Composed for orchestra, Belle of the Ball was completed May 12, 1951. It is 2 minutes and 35 seconds long. It was first performed when recorded by the composer on June 28, 1951, in analog
mono sound. It was re-recorded by the composer in analog stereo sound on May 28, 1959. Lyrics were added by Mitchell Parish in 1952.
Composer quote: "Composers, you know, generally have a whole lot of music lying around that they haven't used.. I understand that writers dot he same thing, they have all kinds of plot outlines that maybe one day will be a book, or a play, or something like that. One of the things I began to accumulating was a lot of waltz tunes, because I happen to love waltzes. Somebody pointed out to me, they're not bad, but they sound like Johann Strauss. You think you're Johann Strauss, why don't you write your own. With one exception, and that's the waltz that we are to play next. It was called "Belle of the Ball." This one seemed to be in more modern style, so that's why the other waltzes are still lying down in the old notebook, and this afternoon we are going to play "Belle of the Ball."