My Shining Hour

"My Shining Hour" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1943 film The Sky's the Limit, where it was introduced by Sally Sweetland - who dubbed for Joan Leslie - backed by Freddie Slack and his orchestra.[1] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. The song became a hit, in a version recorded by Glen Gray with Eugenie Baird as vocalist,[2] but only slowly, taking four months to achieve recognition on Your Hit Parade having entered the charts on January 22, 1944 (the film was premiered on September 2, 1943). The song's title, and opening line: "This will be my shining hour", is believed to have been a reference to Winston Churchill's famous rallying call to British citizens during the war: " … if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour."[1]

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Mueller, John (1986). Astaire Dancing - The Musical Films. London: Hamish Hamilton. p. 229. ISBN 0-241-11749-6.
  2. ↑ Orodenker, M.H. (November 13, 1943). "On the Records: Glen Gray" (PDF). Billboard. p. 67. Retrieved 8 November 2015.


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