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116:. It was that impression, looking across at Bognor, which looked pink—almost like an enchanted city with the blue of the Downs behind it—that gave him the idea for the Sleepy Lagoon. He didn't write it there; he scribbled it down, as he used to, at extreme speed, and then simply took it back with him to London where he wrote and orchestrated it.
323:, was concerned that this lyric had been added without consulting the composer. Dreyfus warned Lawrence that Coates "may resent your tampering with his melody". Dreyfus also did not think the melody belonged in the popular genre and that it was better suited to its original treatment as a piece of light classical music.
120:
The piece is a slow waltz for full orchestra that lasts roughly four minutes. Michael
Jameson observed that the piece is "elegantly orchestrated" with "a shapely theme for violins presented in the salon-esque genre entirely characteristic of British light music in the 1920s and '30s".
330:, and, contrary to Dreyfus' fears, Coates thought the lyrics fit so well that he retorted he could hardly believe it had been written to a pre-existing melody: "You have set the words to my music so cleverly that one would never suspect that the music had been written first!"
414:
At the height of the Coates-Lawrence song's popularity in 1942, a minor reservoir near Los
Angeles was christened the "Sleepy Lagoon" by local youths. After the media's extensive use of the song title when reporting on the
104:
It was inspired in a very curious way and not by what you might expect. It was inspired by the view on a warm, still summer evening looking across the "lagoon" from the east beach at
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as an introduction and linking melody throughout the show. The musical piece was partly rearranged and rerecorded by the Dutch
Brabant Orchestra especially for the show.
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at the park. The fountain show is the largest of its kind in Europe. As the show is performed nightly on a large lake, the creators used
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The song, "Sleepy Lagoon", was published as a
Lawrence-Coates collaboration in 1940. Lawrence showed the song to bandleader
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483:, BBC local radio programme, devised, scripted and produced by Ian Lace. Available on MusicWeb; retrieved 14 November 2010.
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and wrote a song lyric, then took it to
Chappell, the publisher of Coates's original melody. The head of Chappell's
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Coates' musical piece has been used since 1952 for one of the first fairytales in the Dutch theme park
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in that same year, the name became permanent—although the reservoir itself has since disappeared.
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Catalog of
Copyright Entries 1940 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 35 Pt 3 For the Year 1940
422:
In 1977, "Sleepy Lagoon" made a notable appearance in the famous Oscar-winning motion picture
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Later that year, Lawrence attempted to contact Coates in person. Britain was in the middle of
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Best Seller chart on 17 April 1942 and lasted 18 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 1.
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and others. A recording with Tom
Jenkins and his Palm Court Orchestra was made in
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437:. In 2012 it also became the main musical theme of the water fountain spectacle
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in 1930 while overlooking a beach in West Sussex. His son,
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added lyrics with Coates' approval; the resulting song, "
579:. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
520:"By the Sleepy Lagoon, valse serenade for orchestra",
639:
Magee, Sean (13 September 2012). "Chapter 2:1940s".
662:
660:
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573:Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1940).
65:, written in 1930. In 1940 American songwriter
597:. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
341:as catalog number 36549. It first reached the
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382:recorded the tune in 1949. The song made the
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641:Desert Island Discs: 70 Years Of Castaways
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124:1940 song by Eric Coates and Jack Lawrence
455:List of number-one singles of 1942 (U.S.)
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337:, whose recording of it was released by
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1244:Number-one singles in the United States
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378:label as catalogue number B 9768.
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311:came across the piano solo version of
1146:Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49
1114:Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)
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726:
638:
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370:on 15 March 1949. It was released by
350:Other hit versions were recorded by
188:Chappell & Co., Ltd., London, UK
1037:Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
1009:I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
486:
307:In early 1940, American songwriter
13:
1224:Songs with lyrics by Jack Lawrence
667:Sleepy Lagoon (California) website
14:
1260:
697:
609:"Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #6"
386:Hot 100 in 1960, in a version by
918:I Don't Want to Walk Without You
1229:Songs with music by Eric Coates
1016:On a Little Street in Singapore
848:Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)
824:
752:
671:
625:to Eric Coates's autobiography
1030:I'm Beginning to See the Light
632:
615:
601:
514:
1:
511:, Retrieved 14 November 2010.
460:
411:since its inception in 1942.
149:Harry James and His Orchestra
401:has been the theme music to
7:
1072:I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
1058:It's Been a Long, Long Time
988:I've Heard That Song Before
897:The Flight of the Bumblebee
643:. Bantam Press. p. 8.
448:
10:
1265:
629:, Thames Publishing, 1986.
509:jacklawrencesongwriter.com
212:24 February 1942
1183:
1130:
1065:I Can't Begin to Tell You
832:
760:
595:Top Pop Records 1940–1955
498:The Story Behind The Song
476:"Eric Coates in Sussex",
426:directed by Woody Allen.
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974:I Had the Craziest Dream
680:Annie Hall (1977) - IMDb
92:was inspired to compose
627:Suite in Four Movements
405:'s long-running series
77:standard of the 1940s.
862:It's the Dreamer in Me
522:Classical Work Reviews
178:24 June 1940
118:
43:
1153:Young Man with a Horn
1002:All or Nothing at All
995:Moonlight Becomes You
782:The Dam Busters March
710:BBC Concert Orchestra
548:www.78discography.com
102:
81:Orchestral serenade:
22:Plaque commemorating
21:
904:You Made Me Love You
766:By the Sleepy Lagoon
705:By the Sleepy Lagoon
480:The Enchanted Garden
443:By the Sleepy Lagoon
417:Sleepy Lagoon Murder
399:By the Sleepy Lagoon
313:By the Sleepy Lagoon
100:, later remembered:
94:By the Sleepy Lagoon
83:By the Sleepy Lagoon
61:by British composer
48:By the Sleepy Lagoon
28:By the Sleepy Lagoon
1100:Stella by Starlight
1093:Jalousie (Jealousy)
408:Desert Island Discs
1192:Everything but You
1044:The More I See You
981:Manhattan Serenade
883:I Found a New Baby
841:Goodnight, My Love
503:2007-09-28 at the
394:In popular culture
376:His Master's Voice
44:
1249:Radio theme songs
1211:
1210:
1160:Wild About Harry!
1121:You'll Never Know
792:
791:
708:performed by the
650:978-0-593-07006-2
305:
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230:Columbia Studio E
88:British composer
26:' composition of
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1184:Related articles
967:Mr. Five by Five
855:One O'Clock Jump
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40:detail of plaque
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197:March 1942
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130:"Sleepy Lagoon"
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953:But Not for Me
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946:I Remember You
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162:Trumpet Blues
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67:Jack Lawrence
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1239:1942 singles
1203:Betty Grable
1198:Louise Tobin
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774:London Suite
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684:, retrieved
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551:. Retrieved
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398:
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388:the Platters
383:
364:Glenn Miller
349:
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328:World War II
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110:Bognor Regis
103:
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73:", became a
70:
47:
46:
45:
27:
15:
890:Ciribiribin
826:Harry James
754:Eric Coates
621:Lace, Ian.
403:BBC Radio 4
360:Fred Waring
352:Dinah Shore
335:Harry James
321:Max Dreyfus
294:Lyricist(s)
286:Eric Coates
280:Composer(s)
90:Eric Coates
63:Eric Coates
36:West Sussex
24:Eric Coates
1234:1930 songs
1218:Categories
1086:Heartaches
461:References
424:Annie Hall
356:David Rose
216:1942-02-24
182:1940-06-24
1107:Mona Lisa
718:BBC Proms
433:, called
384:Billboard
344:Billboard
175:Published
911:Misirlou
623:Foreword
593:(1973).
501:Archived
449:See also
439:Aquanura
431:Efteling
319:office,
317:New York
209:Recorded
194:Released
108:towards
59:serenade
939:Skylark
876:Woo-Woo
869:Boo-Woo
833:Singles
686:17 June
611:. 1972.
553:11 June
528:, 2010.
374:on the
214: (
201:1942-03
199: (
180: (
167:Written
114:Pacific
1131:Albums
785:(1942)
777:(1932)
769:(1930)
647:
368:London
250:Length
225:Studio
157:B-side
145:Single
106:Selsey
32:Selsey
267:Label
243:swing
238:Genre
56:valse
51:is a
688:2020
645:ISBN
555:2022
170:1930
372:EMI
186:by
147:by
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
