"Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!" is a popular American song composed by Abe Olman (1887–1984), lyricized by Ed Rose (pseudonym for Edward Smackels, Jr.; 1875–1935), and published by Forster Music Publisher, Inc. The music was copyrighted 7 February 1917 and the copyright was renewed 29 December 1944. Under the Copyright Term Extension Act (1998), the sheet music is in the public domain, as is all music published in the U.S. prior to 1923.
According to an August 1945 United Press article, Ed Rose (lyricist) wrote the song when his friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen of Akron, Ohio, began dating while attending college in Indiana. They were so conspicuously in love that Rose, also their classmate, wrote the song about them and presented them with the original manuscript.
Premier Quartet
Blue Amberol Records, wax cylinder (1917) OCLC 39869865
The Andrews Sisters with the Vic Schoen Orchestra
2840 Decca, 78 rpm; 10 inch (1939) OCLC 166342298
Recorded November 9, 1939, New York City
Side A matrix 66498
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Bonnie Baker with Orrin Tucker and His Orchestra
Columbia, 78 rpm; 10 inch (1939)
Recorded August 20, 1939, Los Angeles
Side A — vocal version by Bonnie Baker
Side B — instrumental version by Orin Tucker and His Orchestra
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Pop hit on the Billboard Charts for 14 weeks and sold 1.5 million records in 1940
Peggy Lee with orchestra conducted by Jack Marshall
Album:
I Like Men!
Capitol Records, 33 1/3 rpm, 12 inch (April 1959) OCLC 26592062 stereo OCLC 10894054 mono
Recorded 1959
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Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra
NBC broadcasts OCLC 811140658
Recorded Late March 1940 (date unknown), Roseland, New York City
Kathy Linden released a version of the song as a single in 1958 entitled "Oh Johnny, Oh!".
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love (1940 film), directed by Charles Lamont, Universal Pictures
Spotlight Scandals (1943 musical film), directed by William Beaudine
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005 film)
Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh, OCLC 741366211
Sheet music (public domain)
See sheet music collections:
Indiana University Bloomington — IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana
University of Southern California — USC Music Library: Sheet Music Catalog
