“My Lucky Day.” Composed by Harry Parr-Davies for the film This Week of Grace (1933). Recorded in London on July 1, 1933 by Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans with vocalist Maurice Elwin. Columbia CB-641 mx. CA-13778-1.

Personnel: Carroll Gibbons-p dir. Bill Shakespeare-Billy Higgs-t / Arthur Fenoulhet-t-tb / Paul Fenoulhet-tb / Sam Acres-tb / George Melachrino-cl-as-vn / Laurie Payne-cl-as-bar / George Smith-ts / Ben Frankel-vn / Sid Bright-2nd p / Harry Sherman-g / Jack Evetts-sb / Rudy Starita-d-vib-x / Maurice Elwin-v

“My Lucky Day,” like its reverse side on Columbia CB-641 (“Happy Ending”), has Maurice Elwin interpreting lyrics originally given to Gracie Fields in the star vehicle This Week of Grace. He begins to sing after a very brief instrumental introduction and warmly expresses elation at his good fortune. In dance band recordings of this sort, it is more common to have the vocalist come in halfway through the song or even later; it speaks to Elwin’s reputation as a powerful vocalist that he was chosen for this particular arrangement.

Other dance bands who recorded “My Lucky Day” in 1933 were Harry Bidgood and His Band (v. Tom Barratt), Harry Leader and His Band (v. Sam Browne), Sydney Kyte and His Picadilly Hotel Band (v. Norman Phillips), Charlie Kunz and the Casani Club Orchestra (v. Eve Becke), Larry Brennan and the Winter Gardens Dance Band (whose unidentified female vocalist is amusingly terrible), and Billy Cotton and His Band (in a medley of songs from This Week of Grace). Gracie Fields also made a record with this song on it.