Stars Fell on Alabama is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Frank Perkins with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. The title nods to the 1833 Leonid meteor shower observed in Alabama, known as the night the stars fell, which set the mood for the song’s romantic imagery. The first popular recording was by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians with Carmen Lombardo on vocals, recorded August 27, 1934 and released by Decca; another early success came from Richard Himber and His Ritz-Carlton Orchestra. Over 100 artists have recorded it, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra, who included it on his 1957 album A Swingin’ Affair. In modern times it is closely associated with Jacksonville State University’s marching band as an unofficial anthem, appeared on Alabama license plates in 2002, and has been used in films such as Constellation and Outside the Wire; the 2021 film Stars Fell on Alabama takes its title from the song.
