Editing Mitchell Parish

{{Short description|American lyricist (1900–1993)}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| name                = Mitchell Parish
| image               = Mitchell Parish.jpg
| caption             =  
| image_size          = 
| background          = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name          = Michael Hyman Pashelinsky
| alias               = 
| birth_place         = [[Lithuania]], [[Russian Empire]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1900|7|10|mf=y}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1993|3|31|1900|7|10}} 
| death_place         = [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States
| instrument          = 
| genre               = Show tunes, jazz standards 
| occupation          = Lyricist
| origin              = [[New York City]] ([[Tin Pan Alley]])
| years_active        = 
| label               = 
| associated_acts     = 
| website             = 
}}

'''Mitchell Parish''' (born '''Michael Hyman Pashelinsky'''; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1903/4}}</ref> was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.

==Biography==
Parish was born to a Jewish family in [[Lithuania]], Russian Empire in July 1900.<ref name="Tormé">{{cite web | last =Bloom| first =Nate| author-link=Nate Bloom| title=The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs| publisher =InterfaithFamily| date =2006-12-19 | url =http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/The_Jews_Who_Wrote_Christmas_Songs.shtml| access-date =2013-12-26 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Nate|author-link=Nate Bloom|title=All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!|publisher=[[Jewish World Review]]|date=December 22, 2014|url=http://jewishworldreview.com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3}}</ref> His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 aboard the {{SS|Dresden}} when he was less than a year old. They settled first in [[Louisiana]] where his paternal grandmother had relatives, but later moved to [[New York City]], where he grew up on the Lower East Side of [[Manhattan]]<ref name="Holden">{{cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=April 2, 1993 |title=Mitchell Parish, 92, the Lyricist Of 'Star Dust' and 'Volare,' Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/02/obituaries/mitchell-parish-92-the-lyricist-of-star-dust-and-volare-dies.html |work=New York Times |access-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref> and received his education in the public schools.

He attended [[Columbia University]] and [[N.Y.U.]] and was a member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]]. He eventually abandoned the notion of practicing law to become a songwriter. He served his apprenticeship as a writer of special material for vaudeville acts, and later established himself as a writer of songs for stage, screen and numerous musical revues.<ref name="Songwriters Hall of Fame">{{cite web|url=https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Mitchell_Parish|title=Songwriters Hall of Fame|website=Songwritershalloffame.org|access-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref> By the late 1920s, Parish was a well-regarded [[Tin Pan Alley]] lyricist in New York City.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Parish's grandnephew, Steve Parish, was a roadie for the band [[The Grateful Dead|Grateful Dead]]. He described Mitchell Parish's meeting with [[Jerry Garcia]] in his autobiography, ''Home Before Day Light''.

==Career==

His first steady employer was the music publisher Jack Mills, brother of [[Irving Mills]], who signed him for $12 a week to write comedy lyrics for vaudeville acts and to be a song-plugger. His first hit, "[[Carolina Rolling Stone]]", was recorded by the musical comedy team [[Van and Schenck]] for [[Columbia Records]] in 1922.<ref name="Holden"/> Parish tended to write his lyrics to completed melodies, hits that originated in other languages, or adaptations of classical music.<ref name="Holden"/>

[[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Duke Ellington]], [[Peter De Rose]], [[Leroy Anderson]], [[Glenn Miller]], [[Sammy Fain]], and [[Benny Goodman]] were among the composers.  As one of the first inductees into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]], the romantic quality of many of his lyrics such as "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]", "[[Stairway to the Stars]]", "[[Deep Purple (song)|Deep Purple]]", and "[[Moonlight Serenade]]" contributed to his being called by other songwriters "the poet laureate of the profession".<ref name="Songwriters Hall of Fame"/> In an interview in 1987,  Parish claimed to have written the lyrics to the [[Duke Ellington]] standard "[[Mood Indigo]]", though they were credited to [[Irving Mills]]. He remained "somewhat rueful, though no longer bitter" about it.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{Cite news | last1 = Holden | first1 = Stephen | title = Theater; Mitchell Parish: A Way With Words | newspaper = New York Times | date = 1987-02-01 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD71E3DF932A35751C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print}}</ref>

His best-known works include the lyrics to songs such as "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]", "[[Sweet Lorraine]]", "[[Deep Purple (song)|Deep Purple]]", "[[Stars Fell on Alabama]]", "[[Sophisticated Lady]]", the translation to English lyrics of "[[Volare (song)|Volare]]" and "[[Blue Skirt Waltz]]", "[[Moonlight Serenade]]", "[[Mr. Ghost Goes to Town]]", "[[Sleigh Ride]]", "[[One Morning in May (1933 song)|One Morning in May]]", and "[[Louisiana Fairy Tale]]",<ref name="LarkinGE"/> which was the first theme song used in the PBS Production of ''[[This Old House]]''.

Besides providing the lyrics to Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust", the two collaborated on standards such as "[[Riverboat Shuffle]]" and "[[One Morning in May (1933 song)|One Morning in May]]".<ref>He wrote the lyrics to the Glenn Miller ballad "[[Sometime (Glenn Miller song)|Sometime]]" from 1939, co-written with Glenn Miller and John [[Chummy MacGregor]].{{Cite news | last1 = Holden | first1 = Stephen | title = Theater; Mitchell Parish: A Way With Words | newspaper = New York Times | date = 1987-02-01 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD71E3DF932A35751C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print}}
</ref>

In 1949, Parish added lyrics to bandleader Al Goodman's tune "The Allen Stroll", which was played as radio comedian [[Fred Allen]] took a stroll down "Allen's Alley", a featured segment of Allen's weekly show. The new song, "Carousel of Love", premiered on ''[[The Fred Allen Show]]'' on April 4, 1949. It was sung by the [[DeMarco Sisters]] and played by Al Goodman and his Orchestra.

In 1950, he wrote lyrics to Leroy Anderson's "[[The Syncopated Clock]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.leroyanderson.com/lyrics.php|title=Leroy Anderson—-American composer and conductor of light concert music: Lyrics|website=Leroyanderson.com}}</ref> In 1951, he wrote the English lyrics of the French song "[[Maître Pierre (song)|Maître Pierre]]" which was written in 1948 by [[Henri Betti]] (music) and Jacques Plante (lyrics). The title song became "[[The Windmill Song]]" and the song was recorded by [[The Andrews Sisters]] with [[Gordon Jenkins]] and his Orchestra.

He participated in the episode of ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'' aired on December 25, 1956, as a challenger.

In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of their [[Johnny Mercer]] Award.<ref name="Songwriters Hall of Fame"/>

==Song Lyrics (selected)==
{|class="wikitable"
| Song title
| Composer
| Year
| Notable recording
| Label 
|-
| ''All I Need is You'' (English lyrics, translated from French, written by Henri Contet)
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''[[All My Love (Patti Page song)|All My Love]]'' (subtitle: "Bolero").  (English lyrics, translated from French, original lyrics by Henri Contet)
| Paul Durand 
| 1950
| [[Patti Page]] (1950)
| [[Mercury Records]] (catalog number #5455)
|-
| [[Blue Tango]] (instrumental composition, for orchestra))
| Leroy Anderson
| 1951 (written), 1952 (published)
| Instrumental version recorded by Leroy Andersen (c. 1951/1952)
| [[Decca Records]] (catalogue number; 27875)
|-
|  ''Blue Skirt Waltz''
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''Carolina Rolling Stone''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Carousel of Love
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''[[Deep Purple (song)|Deep Purple]]'' (composition for piano, Parish wrote lyrics in 1938)
| [[Peter Derose]]
| 1933 
| [[Larry Clinton]] and His Orchestr, featuring [[Bea Wain]] (23 December 1938)
| [[Victor Records]]
|-
| [[Is That Religion?]]
| [[Maceo Pinkard]]
| 1930
|
|
|-
| [[The Lamp Is Low]]
| [[Peter Derose]], [[Bert Shefter]]
| 1930s
| (1) [[Mildred Bailey]] (April 24, 1939) (2) [[Tommy Dorsey]] and His Orchestra, with vocal by Jack Leonard (May 1, 1939)
| Vocation Records (catalogue number #4845) (2) [[Victor Records]] (catalogue number. 26259)
|-
| [[Louisiana Fairy Tale]] (written with [[J. Fred Coots]])
| [[Haven Gillespie]]
| 1935
| [[Fats Waller]]
|
|-
| [[Moonlight Serenade]]
| [[Glenn Miller]]
| 1939
| Glenn Miller (1939)
|
|-
| ''Mr. Ghost Goes to Town''
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[One Morning in May (1933 song)|One Morning in May]]
| Hoagy Carmichael
| 1933
| Hoagy Carmichael, recorded October 10, 1933
| Victor Records
|-
| [[Organ Grinder's Swing]] (written with [[Irving Mills]]
| [[Will Hudson (songwriter)|Will Hudson]]
| 1936
| [[Jimmy Lunceford]] and Orchestra 
|
|-
| [[Riverboat Shuffle]]
| Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Mills and [[Dick Voynow]]
| 1924
| [[Bix Beiderbecke]] and [[The Wolverines (jazz band)|The Wolverines]]
|
|-
| ''[[Ruby (Ruby Gentry theme)|Ruby]]'' (theme song from film Ruby Gentry
| [[Heinz Roemheld]]
| 1952
| [[Les Baxter]] and His Orchestra (featuring Harmonica solo by Danny Welton) (1953)
|
|-
| ''[[Sleigh Ride]]''
| [[Leroy Anderson]]
| 1948
| [[Arthur Fiedler]] and the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]] (1949)
| [[RCA Red Seal Records]]
|-
| ''[[Sometime (Glenn Miller song)|Sometime]]''
| Glenn Miller, [[Chummy MacGregor]], Mitchell Parish
| 1939
| Glenn Miller
| RCA Victor
|-
| [[Sophisticated Lady]]
| [[Duke Ellington]]
|
|
|
|-
| [[Stairway to the Stars]]
| [[Matty Malneck]], [[Frank Signorelli]]
|
| [[Glenn Miller and His Orchestra]] featuring, [[Ray Eberle]], recorded May 9, 1939)
|
|-
| [[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]
| Hoagy Carmichael
| 1927
| Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals
|
|-
| ''[[Stars Fell on Alabama]]''
| [[Frank Perkins (composer)|Frank Perkins]]
| 1934
| [[Guy Lombardo]] Orchestra, featuring [[Carmen Lombardo]] performing Vocals
| Decca Records  (cataloguee number #104)
|-
| ''[[Sweet Lorraine]]''
| [[Cliff Burwell]]
| 1928
| [[Nat King Cole]]
| [[Capitol Records]]
|-
| [[The Syncopated Clock]]
| Leroy Anderson
| 1945
| Leroy Anderson recorded in 1950
| Decca Records
|-
| [[Volare (song)|Volare]] (''Nei blu di Pinto di blu''
| [[Domenico Modugno]]
|
| 1 February 1958
|
|-
| [[The Windmill Song]] (original French lyrics by Jacques Plante)
| [[Henri Betti]]
| 1948
| [[The Andrews Sisters]], featuring [[Gordon Jenkins]] and His Orchestra
|
|}

==Work on Broadway==
*''Continental Varieties'' (1935) - [[revue]] - featured [[lyricist]]
*''Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939'' (1939) - [[revue]] - performer
*''Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1940'' (1940) - [[revue]] - featured [[lyricist]]
*''[[Bubbling Brown Sugar]]'' (1976) - [[revue]] - featured [[lyricist]]
*''[[Sophisticated Ladies]]'' (1981) - featured [[lyricist]] for "Sophisticated Lady"
*''Stardust'' (1987) - [[revue]] - [[lyricist]]

==Death==
Parish died in 1993 in [[Manhattan]], New York at the age of 92. He was buried in [[Beth David Cemetery]] in [[Elmont, New York]].<ref name="Holden"/>

==References==
* Hill, Tony L. "Mitchell Parish, 1900-1993," in ''Dictionary of Literary Biography 265.''  Detroit: Gale Research, 2002.

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mitchell-parish-13175 Entry at Internet Broadway Database]
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106188 Mitchell Parish recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
* {{Discogs artist|Mitchell Parish}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0661695}}

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQhU4-J23Q4 To tell the Truth's episode] with Parish as challenger

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, Mitchell}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:American lyricists]]
[[Category:American musical theatre lyricists]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Lithuanian Jews]]
[[Category:Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Louisiana]]
[[Category:Burials at Beth David Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American songwriters]]