Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries
1931 popular music song
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" is a popular song with music by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Lew Brown, published in 1931.[1] Ethel Merman introduced this song in George White's Scandals of 1931.[2] A Rudy Vallée version, recorded in 1931, achieved success.[3] The song was revived in 1953 by singer Jaye P. Morgan.[4]
Published1931 by De Sylva, Brown and Henderson
| "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Single by Rudy Vallée & His Connecticut Yankees | |
| Published | 1931 by De Sylva, Brown and Henderson |
| Genre | Foxtrot |
| Label | RCA Victor |
| Songwriters | Ray Henderson Lew Brown |
The song title gave rise to the revue of Henderson's music called It's the Cherries, which launched the American Composer Series in 2000.[5]
Notable recordings
- Rudy Vallée & His Connecticut Yankees – 1931 single
- Jack Hylton - 1931
- Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson - 1931
- Layton & Johnstone - 1931
- Jaye P. Morgan – 1953 single; debuted on December 19, 1953 and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard pop charts in 1954.
- Doris Day – The Love Album (1967) and My Heart (2011)
- Judy Garland – Judy (1956)[6]
- Johnny Mathis featuring Forever Plaid – Mathis on Broadway (2000)
- Lisa Loeb recorded the song as the title track to the 2007 EP Cherries
In popular culture
- In the 1981 Steve Martin mock musical, Pennies From Heaven, a performance of the song by Walter S. Harrah, Gene Merlino, Vern Rowe, Robert Tebow and Al Vescovo is used in a cutaway segment in which Martin, Bernadette Peters, and Jessica Harper lip sync to the song.[7]
- The song is featured in the soundtrack for the 1983 documentary Seeing Red (1983 film).
- It is the opening song of the Broadway show Fosse, as sung by Ben Vereen.
- The song is featured in the soundtrack for the 2012 movie Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt.
- The song is twice sung in the 2013 movie Adoration starring Robin Wright, Naomi Watts, and Ben Mendelsohn.
