Leigh Harline, music · Ned Washington, lyrics · Introduced by Cliff Edwards in Pinocchio
When You Wish Upon a Star
Leigh Harline and Ned Washington wrote it for the Disney film Pinocchio in 1940. The tune runs 32 : the opening part twice, a contrasting middle, then the opening again. This page runs from Louis Armstrong's 1968 vocal to Nick Brignola's 1997 baritone saxophone.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Louis Armstrong singing the song, then hears it as a piano trio with Kenny Drew, a quartet with Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, and two tenor saxophones with an organ. It goes on to Bill Evans's quintet, Sonny Rollins's quartet, Andy LaVerne alone at the piano and Nick Brignola's baritone saxophone.
Louis Armstrong recorded the album in May 1968 in Hollywood, while he filmed his small part in Hello, Dolly!. Walt Disney had asked him to make it in 1966, and it was finished after Disney's death.
Louis Armstrong sings it
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Armstrong sings the song from the first line to the last, so this is the place to learn how it goes. The track runs 4 minutes 25 seconds.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum along with the track, then play the melody on your instrument in C, one phrase at a time. Next play the chart's first four as : , , , .
Kenny Drew recorded it in New York in September 1956 with Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. It is one of eight tracks on his Riverside trio album, which Jazzland reissued in 1960.
Piano trio
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Drew's piano leads, with Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums behind him. The track runs 5 minutes 18 seconds.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart's first eight as , one chord at a time, keeping a steady beat the way the drums do: , , , , , Dm7 G7, Dm7 G7, Em7 Dm7 G7. If E♭°7 is new, play Em7 and go straight to Dm7.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded it in Los Angeles in August 1957 for Dave Digs Disney, an album of jazz versions of songs from Disney films including Pinocchio. Columbia first issued the album in mono, and the stereo mixes came later.
Alto saxophone and piano quartet
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Paul Desmond plays alto saxophone and Dave Brubeck plays piano, with Norman Bates on bass and Joe Morello on drums. The stereo version linked here runs 4 minutes 52 seconds.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart's , the middle part, as ( 17 to 24): , , Dm7 G7, Cmaj7, , , Dm7, G7. Then play the chart's first eight bars again and hear how the middle part sits apart from them.
Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt with Jack McDuff · 1962 · Soul jazz
Soul Summit
Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt recorded it with organist Jack McDuff and drummer Charlie Persip at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey on February 19, 1962. It is one of six tracks cut that day for Soul Summit.
Two tenor saxophones with organ
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Two tenor saxophones, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, share the song over Jack McDuff's organ and Charlie Persip's drums. The track runs 4 minutes 37 seconds.
Try it on your instrument
Play 9 to 16 of the chart as long held on a keyboard, the way an organ holds them: , , , , , Dm7 G7, Dm7 G7, C6. Hold each chord until the next one starts.
Bill Evans recorded it in New York on July 16 and 17, 1962, with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Jim Hall on guitar, Percy Heath on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. It is on Interplay, which Riverside released in 1963.
Quintet with trumpet and guitar
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Freddie Hubbard's trumpet and Jim Hall's guitar join Evans's piano, with Percy Heath on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The 2025 remaster runs 5 minutes 45 seconds.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart's last four (bars 29 to 32) as and hold the final one: , , Dm7 G7, . If E♭°7 is new, play Em7 and go straight to Dm7.
Sonny Rollins recorded it in New York on July 2, 1964, with Herbie Hancock on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. A take of it first appeared on a French Bluebird LP, After the Bridge.
Tenor saxophone quartet
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Rollins's tenor saxophone leads, with Herbie Hancock on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. At 3 minutes 17 seconds it is the shortest instrumental on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody once as written, then play it again starting each phrase one beat later than before. Keep the beat steady and listen for how that changes the feel.
Andy LaVerne played it live at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley on April 18, 1993. Concord Jazz recorded solo piano recitals in the hall, and this one is Volume 28 of its Maybeck Recital Series.
Solo piano, live
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One pianist plays the whole piece alone, so the tune and everything under it come from the same two hands. It runs 4 minutes 35 seconds, and it was played live.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody with your right hand and one per with your left hand, using the first four bars of the chart: , , , . When that feels steady, try the next four bars.
Nick Brignola recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on April 24, 1997, with Phil Markowitz, Steve LaSpina and Billy Hart. Reservoir released it on the album Poinciana in 1998.
Baritone saxophone quartet
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Brignola plays baritone saxophone, a deep-voiced member of the saxophone family. Percussion by Café and a synthesizer from Phil Markowitz are credited on this track along with the piano, bass and drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody an octave lower than you normally would, then play it in your usual range and compare the two. Keep the same slow, steady beat for both.
Leigh Harline and Ned Washington bring the song to the Pinocchio story crew in the autumn of 1938. Cliff Edwards, the voice of Jiminy Cricket, records it, and the film uses his recording as its title music.
1940s
Pinocchio opens in 1940 with Edwards singing over the credits, and Victor issues his recording as a single. Glenn Miller's orchestra puts the song on a Bluebird 78 with Ray Eberle singing the refrain.
1950s
Jack Montrose's quintet records it in Hollywood in 1955, and Kenny Drew's trio records it in New York in 1956. Dave Brubeck's quartet follows in 1957 for Dave Digs Disney, an album of jazz versions of Disney film songs.
1960s
Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt play it with organist Jack McDuff in February 1962, and Bill Evans's quintet records it that July. In 1968 Louis Armstrong sings it on Disney Songs the Satchmo Way.
1980s
Greetje Kauffeld records it in the Netherlands in December 1980 for her album Some Other Spring. Linda Ronstadt sings it with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra on 'Round Midnight, a 1986 album.
1990s
Andy LaVerne plays it alone at Maybeck Recital Hall in 1993, and Nick Brignola records it on baritone saxophone in 1997. Tony Bennett sings it with the Ralph Sharon Quartet on his 1998 album The Playground.
More great versions
2 more, from 1980 to 1998. Tap a cover to play it here.
Greetje Kauffeld recorded the album Some Other Spring at Soundpush Studios in Blaricum, in the Netherlands, on December 12, 13 and 14, 1980. It was released in 1981.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
C majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
C
The chart is 32 long and stays in . A (bars 1 to 8) opens with , , and , then , Dm7 G7, Dm7 G7, and bar 8 is Em7 Dm7 G7, which leads back to the repeat. The second A (bars 9 to 16) plays bars 1 to 7 again and ends on C6. B (bars 17 to 24), the , goes Dm7 G7, Cmaj7, Dm7 G7, Cmaj7, then , , Dm7 and G7. The last A (bars 25 to 32) is the first A again and ends on C6.