On the Sunny Side of the Street
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence.
Richman and Ted Lewis enjoyed hit records with the song in 1930.Other notable recordings
Having become a jazz standard, it was played by Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Earl Hines, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Erroll Garner, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, James Booker, Count Basie, and Lester Young. The Louis Armstrong version was recorded in the key of C major, but it has been recorded in a range of keys; Ted Lewis recorded it in D major and Ella Fitzgerald in G major.
Cover versions date as far back as 1930, when Layton & Johnstone released the song for Columbia. The song was recorded by Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Keely Smith, Nat King Cole, Jo Stafford with The Pied Pipers, Frank Sinatra, and Willie Nelson. Arguably the most popular arrangement was by Tommy Dorsey and the Sentimentalists which achieved chart success in 1945 reaching the No. 16 spot.The song was featured in the 1991 film JFK.
