The song was used in the Broadway production of Provincetown Follies, which ran from November 3 until December 19, 1935, at the Provincetown Playhouse.[5]
The song was revived by Nat King Cole in 1951. This version was released by Capitol Records as catalogue number 1468. It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on July 13, 1951, and lasted two weeks on the chart, peaking at number 24.
It was also recorded by Tab Hunter in 1957. The Beatles often performed a rock-and-roll reworking of the song during their early years of nightclub engagements, with Paul McCartney doing the vocals. It was on their setlist when they played at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, in 1962.[8] Vaughn Monroe also recorded this song in the late 1940s.[9] Another version was released in 1954 on MGM 11977 by Sam "The Man" Taylor and His Orchestra, with Sam on tenor saxophone.
An instrumental version of the song became the signature tune of the Philippine radio drama series Dear Kuya Cesar, broadcast on DZMM radio (ABS-CBN Corporation) in the 1960s and hosted by Cesar Lacbu Nucum, a.k.a. Kuya Cesar. The song was also the signature tune of Suzette Tarri, a British actress and comedian popular on stage and radio in the 1930s and 1940s.
The song's title inspires the Red Sails Festival, held annually in Portstewart, Northern Ireland. Kennedy wrote the song while staying in Portstewart.
^J. J. Kennedy, The Man Who Wrote The Teddy Bears' Picnic: How Irish-Born Lyricist and Composer Jimmy Kennedy Became One of the Twentieth Century’s Finest Songwriters,
- 2011 ISBN146788569X: "However, before he wrote anything with Carr, Jimmy Kennedy had more successful songs with Will Grosz, including possibly his most famous ballad, Red Sails in the Sunset. Red Sails in the Sunset sold more copies than any other UK song in 1935, with notable recordings by Lew Stone, Ambrose, Joe Loss, and virtually all the other orchestras. Top vocalists included Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, Al Bowlly, and Greta Keller. In America, it was voted the No. 2 song of the year by NBC's new and influential radio network show, "Your Hit Parade."
