"Deep Purple" was written with music by the pianist Peter DeRose, who composed it as a piano piece published in 1933 by Robbins Music, and lyrics by Mitchell Parish, added in 1938 after strong sheet-music sales. The earliest recording was an instrumental by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra on 26 September 1934. Dick Todd with orchestra recorded the first vocal version on 28 December 1938. In 1939 Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, with Bea Wain, spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on the US charts, while Jimmy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, Bing Crosby with Matty Malneck and Artie Shaw with Helen Forrest also charted; Shaw's version was a sentimental ballad. Adelaide Hall introduced the song to Britain in 1939. Nino Tempo and April Stevens reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1963 and won the Grammy for Best Rock and Roll Record that year. Donny and Marie Osmond released a note-for-note cover in 1975, reaching number 14 on the Hot 100 and number 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The British rock band Deep Purple took its name from the song. It is known as a standard of the swing era.
