Standing On The Corner

Album: The Most Happy Fella (1956)
Charted: 34 3
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Songfacts®:

  • "Standin' on the corner, watchin' all the girls go by" - this simple but infectious melody was penned by Frank Loesser, whose numerous credits include "The Ugly Duckling." Obviously the subject matter of this song is anything but ugly; this is an earlier version of R. Dean Taylor's "Window Shopping," although in this song the boys appear to be window shopping out of necessity - i.e. empty pockets - and in a different location.
  • The song is from the 1956 musical The Most Happy Fella, Act 1, Scene 2.

    Recorded by "Herman And The Boys Sing" on the Columbia label 40674 (Co 55538), the vocals are credited to The Four Lads with Ray Ellis and his Orchestra and Chorus. In the show itself, Herman and his three companions sing the song on the main street in San Francisco.
  • The Dean Martin recording, which hit US #22 later in 1956, changes the lyric slightly to "Standin' on the corner, watchin' all the girls go by." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for all above
  • On the 1957 I Love Lucy episode "Lucy's Night In Town," the Ricardos and the Mertzes go to the theater to see The Most Happy Fella, where Lucy is shown enjoying a performance of this song.

Comments: 2

  • Mrs. B K Brumberg from Howard Beach, NyI forgot the source and composer. It is a catchy tune with clever lyrics, no longer being written. Thank you for printing this.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 9th 1969, Smoke Ring's covered version of "No Not Much" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #89, the following week it rose to #86, then to #85, and on its fourth and final week on the chart it remained at #85...
    Exactly thirteen years earlier on February 9th, 1956 the Four Lads' original version of the song was in its first of two weeks at #5, then it spent the next five weeks at #4, and on March 29th, 1956 it peaked at #3 {for 1 week}.
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