Smoke Rings is a 1932 jazz standard written by Gene Gifford with lyrics by Ned Washington. It began life as an instrumental for the Glen Gray–led Casa Loma Orchestra, who recorded it on March 18, 1932 and released it in April 1932; it soon became the orchestra’s theme song. A lyric version with Washington’s words appeared in 1933, notably sung by the Mills Brothers. The tune quickly became a swing/big band staple and has been covered many times by artists from Django Reinhardt's Hot Club of France (1945) to Henry Mancini (1960) and beyond.
Key facts
- Original artist: Casa Loma Orchestra
- Year of first release: 1932 (instrumental); 1933 for the vocal version
- Notable versions: Mills Brothers (1933), Django Reinhardt with the Hot Club de France (1945), Henry Mancini (1960), k.d. lang (1997)
- Genre: jazz, swing, big band
- Theme song for the Casa Loma Orchestra in its early years
