| "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" | |
|---|---|
_Sheet_music_cover.jpg) Sheet music cover, 1911 | |
| Song by Billy Merson | |
| Published | 1911 |
| Genre | Music hall |
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Merson |
| Audio sample | |
"The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" is a comic song which was composed and first performed by English music-hall performer Billy Merson.
It starts
List to me while I tell you
Of the Spaniard that blighted my life
It was performed by Al Jolson in his show The Honeymoon Express and he recorded it for Victor Records on March 7, 1913 (catalog No. 17318). It became a major hit, selling over a million copies.
Merson sued Jolson for copyright infringement, forcing removal of the song from the movie, The Singing Fool in the UK.
Renditions
- Al Jolson, The Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (performed by Larry Parks), dubbed by Al Jolson)
- Bing Crosby and Al Jolson, recorded March 25, 1947.
- Roy Hudd on Those Music Hall Days
- Seamus Kennedy on Party Pieces, 2005.
- The song was featured in Season 32, Episode 1 of The Simpsons.
References
- John J. Gross (1994), The Oxford book of comic verse, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192142078
- "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- William Ruhlmann (23 April 2004), Breaking records: 100 years of hits, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9780203644034
- Edwin M. Bradley (11 August 2004), The First Hollywood Musicals, McFarland, ISBN 9780786420292
- "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved July 28, 2017.