In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town is a popular song published in 1932, written by Ira Schuster and Jack Little with lyrics by Joe Young. Ted Lewis and His Band performed it in the film The Crooner and released it as a single, which reached number 1 and stayed there for ten weeks. The lyrics describe longing for a humble shack by an old railroad track where a queen with a silver crown waits, a place more precious than a palace. It became a pop standard with many later versions, including Johnny Long and His Orchestra whose 1946 million seller followed a 1940 version, Jerry Lee Lewis, Somethin' Smith and the Redheads, and Fats Domino in 1961, and it has appeared on various collections and dance-band arrangements rather than a single definitive album. The tune spans big band, pop standards, and early jazz in its enduring recordings.
