13/10/2020 Amy, Wonderful Amy - Wikipedia

Amy, Wonderful Amy

"Amy, Wonderful Amy" is a 1930 popular song, written by Joseph G. Gilbert and composed by
Lawrence Wright (some sources credit him under his pseudonym Horatio Nicholls) about British
aviator Amy Johnson.[1][2] It was recorded by Jack Hylton and his orchestra on 2 June 1930, with J.
Pat O'Malley providing vocals,[3] and released on HMV B-5836. [4] The banjo and ukelele
arrangement was provided by Alvin Keech. [5] While at least ten songs were written about her at the
time, "Amy Wonderful Amy" is the most famous. [6]

Contents
Background
Recording
Other versions
Sources

Background
Amy Johnson was an English aviator who in 1930 flew solo from the United Kingdom all the way to
Australia . She was the first female pilot to do so. [4]After landing in Australia she became world
famous overnight and the euphoria inspired Joseph G. Gilbert and Lawrence Wright to write a song
about a man who expresses his admiration and love for her.

The song has an instrumental break in which a news reporter describes her flying past several
locations (Vienna, Baghdad, Karachi, Port Darwin and Brisbane, Australia) until he fears that she
might've crashed, but it turns out she is safe after all. After a reprisal of the refrain the song ends with
sounds of people cheering. [3]

Recording
It was recorded by Jack Hylton and his orchestra only nine days after Johnson's arrival. [7] Ten per
cent of the royalties would be sent to The Daily Sketch fund to buy her a new plane. [4]

Other versions
The song has also [3] been recorded by:

1930 - The Rhythm Maniacs, sang by Maurice Erwin.

1930 - The Debroy Somers Band, sang by Tom Barratt.
1930 - Harry Bidgood & His Band.
1930 - Chris Hall, aka John Thorne.
1930 - Arthur Lally & The Million-Airs.
1930 - Arthur Rosebery & His Kit-Kat Dance Band.
1930 - Tom Barratt.
1930 - G. Dunnet.
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13/10/2020 Amy, Wonderful Amy - Wikipedia

1930 - Dick Denton.

Sources
1. "Women in Aviation and Space History - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum" (https://air
andspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/johnsonA.cfm).
2. Brownlee, Liz; Dean, Jan; Morgan, Michaela (2017-03-09). Reaching the Stars: Poems about
Extraordinary Women and Girls (https://books.google.com/?id=FUX6DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT46&lpg=
PT46&dq=amy,+wonderful+amy+song#v=onepage&q=amy%2C%20wonderful%20amy%20song
&f=false). ISBN 9781509814299.
3. "AMY - Lyrics - International Lyrics Playground" (https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/a/amy.h
tml).
4. Faint, Pete (2015-02-06). Jack Hylton (https://books.google.com/?id=iGhdCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT115
&lpg=PT115&dq=amy,+wonderful+amy+song#v=onepage&q=amy%2C%20wonderful%20amy%2
0song&f=false). ISBN 9781326154639.
5. "Music Composed for Aviation Pioneer Amy Johnson: Lawrence Wright Music Company, London,
England - Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, ABAA" (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Music-Compos
ed-Aviation-Pioneer-Amy-Johnson/7737693112/bd).
6. "About Amy" (https://amyjohnsonproject.org/aboutamy/).
7. Morris, Richard (2018-01-25). Yorkshire: A lyrical history of England's greatest county (https://boo
ks.google.com/?id=T3qLCwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PR53&lpg=RA1-PR53&dq=amy,+wonderful+amy+
song#v=onepage&q=amy%2C%20wonderful%20amy%20song&f=false). ISBN 9780297609445.

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This page was last edited on 9 October 2020, at 09:19 (UTC).

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