On the Street Where You Live Composer

"On the Street Where You Live"
Song
Written1956
GenreMusical theatre
Composer(s)Frederick Loewe
Lyricist(s)Alan Jay Lerner

"On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical My Fair Lady.[1] It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John Michael King in the original production. In the 1964 film version, it was sung by Bill Shirley, dubbing for actor Jeremy Brett.

Recorded versions[edit]

"On the Street Where You Live"
Single by Vic Damone
B-side"We All Need Love"
ReleasedApril 1956
GenreShow tune
Length2:38
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)Frederick Loewe
Lyricist(s)Alan Jay Lerner
Vic Damone singles chronology
"Por Favor"
(1955)
"On the Street Where You Live"
(1956)
"War and Peace"
(1956)

The most popular single of the song was recorded by Vic Damone in 1956 for Columbia Records. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart[2] and No. 6 on Cashbox magazine's chart. It was a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1958.[3][4] Eddie Fisher also had a top 20 Billboard hit with the song in 1956, reaching No. 18.[5] Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra released a version that went to No. 96 in 1956.[6] Andy Williams' recording appeared in the Billboard top 40 in 1964, reaching No. 3 on the adult contemporary chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

On the Street Where You Live Composer

The most successful recorded version was by vocalist Vic Damone

The song has been recorded by a wide variety of other performers, including Ray Conniff and Bing Crosby, who recorded the song in 1956[7] for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the boxed set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009,[8] Lawrence Welk (whose band also performed it on his weekly TV series numerous times), Shirley Horn, Doris Day, George Shearing, Frank Chacksfield, Alfie Boe, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Mario Lanza, Nat King Cole, Holly Cole, Marvin Gaye, Ben E. King, Perry Como, Ray Reach, Harry Connick Jr., Gene Pitney, The Miracles (on their I'll Try Something New album), Earl Grant, Dennis DeYoung, Quincy Jones, David Whitfield, Nancy Wilson, Billy Porter, Ilse Huizinga, Matt Dusk, Richard Clayderman, Ricki Lee Jones, Mr Hudson & The Library, Peggy Lee, Vocal Spectrum, Steve Hogarth from Marillion, Bill Frisell, André Previn & Shelly Manne, Bryn Terfel, Ed Townsend, Chet Baker, Jason Manford and BirdyHop.[9]

  • In 1991, on the children's show Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch, completely fed up with all the nice people around him on Sesame Street, but still very grateful for his trash can, sang a song called "On This Street Where I'm Grouchy", which spoofed "On the Street Where You Live".[10]
  • In the 1999 film Blast from the Past, Adam (Brendan Fraser) sings part of this song to Eve (Alicia Silverstone) and explains that he doesn't want another woman as he can only think about her.[11]
  • The song is also featured in the television series Mad Men in the finale of the first season's first episode.
  • In the ninth episode of the third season of Better Things, actors sing the song in a bar after completing a table read of a fictional Broadway play[12]

See also[edit]

  • List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1950s

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 37. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 86. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ Tony Brown, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts
  5. ^ a b Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles
  6. ^ "On the Street Where You Live (song by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 23 June 1956. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  7. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  8. ^ "The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56)". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  9. ^ Ed Townsend, Glad to Be Here Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Sesame Street – On This Street Where I'm Grouchy". IMDb.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Blast from the Past (1999)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ^ Sepinwall, Alan. "'Better Things' Recap: Cold Readings". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

  • "On the Street Where You Live" from "My Fair Lady" on YouTube, 2001 London revival
  • Ben E. King – On the Street Where You Live (1962) [Digitally Remastered] on YouTube, Ben E. King
  • Matthew Morrison – On The Street Where You Live on YouTube, MDA Telethon feat. Matthew Morrison
  • Quincy Jones and His Orchestra – On the Street Where You Live on YouTube, Quincy Jones & His Orchestra (instrumental)

Who sang the original On the Street Where You Live?

“On the Street Where You Live” is sung by the character Freddie Eynsford-Hill, played in New York by John Michael King and in London by Leonard Weir.

Who sang for Freddy in My Fair Lady?

Jeremy Brett, who celebrated his 30th birthday during filming, was very surprised to learn that all of his singing was to be dubbed by a 43-year-old American named Bill Shirley, especially since his own singing voice at that time was remarkably good.

What songs came from My Fair Lady?

Soundtracks (23).
Why Can't the English? (1956) (uncredited) ... .
Wouldn't It Be Loverly. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
The Flower Market. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
I'm an Ordinary Man. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
With a Little Bit of Luck. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
Just You Wait. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
The Servants' Chorus. (1956) (uncredited) ... .
The Rain in Spain..