When You Wish Upon a Star

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When You Wish Upon a Star (m. Leigh Harline, w. Ned Washington)

“When You Wish Upon a Star” was written for Walt Disney’s 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The song, which eventually became the theme song of The Walt Disney Company, was introduced during the opening credits of the film by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket and chorus.

from Wikipedia:

Pinocchio (/pɪˈnoʊkioʊ/;^[1] Italian: [piˈnɔkkjo]) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.^[2]^[3] Carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a village near Lucca, he was created as a wooden puppet but dreams of becoming a real boy. He is notably characterized for his frequent tendency to lie, which causes his nose to grow.^[4]

Pinocchio’s bad behavior, rather than being charming or endearing, is meant to serve as a warning. Collodi originally intended the story, which was first published in 1881, to be a tragedy. It concluded with the puppet’s execution. Pinocchio’s enemies, the Fox and the Cat, bind his arms, pass a noose around his throat, and hang him from the branch of an oak tree.^[7]

When The Walt Disney Company was developing the story for their film version of Pinocchio (1940), they intended to keep the obnoxious aspects of the original character, but Walt Disney himself felt that this made the character too unlikable, so alterations were made to incorporate traits of mischief and innocence to make Pinocchio more likable. Pinocchio was voiced by Dickie Jones.

The site classicthemes.com gives an unpublished copyright date of August 23, 1938, with registration number Eu 176 054.

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Cliff Edwards — from the soundtrack of Pinocchio (1940)

Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights — recorded on 28 December 1939; issued in 1940 on the single Columbia 35351, b/w “Give a Little Whistle”

VBR MP3 (2.5 MB) audio file, from the page History American Pop 063 at archive.org:

Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, vocal: Ray Eberle — recorded on 6 January 1940, and issued as Bluebird B-10570-A, b/w “Gaucho Serenade”

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Vera Lynn – 1940

Rosemary Clooney and Harry James together recorded a group of eight Academy Award winning songs which were released as Hollywood’s Best, a 10-inch 1952 album, (CL 6224). It was reissued as CL 585, a 12-inch LP in 1954 or 1955 (There is disagreement on the year in various discographies).

Rosemary Clooney with Harry James and his Orchestra – recorded on 23 May 1952, released on the LP Hollywood’s Best that year

June Christy with the Joe Castro Quartet — from the 1960 album The Cool School: Songs for Grown-Up Children, Capitol Records ST 1398

Dion & the Belmonts – from the group’s second album Wish Upon a Star with Dion & the Belmonts, 1960

Bill Evans – from the album Interplay, recorded during 16-17 July 1962 sessions

Bill Evans – piano
Percy Heath – bass
Philly Joe Jones – drums
Jim Hall – guitar
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet

Chet Atkins — date unknown — Atkins released recordings of “When You Wish Upon a Star” on the RCA Victor albums Solo Flights, 1968, and Pickin’ My Way, 1971

Keith Jarrett Trio — Hitomi Memorial Hall Tokyo, 26 October 1986

David Matthews leads a trio of Manhattan Jazz Orchestra members consisting of Matthews (piano), Chip Jackson (bass), and Terry Silverlight (drums)