Mitchell Parish

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Mitchell Parish
Birth name Michael Hyman Pashelinsky
Born (1900-07-10)July 10, 1900
Origin Lithuania, Russian Empire
Died March 31, 1993(1993-03-31) (aged 92)
Manhattan, U.S.A.
Occupation(s) Lyricist

Mitchell Parish (July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist.

Early life[edit]



By the late 1920s Parish was a well-regarded Tin Pan Alley lyricist in New York City.

His best-known works include the lyrics to songs such as "Star Dust," "Sweet Lorraine," "Deep Purple," "Stars Fell on Alabama," "Sophisticated Lady," the translation to English lyrics of "Volare," "Moonlight Serenade," "Mr. Ghost Goes to Town," "Sleigh Ride," "One Morning in May," and "Louisiana Fairy Tale," which was the first theme song used in the PBS Production of This Old House.

Besides providing the lyrics to Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust," the two collaborated on standards such as "Riverboat Shuffle" and "One Morning in May."[2]

In 1949, Parish added lyrics to bandleader Al Goodman's tune, "The Allen Stroll," which was played as radio comedian Fred Allen took a stroll down "Allen's Alley", a featured segment of Allen's weekly show. The new song, "Carousel of Love," premiered on The Fred Allen Show on April 4, 1949. It was sung by the DeMarco Sisters and played by Al Goodman and his Orchestra.

In 1951, he wrote the English lyrics of the French song Maître Pierre which was written in 1948 by Henri Betti (music) and Jacques Plante (lyrics). The title song became The Windmill Song and the song was recorded by The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra.

In 1987, a revue titled Stardust was staged on Broadway featuring Parish's lyrics. It ran for 101 performances and was revived in 1999. In an interview at the time Parish claimed to have also written the lyrics to the Duke Ellington standard "Mood Indigo" though they were credited to Irving Mills. He remained "somewhat rueful, though no longer bitter" about it.[3]

Parish's grandnephew was the Grateful Dead roadie Steve Parish, who described Parish's meeting with Jerry Garcia in his autobiography, Home Before Day Light.




Work on Broadway[edit]




  1. ^ Bloom, Nate (2006-12-19). "The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs". InterfaithFamily. Retrieved 2013-12-26. 
  2. ^ He wrote the lyrics to the Glenn Miller ballad "Sometime" from 1939, co-written with Glenn Miller and John Chummy MacGregor. Holden, Stephen (1987-02-01). "Theater; Mitchell Parish: A Way With Words". New York Times. 
  4. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame

External links[edit]