"Ramona" is a 1928 song with lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by Mabel Wayne. Composed for the 1928 feature film Ramona, it was the first theme song written for the movies.[3]

"Ramona"
Song by Gene Austin
B-side"Girl Of My Dreams"
Published1928 by Leo Feist, Inc., EMI Feist Catalog Inc.
ReleasedMay 11, 1928[1]
RecordedApril 2, 1928
StudioVictor Studios, Camden, New Jersey[2]
GenreJazz, Pop Vocal
LabelVictor 21334
Composer(s)Mabel Wayne
Lyricist(s)L. Wolfe Gilbert
Gene Austin singles chronology
"My Melancholy Baby"
(1928)
"Ramona"
(1928)
"Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time"
(1928)

The original lyrics and music of the song entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.[4]

History

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1928 Victor 78, 21214-A, by Paul Whiteman featuring Bix Beiderbecke.

It was created as the title song for publicity to the 1928 silent adventure film-romance Ramona (based on the 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson). The song was used again in the 1936 remake of the movie. Ramona was recorded in 1928 by Dolores del Río for the film. Gene Austin's 1928 version charted for 17 weeks, with eight weeks at No. 1, and easily topped a million in sales.[5]

Recordings

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References

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  1. ^ "Cover versions of Ramona by Gene Austin | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  2. ^ Gene Austin – Ramona / Girl Of My Dreams (1928, Oakland Pressing, Shellac), 11 May 1928, retrieved 2021-08-06
  3. ^ "L. Wolfe Gilbert, Composer, Dead. Wrote 'Ramona' and Many Other Successful Songs". New York Times. 13 July 1970. Retrieved 2010-07-28. L. Wolfe Gilbert, composer of more than 250 songs, including 'Ramona,' the first motion picture theme song, died today of a stroke. He was 83 years old.
  4. ^ "Public Domain Day 2024 | Duke University School of Law". web.law.duke.edu.
  5. ^ CD liner notes: Chart-Toppers of the Twenties, 1998 ASV Ltd.
  6. ^ Based on the tsort.info chart database (http://tsort.info/music/jpejrr.htm)
  7. ^ "Ramona by Les Brown and His Band of Renown". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  9. ^ British Hit Singles & Albums (18th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. 2005. p. 42. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 369.
  11. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0001443273