Hot Track: A Gal in Calico

A Gal in Calico was written by Leo Robin and Arthur Schwartz for a rather dumb film from Warner Bros. called The Time, the Place and the Girl. Released the day after Christmas in 1946, the B-movie was a post-war good-time jubilee featuring a dopey plot and a mess of stage talent and dance numbers. But nestled within the movie mess was a Western scene with lariat twirlers. The Oklahoma-like production needed a song, so Robin and Schwartz wrote A Gal in Calico.

The song was gold in the 1940s. Artists who recorded it wound up with hits, since the public couldn't seem to get enough of the post-war, America-values, settle-down song. Among the best versions during this period was the one recorded by Johnny Mercer (above) and the Pied Pipers in 1947 with Paul Weston's arrangement and band. Here it is...



Two terrific jazz versions stand out at the dawn of the the LP era: Ahmad Jamal's revival of A Gal in Calico in 1952 on his The Piano Scene (Epic) and Miles Davis's rendition in 1955 on The Musings of Miles (Prestige)....





Both recordings by Jamal and Davis are pure perfection and classics. But a recent favorite of mine is pianist Hod O'Brien's on Aaron Binder's album, Fortune Smiles on Aaron Binder (2000). O'Brien was backed by bassist Scott Fitzsimmons and drummer Binder.