“It's a challenge to write songs that are accepted by a large audience and to retain integrity about what you do.” »read more
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“It's a challenge to write songs that are accepted by a large audience and to retain integrity about what you do.” »read more
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In this song, Nat King Cole compares his love to the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The Mona Lisa if famous for her smile and her mystique, as the portrait has become one of the most famous works of art in history.
This song was written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A.. It won an Oscar for Best Song. Others songs Evans and Livingston wrote include "Silver Bells," "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" and "Buttons And Bows." They also composed the theme songs for the TV shows Bonanza and Mr. Ed.
Before this big hit Nat King Cole was better known as a pianist. As a result of the success of this recording he became recognized as a vocalist.
This soundtrack version by Nat King Cole spent 8 weeks as #1 in the Billboard chart in the USA in 1950.
In 1987, this was used as the theme of the British film Mona Lisa. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above)
Livingston told American Songwriter Magazine July/August 1988 the story behind this song: "There was a picture called OSS, which took place during World War II, and Alan Ladd was in a little Italian town where the clandestine radio was, and they needed a song to warn them that the German patrol was coming. There was this blind accordion player who wasn't blind playing on the street and every time he saw the Germans coming he would play a certain melody, so we wrote 'Mona Lisa' and they said that it sounded Italian and they liked it. Then they called us and said they had changed the title from OSS to After Midnight and we had to write a song with that title. They loved title songs because it sold their picture. So we threw away the lyrics of 'Mona Lisa' and wrote 'After Midnight.' A month later we picked up Variety and read where Alan Ladd's new picture was going to be called Captain Carey, USA.
We went back to the studio and asked for 'Mona Lisa' back, and then pitched it to Nat King Cole and he liked it and recorded it on the back of 'The Greatest Inventor Of Them All.' So we went on a junket for Paramount about that time, and we took the records with us and we must have been on 25 or 30 radio shows, and when we got back the song was a hit. But the original ads for the record didn't even mention 'Mona Lisa,' just 'The Greatest Inventor.' I think us pushing it really made the difference in that song being a hit."
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Nat King Cole's first No. 1 song came when he was the leader of the The King Cole Trio; the song was "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons", it reached No.1 on February 15th, 1947 and had a one week run!!! {In 1958 a cover version by Sam Cooke peaked at No. 17}
- Barry, Sauquoit, NY
The song is refered to the painting , Mona Lisa (real name: "La Giaconda" ), a well known popular paingting by Italian - Renaisance artist Leonardo da Vinci . The woman in the painting is the wife of the Italian Merchant , Francisco di Giocondo ; a merchant Leonardo met. He asked him if he could paint a picture of his wife , and was giving permission . Leonardo actually painted the picture with her sitting at the left and facing right ; but because his vision caused everything to look the opposite way , he saw and painted her sitting right and facing left. ..The reason why she (Mona)doesn't have any eyebrows , is because it was a fashion back in that time for women to pluck them. ..When da Vinci drew the outline of the figure before painting , he drew over the same drawing until he got the picture he wanted ; then he painted over the drawing. Leonardo da Vinci was known as an artist , inventor , mathmetician , scientist , and architech. One of his iventions was the very first "Flying Machine".
- Mike, Franklin County, PA
I admit it, I have often had dreams about commandeering a jet or a helicopter, flying to France, stealing the Mona Lisa, selling it to a filthy rich Middle Eastern oil sheikh and getting away with it scot-free. By the way, that was before 9/11 and the seemingly endless strife, terrorism and military involvement in the Mideast and the security at the Louvre, which I liken to that of a "supermax" federal prison.
- Darrell, Eugene