Released in 1977
Red Sails in the Sunset
Written by Hugh Williams • Jimmy Kennedy
Last updated on April 9, 2025
Released in 1977
Written by Hugh Williams • Jimmy Kennedy
Last updated on April 9, 2025
Album This song officially appears on the Live! At The Star-Club In Hamburg, Germany; 1962 Official album.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1977
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
Feb 24, 1981
From Wikipedia:
“Red Sails in the Sunset” is a popular song. Published in 1935, its music was written by Hugh Williams (pseudonym of Wilhelm Grosz) with lyrics by prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. The song was inspired by the “red sails” of Kitty of Coleraine, a yacht Kennedy often saw off the northern coast of Northern Ireland and by his adopted town Portstewart, a seaside resort in County Londonderry.
The song was used in the Broadway production of Provincetown Follies, which ran from November 3 until December 19, 1935, at the Provincetown Playhouse.
Popular versions in 1935 were by Bing Crosby, Guy Lombardo, Mantovani and Jack Jackson. Another early version was recorded by Al Bowlly with Ray Noble and his Orchestra on September 18, 1935. Louis Armstrong also had a hit with the song in 1936.
The song was revived by Nat King Cole in 1951. This version was released by Capitol Records as catalogue number 1468. It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on July 13, 1951, and lasted two weeks on the chart, peaking at number 24.
It was also recorded by Tab Hunter in 1957. […]
According to Mark Lewisohn in “The Complete Beatles Chronicle“, The Beatles performed a rock-and-roll reworking of “Red Sails in the Sunset” regularly between 1960 and 1962, with Paul McCartney on lead vocals. A version, recorded in Hamburg in 1962, was released on “Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.”
Star Club - Hamburg, Germany - December 1962
Unofficial live
2:33 • Live • The recording date is a guess - all we now for certain is that the Star-Club tapes were recorded between December 18 and 31, 1962.
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
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