"Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby)" is a classic American song that was written in 1913 by composer James Royce Shannon (1881–1946) for the Tin Pan Alley musical Shameen Dhu. The original recording of the song, by Chauncey Olcott, peaked at #1 on the music charts. The song was brought back to prominence by Bing Crosby's performance in 1944's Going My Way. Crosby's single sold over a million copies and peaked at #4 on the Billboard music charts.
History
The song's eponymous hook ("toora-loora-loo") is attested to at least as far back as 1837 in humorist doggerel in The New Monthly Magazine and elsewhere during the 19th century. It likely has roots in the same nonsense word "turelurelu" as that used to indicate the sound of a flute in the French-language Christmas song "Patapan" recorded in 1720.
The 1913 song was written by lyricist and actor Shannon for the play Shameen Dhu ("Black-Haired Jimmy" or "Dark Jimmy"). Prior to the play's debut, singer Chauncey Olcott took it into the studio to record it on July 30, 1913. Popular, his single peaked at #1 on the music charts in December...