Mitchell Parish

Mitchell Parish ( * July 10, 1900 as Michael Hyman Pashelinsky in Lithuania, † March 31, 1993 in New York City ) was an American songwriter. He wrote, inter alia, the text for "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael and "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington.

Life and work

Mitchell Parish came from a 1901 immigrant from Lithuania Jewish family. He grew up in Louisiana, the family moved to New York. In the late 1920s Parish began working as a songwriter in the Tin Pan Alley; where he specialized on writing lyrics for instrumental pieces and foreign hits. His first big success was " Sweet Lorraine " in 1928, which was based on an instrumental piece by Cliff Boswell.

Best known for his song " Stardust ," which he wrote in 1929 with Hoagy Carmichael. Although the impresario Irving Mills (who had never written a line of lyrics) and Duke Ellington put their name in " Mood Indigo ", the Swing classics had indeed come from Barney Bigard and Parish. In 1932 he wrote for the Boswell Sisters hit " Sentimental Sisters from Georgia " with music by Frank Perkins. The two also wrote the Cab Calloway success entitled "The Scat Song". The following year came with Carmichael " One Morning in May". In 1934, he provided the text for Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady". 1934 renewed Parish Perkins and their cooperation and created the title "Stars Fell on Alabama ," which was to become a jazz standard soon. This also applies to the 1935 created the song " Stairway to the Stars." In 1939 he wrote the song "Deep Purple" to the tune of Peter DeRose. Great hits were " Volare ", " Moonlight Serenade" for Glenn Miller (1939) and "Sleigh Ride". In 1987 a revue titled "Stardust" with Mitchell Parish was listed songs on Broadway; they had 101 performances and ran until 1999.

He died at the age of 92 years in Manhattan and is at the Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York buried.