{{about||the Chet Baker album|When Sunny Gets Blue (album)}} {{Infobox song | name = When Sunny Gets Blue | cover =US_78_when_sunny_gets_blue_mathis.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff and his Orchestra | album = Johnny's Greatest Hits | A-side = Wonderful! Wonderful! | released = November 5, 1956 | recorded = September 21, 1956 | studio = Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City | genre = Vocal pop, jazz | length = 2:34 | label = Columbia | writer = Marvin Fisher<br />Jack Segal | producer = {{hlist|Al Ham|Mitch Miller}} | chronology = Johnny Mathis | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = It's Not for Me to Say | next_year = 1957 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|jsDHDd32Ohw|"When Sunny Gets Blue"}}}} }} "'''When Sunny Gets Blue'''" is a jazz standard<ref name="Johnson2010">{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=J. Wilfred|title=Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ella_Fitzgerald/sZIuEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22When+Sunny+Gets+Blue%22+jazz+standard&pg=PA283&printsec=frontcover|date=5 August 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5039-8|page=283}}</ref> with music by Marvin Fisher and lyrics by Jack Segal. The song was originally recorded in 1956 by Johnny Mathis backed by Ray Conniff and his Orchestra and released as the B-side of Mathis's debut single "Wonderful! Wonderful!". "When Sunny Gets Blue" was included on the compilation album ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'', released in April 1958.
==Background and release== Johnny Mathis was billed as a jazz singer on his debut album, which was released by Columbia Records in 1956. In the liner notes for his 1993 box set ''The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection'', Mathis is quoted as saying that the head of A&R at Columbia, Mitch Miller, "hated what I was singing, and he hated the way I was singing it."<ref name = "personal">{{cite AV media notes |author= Columbia Records |others=Johnny Mathis|title= The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection |year=1993|type=Liner notes|publisher=Columbia Records|id= C4K-48932}}</ref> Miller wanted to teach him to sing using the "choirboy quality in his voice".<ref>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19778/m1/ |title=Show 23 - Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66. [Part 2]}}</ref> He gave Mathis a stack of demos and sheet music from which he was to select four songs for a recording session on September 21, 1956, with Miller and Al Ham producing.<ref name = personal/>{{efn|Neither the original 45 and 78 rpm singles nor the liner notes for ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' provided producer credits, but other compilations have. ''The Essential Johnny Mathis'',<ref name = "Essential">{{cite AV media notes |author=Columbia Records |others=Johnny Mathis |title= The Essential Johnny Mathis |year=2004 |type=Liner notes |publisher=Columbia Records |id= C2K-63562}}</ref> ''Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration''<ref>{{cite AV media notes |author=Sony BMG |others=Johnny Mathis |title=Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration |year=2006 |type=Liner notes |publisher=Sony BMG |id=82876 88583 2}}</ref> and ''The Singles''<ref>{{cite AV media notes |author=Columbia Records |others=Johnny Mathis |title=The Singles |year=2015 |type=Liner notes |publisher=Columbia Records |id=88875120552}}</ref> acknowledge Mitch Miller as a producer, but ''The Essential Johnny Mathis'' and ''Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration'' also credit Al Ham as a producer on this song.}} Two of his selections, "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "When Sunny Gets Blue", were released as his first single on November 5.<ref name = personal/>
==Critical reception== ===Original recording=== ''Cashbox'' magazine gave letter grades to both sides of the single in its review. "When Sunny Gets Blue" received a B+ (meaning excellent): "Johnny Mathis, a talented youngster with a wistful, romantic, voice, lends his beautiful technique to this tender love story and comes up with a most pleasant side. Pretty performance."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Cash Box Record Reviews > Johnny Mathis > "Wonderful! Wonderful!" |date=December 1, 1956|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=8|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/50s/1956/CB-1956-12-1-OCR-Page-0008.pdf#search=%22mathis%20wonderful%22 |access-date= February 2, 2025}}</ref>
===Cover versions=== On December 28, 1956, Nat King Cole recorded it for his album ''Love Is the Thing'',<ref name="jazzdisco">{{cite web|title=Nat King Cole Catalog > The Voice of Nat "King" Cole – Love Is the Thing|url=https://www.jazzdisco.org/nat-king-cole/catalog/#capitol-w-824|website=jazzdisco.org|access-date=February 9, 2025}}</ref> with this rendition praised by music critic Will Friedwald as displaying Cole's "tenderness, compassion and empathy".<ref>{{cite book |title=Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole |last=Friedwald |first=Will |authorlink=Will Friedwald |date=2020 |page=346 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PqXaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA346 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190882068}}</ref>
Stanley Green of ''Stereo Review'' commended Nancy Wilson's rendition on her 1962 album ''Hello Young Lovers''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1962-11.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |title= Nancy Wilson: Hello Young Lovers |author= Stanley Green|volume=9|issue=5|page= 127|date=November 1962|publisher=Stereo Review|website=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>
Various versions of "When Sunny Gets Blue" have been singled out by the editors of ''Billboard'' in reviews of singles or the albums on which the song appeared. The George Shearing Trio's version on their 1962 album ''Jazz Moments'' was described as "richly harmonized".<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Reviews & Previews > Albums > Vital Reissues > George Shearing Trio – Jazz Moments | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= November 11, 1995 |volume= 107 |issue= 45 |page= 75 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1995/1995-11-11-Billboard-Page-0097.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 11, 2025}}</ref> Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake's recording was described as one of "the better tracks" from their 1962 album ''The Newest Sound Around''.<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Reviews of New Albums > Strong Sales Potential > Jazz LP's > The Newest Sound Around – Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= May 12, 1962 |volume= 74 |issue= 19 |page= 42 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1962/Billboard%201962-05-12-OCR-Page-0044.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 11, 2025}}</ref> Regarding Joe Harnell's version, released as a single in 1965, they wrote, "First-rate piano work and bossa nova-flavored arrangement of the standard."<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Singles Reviews > Programming Spotlights > Middle Road Spotlights > Joe Harnell – When Sunny Gets Blue | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= January 23, 1965 |volume= 77 |issue= 3 |page= 14 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1965/Billboard%201965-01-23-OCR-Page-0014.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 10, 2025}}</ref> In their review of Steve Miller's 1988 album ''Born 2 B Blue'', they described his rendition as "smooth".<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Album Reviews > Pop > Recommended > Steve Miller - Born 2B Blue | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= October 8, 1988 |volume= 100 |issue= 41 |page= 70 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1988/1988-10-08-Billboard-Page-0084.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 10, 2025}}</ref> Lillian Boutté's recording from her 1996 album ''But… Beautiful'' was "enjoyable".<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Reviews & Previews > Albums > Jazz > Lillian Boutté – But… Beautiful | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= May 18, 1996 |volume= 108 |issue= 20 |page= 69 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1996/1996-05-18-Billboard-Page-0099.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 10, 2025}}</ref> Michele Rosewoman's version on her 1996 album ''Spirit'' was described as a "playfully progressive reconstitution".<ref>{{cite magazine | title= Reviews & Previews > Albums > Jazz > Michele Rosewoman - Spirit | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |magazine= Billboard |date= October 19, 1996 |volume= 108 |issue= 42 |page= 61 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1996/1996-10-19-Billboard-Page-0075.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 10, 2025}}</ref>
''Cashbox'' also highlighted recordings of "When Sunny Gets Blue" in various reviews. Regarding Blossom Dearie's version on her 1964 album ''May I Come In?'', the editors singled it out as one of the songs on which her "high-pitched jazz-styled bluesy voice has lost none of its distinctive luster".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Cash Box Album Reviews > Jazz Picks > May I Come In? – Blossom Dearie |date=June 13, 1964|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page=8|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1964/CB-1964-06-13-OCR-Page-0023.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref> As the B-side of Carmen McRae's 1964 single "Cutie Pants", "When Sunny Gets Blue" received a B+ (Very Good) with the comment, "Potent blues reading for late night spinners."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Cash Box Record Reviews > Best Bets > Carmen McRae |date=June 20, 1964|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page= 16|url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1964/CB-1964-06-20-OCR-Page-0016.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22|access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref> Reviewing Gene Shaw's 1964 album ''Debut in Blue'', they wrote, "Jazzophiles will dig these ultra-modern sounds, especially… 'When Sunny Gets Blue'."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Cash Box Album Reviews > Jazz Best Bets > Debut in Blue – Gene Shaw |date= March 14, 1964|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page= 24|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1964/CB-1964-03-14-OCR-Page-0024.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref> In their review of Junior Mance's 1967 album ''The Good Life'', they described the song as "groovy".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Cash Box Album Reviews > Jazz Picks > The Good Life – Junior Mance |date= April 15, 1967|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page= 38|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1967/CB-1967-04-15-OCR-Page-0038.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref> Regarding Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis's 1968 album ''Love Calls'', they wrote, "Smooth and mellow sax treatments of tunes like 'When Sunny Gets Blue' [and others] make for an easy going package of 'mood music' particularly suited to those moods befalling couples late at night."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Cash Box Album Reviews > Jazz Picks > Love Calls – Eddie Lockjaw Davis |date= February 24, 1968|magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page= 56|url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1968/CB-1968-02-24-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22|access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref> When Kenny Rankin's 1977 recording was released as a single, they wrote, "Considering the high-pitched, reedy quality of both their singing voices, a song that was performed by Johnny Mathis is an appropriate choice for Kenny Rankin. With lush orchestration by Don Costa, Rankin's vocal skips along in jazzy intervals."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Singles Reviews > Picks of the Week > Kenny Rankin – When Sunny Gets Blue |date=August 6, 1977 |magazine=Cashbox|location=New York|publisher=Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc.| page= 17 |url= https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/70s/1977/CB-1977-08-13-OCR-Page-0017.pdf#search=%22when%20sunny%20gets%20blue%22 |access-date= February 12, 2025}}</ref>
AllMusic critics have commented in retrospective reviews on various versions of the song. Scott Yanow critiqued the June Christy album ''Fair and Warmer!'', which was recorded in January 1957,<ref>{{cite AV media notes |author=Capitol Jazz |others=June Christy|title= Gone for the Day/Fair and Warmer |year=1998|type=Liner notes|publisher=Capitol Jazz|id= 495 4482}}</ref> and noted that "When Sunny Gets Blue" was one of the highlights.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/fair-and-warmer%21-mw0000843439 |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title= Fair and Warmer! – June Christy |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324141042/https://www.allmusic.com/album/fair-and-warmer!-mw0000843439 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Regarding Dakota Staton's version on her 1958 album ''Dynamic!'', Yanow wrote that she "puts plenty of feeling into" the song.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/dynamic%21-mw0000561412|last=Yanow |first=Scott |title= Dynamic! – Dakota Staton |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324151644/https://www.allmusic.com/album/dynamic!-mw0000561412 |archive-date=March 24, 2025}}</ref> Stephen Cook found Jimmy Heath's rendition to be an "attractive cover" on 1961's ''The Quota''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quota-mw0000177220 |last=Cook |first=Stephen |title= The Quota – Jimmy Heath |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324152124/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quota-mw0000177220 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> He also reviewed the 1966 album ''This Is Criss!'', writing that Sonny Criss "makes fine work of such rare-bird covers as{{nbsp}}… 'When Sunny Gets Blue'."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-criss%21-mw0000203394 |last=Cook |first=Stephen |title= This Is Criss! – Sonny Criss |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324152402/https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-criss!-mw0000203394 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Regarding Anita O'Day's 1961 album ''Waiter, Make Mine Blues'', Jason Ankeny felt that "songs like{{nbsp}}… 'When Sunny Gets Blue' capture O'Day at her most affecting, balancing her trademark sophistication with the world-weary resignation of one who has loved and lost."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/waiter-make-mine-blues-mw0000464386 |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |title= Waiter, Make Mine Blues – Anita O'Day |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324161527/https://www.allmusic.com/album/waiter-make-mine-blues-mw0000464386 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> John Bush reviewed Sarah Vaughan's 1962 album ''Sarah + 2'', commenting, "Her best feature is 'When Sunny Gets Blue,' a spotlight for her dynamic range."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/sarah-2-mw0000553372 |last=Bush |first=John |title= Sarah + 2 – Sarah Vaughan |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162046/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sarah-2-mw0000553372 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Yanow noted the song as a highlight on the George Shearing Trio's 1963 album ''Jazz Moments''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-moments-mw0002291181 |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=Jazz Moments – George Shearing Trio |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162024/https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-moments-mw0002291181 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Regarding the McCoy Tyner version on 1964's ''Today and Tomorrow'', Michael G. Nastos wrote that "the chiming, wanton ballad 'When Sunny Gets Blue' drips with all the pure emotion that Tyner can wring out of a weepy piano."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/today-and-tomorrow-mw0000264437 |last=Nastos |first=Michael G. |title= Today and Tomorrow – McCoy Tyner |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162224/https://www.allmusic.com/album/today-and-tomorrow-mw0000264437 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> In a review of Matt Monro's 1967 album ''Here's to My Lady'', Ankeny wrote, "Monro's vocals are smooth and rich like crushed velvet, tackling standards like{{nbsp}}… 'When Sunny Gets Blue'{{nbsp}}… with a thoughtfulness that comes only with age and experience."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-the-life-heres-to-my-lady-mw0000045076 |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |title= This Is the Life/Here's to My Lady – Matt Monro |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162247/https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-the-life-heres-to-my-lady-mw0000045076 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Regarding the Dexter Gordon Quartet's 1975 album ''Something Different'', Yanow wrote, "Gordon stretches out on some standards, making a classic statement on the ballad 'When Sunny Gets Blue'."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/something-different-mw0000689990 |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title= Something Different – Dexter Gordon Quartet |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162135/https://www.allmusic.com/album/something-different-mw0000689990 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Yanow also mentioned the song as a highlight on Chris Connor's 1978 album ''Sweet and Swinging''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/sweet-and-swinging-mw0000626664|last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=Sweet and Swinging – Chris Connor |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162203/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sweet-and-swinging-mw0000626664 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref>
AllMusic critics have also commented on the song in contemporary reviews. In his review of the Paolo Fresu Quintet's 1991 album ''Ballads'', Thom Jurek commented, "Beginning a ballad program with the quietly gorgeous 'When Sunny Gets Blue' is auspicious, especially when the opening measures feature a Fresu solo of such lyrical warmth and relaxed phrasing that the listener is nearly lulled into intoxication before [tenor saxophonist Tino] Tracana adds some weight in his own Cannonball Adderley way."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballads-mw0000434006 |last=Jurek |first=Thom |title= Ballads – Paolo Fresu |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162222/https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballads-mw0000434006 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Yanow wrote of Joe Williams's 1992 album ''Ballad and Blues Master'' that the singer "was in superior form for this live date, putting a lot of feeling into such songs as{{nbsp}}… 'When Sunny Gets Blue'."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballad-and-blues-master-mw0000079701|last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=Ballad and Blues Master – Joe Williams |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324195209/https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballad-and-blues-master-mw0000079701 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Yanow also commented on Boutté's 1996 ''But… Beautiful'' album, singling out the song as one of its highlights.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/but-beautiful-mw0000174945 |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title= But… Beautiful – Lillian Boutté |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162320/https://www.allmusic.com/album/but-beautiful-mw0000174945 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> Jonathan Widran described the version on Brandon Fields's 1999 album ''Fields and Strings'' as "a soulful, sentimental take".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fields-strings-mw0000670846 |last=Widran |first=Jonathan |title= Fields and Strings – Brandon Fields |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162450/https://www.allmusic.com/album/fields-strings-mw0000670846 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref> James Manheim felt the song "takes naturally to orchestral pop treatment" on the 2025 album ''Symphonic Steps'' by Livingston Taylor and the BBC Concert Orchestra.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/symphonic-steps-mw0004460843|last=Manheim |first=James |title= Symphonic Steps – Livingston Taylor/BBC Concert Orchestra |website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250324162513/https://www.allmusic.com/album/symphonic-steps-mw0004460843 |archive-date= March 24, 2025}}</ref>
==Legal case== "When Sunny Gets Blue" begins with the lyrics "When Sunny gets blue, her eyes get grey and cloudy; then the rain begins to fall." In 1984, DJ Rick Dees, a radio personality at Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, recorded a parody of the song for an album, including the lyrics "When Sunny sniffs glue, her eyes get red and bulgy, then her hair begins to fall". Dees sought permission to use the lyrics, but was refused; subsequently, he used 8 bars of the song under the fair use doctrine. In 1986, composer Marvin Fisher and lyricist Jack Segal sued Dees for copyright violation, unfair competition, product disparagement, and defamation<ref>{{cite web |title=Fisher v. Dees, 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/794/432/230836/ |website=law.justia.com |access-date=20 April 2023}}</ref> in U.S. District Court for Los Angeles. At the request of the parties involved, the district court issued a summary judgment, finding for Dees.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131217144340/http://mcir.usc.edu/cases/1980-1989/Pages/fisherdees.html]</ref> Fisher appealed the case to the U.S Court of Appeals for the 9th District, in Pasadena, California. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the lower court in ''Fisher v. Dees'' 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986), stating that the parody was intended to "criticize" for the purposes of humor, not to "copy", and did not damage the marketability of the original because they were two different markets of music.<ref name="Sadler2005">{{cite book|last=Sadler|first=Roger L.|title=Electronic Media Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4egPXh4OoEC&pg=PA318|date=10 March 2005|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-0588-6|page=318}}</ref><ref name="Vaidhyanathan2001">{{cite book|last=Vaidhyanathan|first=Siva|title=Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity|url=https://archive.org/details/copyrightscopywr00vaid|url-access=registration|date=1 August 2001|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-8806-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/copyrightscopywr00vaid/page/n159 147]}}</ref> The case has become a landmark one, further refining the doctrine of fair use in U.S. copyright law.
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:1956 songs Category:1950s jazz standards Category:Johnny Mathis songs Category:Compositions in the Real Book Category:Songs written by Jack Segal