"Morning Star" is a track sung by Nat King Cole from the 1958 album St. Louis Blues. "Morning Star", taken from the Paramount picture, St. Louis Blues, with new lyrics by Mack David, was based on W. C. Handy's spiritual "Shine Like a Morning Star". The song describes, among other things, a mother's love for her son. The lyrics commence "I asked my mother / Is there a morning star? / I was answered by my mother / Yes, there's a morning star".
Handy's original song, "Shine Like a Morning Star", was also arranged for SATB quartet as a four voice spiritual.
References
- William Christopher Handy; Abbe Niles; Elliott S. Hurwitt (2012). W.C. Handy's Blue. p. 262. ISBN 978-0486486192.
Another extraordinary example, in march time, is Shine Like a Morning Star, which is to be found only in Handy's own published arrangement.
- Evelyn Davidson White (1981). Choral Music by Afro-American Composers: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography (First ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0810814516.
WILLIAM C. HANDY SECOND COLLECTION OF 37 SPIRITUALS Mixed Voices, Male Voices and Vocal Solos with Piano Accompaniment Arranged by William C. Handy ... Shine Like a Morning Star (SATB) 4
- David Robertson (2009). W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0307266095.
Shine Like a Morning Star
- Leslie Gourse (2009). Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan. p. 276. ISBN 978-0786751143.
Of the songs that were released, "Morning Star" was written by Jimmy Rowles with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, though W. C. Handy was given credit — apparently by accident — for the composition. This information comes directly from Jimmy
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