The song Carolina in the Morning was running through my mind and since I live in Carolina, I thought it would be great to explore this song.
The song was written by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson.
The original lyrics, which were published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co., are now in the public domain. However, the chorus is much more widely known than the often omitted verses of this popular song.
Carolina in the Morning debuted in the musical Broadway revue The Passing Show of 1922. The show premiered at the Winter Garden Theater and was sung by William Frawley. Frawley is best known for his role as Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy and Bub O’Casey on My Three Sons.
The song gained traction through the years as vaudeville performers incorporated it into their acts and helped to popularize the song. Al Jolson’s 1947 re-recording of the song outsold the original recording. The song eventually became a standard and showed considerable popularity in the 1950s.
Frawley performed the song on I Love Lucy in the episode “The Lemon Drop Kid” and on My Three Sons in the episode “Evening with a Star”. {Both were during season 3 of that particular series}. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore also performed the song on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Other artists to record the song include Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Dinah Shore, Danny Winchell, Bill Haley and His Comets.