From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)
Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)
Chart (1950) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 4
Chart (1950) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 10
"Mona Lisa" gan getting radio play in early 1959.[4] This was the most
successful single in Mann’s career. The melody is slight-
Single by Nat King Cole ly different, and the lyrics are also mostly the same as in
Released 1950 the original version by Nat King Cole, though a few more
phrases are added in that elaborate more on the girl he
Genre Traditional pop
likes.
Writer(s) Ray Evans The singer Don Cherry recorded a version backed by
Jay Livingston[1] the Victor Young Orchestra which reached number sev-
en in 1952.
Mona Lisa"
"Mona Lisa is a song written by Ray Evans and Jay Livin- In 1961, this song was covered by Hong Kong female
gston for the Paramount Pictures film Captain Carey, U.S.A. singer Kong Ling (江玲), on her LP album Off-Beat Cha Cha
(1950). It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with the local Diamond Records.
for 1950.[1] The arrangement was by Nelson Riddle and
the orchestral backing was played by Les Baxter and his
Orchestra.[2] The soundtrack version by Nat King Cole Chart performance
spent eight weeks at number one in the Billboard singles
chart in 1950. Also, Cole’s version of the song was induct- Moon Mullican
ed into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[3] The Billboard
sales charts of 1950 also showed significant sales on ver- Jimmy Wakely
sions by Dennis Day and Harry James. In 1986, it was used
as the theme to the British film Mona Lisa. An uncredited Conway Twitty
version of Mona Lisa plays in the background of one scene
in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954). The song was
used in the wedding scene of the NBC mini-series, Witness
See also
to the Mob, in 1998. • List of number-one singles of 1950 (U.S.)
Various artists, including Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, • List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United
Art Lund, Shakin’ Stevens, Me First and the Gimme States)
Gimmes, the Neville Brothers, and Nat King Cole’s daugh-
ter Natalie Cole, have released cover versions of this
song. Bruddah Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) also covered
References
the song on the album Alone in IZ World. Harry Connick, Jr. [1] ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums
included the song on his 2009 album, Your Songs. (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records
A rockabilly version of "Mona Lisa" (b/w/ "Foolish Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
One") was released by Carl Mann on Phillips Internation- [2] Peter J. Levinson, September in the Rain,
al Records (#3539) in March 1959 and reached number 25 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zG-
on the Billboard Hot 100. Conway Twitty recorded a ver- UYr7vBb4C&pg=PA79
sion of "Mona Lisa" in February 1959, but planned to re- [3] Grammy Hall of Fame
lease it only as an album cut (on an EP and an LP by MGM [4] Carl Mann page on Rockabilly Hall of Fame website
Records). Nevertheless, it peaked at #5 in the UK Singles (www.rockabillyhall.com)
Chart in that year.[1] Sam Phillips signed Carl Mann to
record his version of the song after the Twitty version be-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)
Chart (1959) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 2
Belgian Singles Chart 3
UK Singles Chart[1] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 29
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mona_Lisa_(Nat_King_Cole_song)&oldid=471076478"
Categories:
• 1950 singles
• Nat King Cole songs
• Natalie Cole songs
• Elvis Presley songs
• Willie Nelson songs
• Moon Mullican songs
• Jimmy Wakely songs
• Number-one singles in the United States
• Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles
• Best Song Academy Award winning songs
• Songs with music by Jay Livingston
• Songs with lyrics by Ray Evans
• Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
• 1950s R&B song stubs
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