Swanee

Swanee may refer to:

See also

Swanee (song)

"Swanee" is an American popular song written in 1919 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is most often associated with singer Al Jolson.

The song was written for a New York City revue called Demi-Tasse, which opened in October 1919 in the Capitol Theater. Caesar and Gershwin, who was then aged 20, claimed to have written the song in about ten minutes riding on a bus in Manhattan, finishing it at Gershwin's apartment. It was written partly as a parody of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home". It was originally used as a big production number, with 60 chorus girls dancing with electric lights in their slippers on an otherwise darkened stage.

The song had little impact in its first show, but not long afterwards Gershwin played it at a party where Al Jolson heard it. Jolson then put it into his show Sinbad, already a success at the Winter Garden Theatre, and recorded it for Columbia Records in January 1920. "After that", said Gershwin, "Swanee penetrated the four corners of the earth." The song was charted in 1920 for 18 weeks holding the No. 1 position for nine. It sold a million sheet music copies, and an estimated two million records. It became Gershwin's first hit and the biggest-selling song of his career; the money he earned from it allowed him to concentrate on theatre work and films rather than writing further single pop hits. Arthur Schwartz said: "It's ironic that he never again wrote a number equaling the sales of Swanee, which for all its infectiousness, doesn't match the individuality and subtlety of his later works."

Swanee (singer)

John Swan (born 1952 in Glasgow, Scotland), better known as Swanee, is a British-born Australian rock singer.

He was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He is the older brother of rock legend Jimmy Barnes, and musician and singer Alan Barnes, and the uncle of singer and stage performer David Campbell, Matthew Schlammel (who has a band called Schlam), and of singers Mahalia Barnes, Eliza-Jane Barnes, Elly-may Barnes and Jackie Barnes (who performed together as Tin Lids).

Swan was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1961. When his mother remarried in the mid-60s, he was the only child to keep the surname of his biological father, who was an adept boxer. While Swan's music career has never reached the heights of that of his more famous younger brother, he is well known and respected in his own right. His celebrity status has afforded him the ability to rally aid and help others, as his charitable and generous nature very often dictates.