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My Blue Heaven

The Harmony Duo

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This side was produced in New York City in 1927 with unknown personnel providing vocals and playing the piano, vibraphone, violin, & steel guitar.

*"My Blue Heaven" was composed by Walter Donaldson, with lyrics by George A. Whiting. The song would become a tremendous hit that year for "Gene Austin and the Victor Orchestra" under the direction of Nat Shilkret.

The music to "My Blue Heaven" was written by Walter Donaldson in 1924 while he was working under contract for Irving Berlin's publishing company. There he sat one afternoon at the New York Friars Club waiting for his turn at the billiard table and the tune came to him.

Sometime later George A. Whiting wrote lyrics adapted to Donaldson's music and began performing it in his own vaudeville act and with the new exposure singer Tommy Lyman appropriated "My Blue Heaven" as the theme song to his radio show.

Convinced that the best material was being given to other Victor recording artists to perform Gene Austin gave Nat Shilkret an ultimatum refusing to participate in another session until his interpretation of "My Blue Heaven" was commercially released. Austin recorded his version shortly thereafter on September 14th 1927.

In 1928 the song charted for twenty six weeks and remained at the top position on the National billboard cart for thirteen. It achieved a remarkable (for 1928 !) five million copies in record sales taking its deserving place among the best selling singles of all time.