Grateful Dead Family Discography: Sidewalks Of New York

Sidewalks Of New York

Composer: Charles B. Lawlor / James W. Blake

Grateful Dead

Dick's Picks, Vol. 30, Grateful Dead, 2003

Others

This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

no info Walter Peterson, 192?
no info Blanton-Webster Band, Duke Ellington, 1939
no info Music Boxes, Carousels, and Hand Organs, Various Artists, 1950
Songs I Love To Sing, Tommy Collins, 1960
no info Songs Of New York, Mel Torme, 1963
no info Charlie Poole and The Highlanders, Charlie Poole and The Highlanders, 196/
no info Phoenix, Cannonball Adderley, 1975
no info Masters Of Slack Key Guitar, Raymond Kane, 1988
no info American Jazz Orchestra, John Lewis, 1989
no info Indispensable Duke Ellington, Vols. 5 and 6, Duke Ellington, 1995

Notes

Written in the 1890s by Charles B. Lawlor (1852-1925) and James W. Blake (1862-1935) and popularised by Lottie Gilson, who sang the song every night during her act at the London Theater on the Bowery, in 1894.

The story behind the song, which may be apocryphal, is that Lawlor came up with the melody whilst walking around the city. He went to the hat shop where Blake was working and asked him to come up with lyrics to fit the melody. Blake did this between customers.

The song was originally as well known by the opening of the chorus; "East side, West side, all around the town", as it was by it's title.

Used in the musical Sidewalks Of New York which opened on Broadway in October 1927.

Writing credits are sometimes given as Traditional.