When You Wish Upon a Star

"When You Wish Upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and in the final scene of the film. The song has since become the representative song of The Walt Disney Company. The recording by Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by Victor Records as catalogue number 26477A (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice Label as catalogue number BD 821.

Edwards recorded another version in 1940 for an American Decca Records "cover version" of the score of Pinocchio, conducted by Victor Young and featuring soprano Julietta Novis and The King's Men. It was first released on a 4-record 78-RPM album set, and years later as one side of an LP, backed by selections from The Wizard of Oz. A recording with Christian Rub (with Mister Geppetto's voice), Cliff Edwards and Chorus was released by Victor Records as catalogue number 26479B (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalogue number BD 823. "When You Wish Upon a Star" won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Lyrics
When you wish upon a star Makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream No request is too extreme When you wish upon a star As dreamers do

Fate is kind She brings to those who love The sweet fulfillment of Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true

Influence
The American Film Institute ranked "When You Wish Upon a Star" seventh in their 100 Greatest Songs in Film History, the highest ranked Disney animated film song, and also one of only four Disney animated film songs to appear on the list, the others being "Some Day My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ranked at nineteenth, "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast ranked at #62, and "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King, ranked at #99.

The song reached the top one in Billboard's Record Buying Guide, a predecessor of the retail sales chart. Popular versions included Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Horace Heidt and of course, Cliff Edwards.

In Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, the song has become a Christmas song, often referring to the Star of Bethlehem. The Swedish language version is called Ser du stjärnan i det blå, roughly translated: "do you see the star in the blue(sky)", and the Danish title is "Når du ser et stjerneskud", which translates as "When you see a shooting star". In Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway the song is played on television every Christmas Eve in the traditional Disney one-hour Christmas cabaret, and the gathering of the entire family to watch this is considered a Scandinavian tradition.

It was covered by Kiss member Gene Simmons, on his solo album in 1978.

The song was also covered by Dion and the Belmonts in 1960.

In 1980, it was performed as part of the closing number (with "You Are My Lucky Star") in episode 417 of The Muppet Show by Mark Hamill, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca and a group of Muppets.

In 1986, Linda Ronstadt recorded the classic song for her Platinum-certified album For Sentimental Reasons. Released as the album's first single, it peaked at #32 in Billboard Magazine at year's end.

Billy Joel performed the song in the 1991 direct-to-video special Simply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination and its soundtrack.

In 1995, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes recorded a cover as the final track to their Disney-themed album When You Wish Upon a Chipmunk.

"When You Wish Upon a Star" is presented twice in Disney's RocketMan (1997). The first time it appears in the film, it is sung by Fred Z. Randall (played by Harland Williams) while looking at a star outside of a spaceship. Then at the end of the film, an abridged version of the original by Cliff Edwards plays as Randall and Julie Ford (Jessica Lundy) dance together on a spaceship.

Neil Diamond covered the song on his 1998 album The Movie Album: As Time Goes By.

Mannheim Steamroller covered the song on the 1999 album Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse.

'N Sync recorded a cover for Disneymania (2002), Ashley Gearing covered the song for Disneymania 2 (2003), Jesse McCartney covered it for Disneymania 3 (2005), and Kate Voegele performed it for Disneymania 6 (2008).

In 2005, Julie Andrews selected the original Cliff Edwards recording for the album Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs.

In 2009, Meaghan Jette Martin covered the song for the Platinum Editon release of Pinocchio.

In February 2011, Celtic Woman released a cover of the song as the first track on their album "Celtic Woman: Lullaby".

Brian Wilson admits that the melody of The Beach Boys hit song, "Surfer Girl", which has the same AABA form, is loosely based on the Dion and the Belmonts version of "When You Wish Upon A Star". Wilson also covered it on his album In the Key of Disney, which was released on October 25, 2011.

Later, on Christmas Day 2011, Jessica Jung of Girls' Generation covered the song for their MBC Christmas Special.

On 2012 album Disney - Koe no Oujisama, which features various seiyus covering Disney songs, this song was covered by Takahiro Sakurai

Rod Stewart covered the song for his 2012 Christmas album Merry Christmas, Baby.

Avant-garde guitarist Buckethead occasionally plays a shortened version live.

A cover version of the orchestral underscore is used in the Walt Disney World commercial: "Wake Up Call" to replace "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" as seen in the Pocahontas 1996 VHS tape.

Disney icon
"When You Wish Upon A Star" along with Mickey Mouse has become an icon of The Walt Disney Company. In the 1950s and 1960s, Walt Disney used the song in the opening sequences of all the editions of the Walt Disney anthology television series. It has also been used to accompany the Walt Disney Pictures opening logos – including the present-day logo – since the 1980s. The ships of the Disney Cruise Line use the first seven notes of the song's melody as their horn signals. Additionally, many productions at Disney theme parks – particularly fireworks shows and parades – employ the song.

Jazz
The piece has become a jazz standard. It has been performed artists including Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Glenn Miller, Joe Pass, the Keith Jarrett Trio, The Manhattan Transfer, Sun Ra, and Bill Evans.

Lawsuit
The owner of the rights to the song, Bourne Co. Music Publishers, sued Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuzzy Door Productions, Cartoon Network, Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane to try to stop distribution of a 2003 Family Guy episode entitled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" that parodies the song in a version called I Need a Jew. A federal judge ruled against Bourne Co, stating that parodying the song did not infringe on the company's copyright.