“Bye, Bye Blackbird” – By Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon.

“Bye, Bye Blackbird” was Henderson and Dixon’s biggest hit, first performed by Gene Austin in 1926. The recording spent 12 weeks at the top of the charts. Gene Austin had other famous smash hits including “Yes Sir That’s My Baby” in 1925 and “Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue” in 1926. Mr. Austin made his start singing in New Orleans while in his teens. He was a friend and early supporter of Fats Waller, and bailed him out of jail at least once.
The song fell out of favor with the jazz crowd, but was revived in 1948 by Russ Morgan and His Band. Since then it has been recorded hundreds, if not thousands of times.

Ray Henderson came from a musical family, and he worked in Vaudeville. In 1922 he began collaborating with Lew Brown and later including Buddy De Sylva. They had a number of hits including “The Birth of The Blues,” “Button up Your Overcoat,” “Varsity Drag,” and “You’re The Cream In My Coffee.” In 1929 the team moved to Hollywood and scored Al Jolson’s movie Sonny Boy. A 1956 movie, The Best Things in Life Are Free, was made about this songwriting team.

Lyricist Mort Dixon Served in WWI, and after the war, toured Europe with an Army show. On returning to the States, he also worked in Vaudeville. His first hit was “That Old Gang of Mine,” co-written with Ray Henderson and Billy Rose in 1923. He also charted in 1928 with Harry Warren on the tune “Nagasaki,” and with Joe Young in 1931 with the song “You’re My Everything.”