"Ramona" is a 1928 song with lyrics by
L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by
Mabel Wayne. Composed for the 1928 feature film Ramona, it was the first theme song written for the movies.[3]
The original lyrics and music of the song entered the
public domain in the United States in 2024.[4]
History
It was created as the title song for publicity to the 1928 silent adventure film-romance Ramona (based on the 1884 novel Ramona by
Helen Hunt Jackson). The song was used again in the
1936 remake of the movie. Ramona was recorded in 1928 by
Dolores del Río for the film.
Gene Austin's 1928 version charted for 17 weeks, with eight weeks at No. 1, and easily topped a million in sales.[5]
Recordings
On record it was a popular hit, usually performed as a romantic ballad, sometimes with a
Latin inflection by
"Whispering" Jack Smith and, in an idiosyncratic arrangement recorded on 4 January 1928, the
Paul Whiteman Orchestra. The Paul Whiteman version, Victor 21214-A, featuring
Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, was No. 1 for 3 weeks on the Billboard charts in 1928.
Gene Austin's recording was No. 1 for 8 weeks the same year.
Ruth Etting also recorded a version, which reached No. 10.[6][clarification needed]
In 1958,
Jim Reeves recorded "Ramona" for his album Girls I Have Known.[8]
It was a German, and Dutch number one hit in 1960 for the
Blue Diamonds, arranged in an upbeat style similar to
The Everly Brothers recordings of that period.
In 1964 it was a UK hit for
The Bachelors who reached the No. 4 spot in the charts during a 13-week stay.[9]
Singer
Billy Walker revived the song for the country market in 1968, reaching the top 10 of the US country charts, peaking at No. 8.[10]