are): |C |G F# G|Ab |G |rest |B |C |. I play the chart with the Swing Two/Four style at 120 bpm which is very effective in creating two different rhythmic styles when playing the head.

I hope you enjoy this chart for a fun tune written almost 100 years ago.

Carolina In The Morning - W Donaldson

Thanks for the chart, and the background info. I play a lot of retirement homes and this little ditty is always a crowd pleaser! Here's the file I've been using - with a more old-fashion feel (Trad Jazz at 120) and an outro that quotes: "Way down upon the Swanee River in the mo-o-o-orning." If I want a short intro, I start playing from the 2nd line of the [D] Section. Enjoy.

Carolina In The Morning (C) - Walter Donaldson-Gus Kahn

It turns out that my New Year's Eve gig was at a retirement home, and the folks really liked this tune. Interestingly, I've avoided playing very old tunes at gigs like this; I usually select tunes from the '40s, '50, and '60s, when my listeners were young adults. Perhaps I should include more tunes from the nineteen-teens and -twenties in the future that they might enjoy.

I also try to play what was popular when they were in high school & college. (Sadly, as time progresses, that list is starting to include pop music I don't really care for. With any luck I'll be dead by the time they want disco and rap.) But fun "specialty" tunes like Carolina usually go over pretty well, really anything that's peppy and happy.
Sometimes I'll announce "This is the music your mom and dad loved... and they were RIGHT!" :D

"It's not your grandparents rock and roll. Wait! Actually it was.”
:))BOB