Body and Soul (1930)
Body and Soul is a song whose music was composed in 1930 by John W. Green ; Draw for the text as authors Edward Heyman , Frank Eyton and Robert Sour . The ballad has become a jazz standard .
History of origin
Green had studied economics at Harvard , but chose a career as a composer. At the age of 19 he released his first work on Broadway in 1928 , Coquette for Guy Lombardo . In London in 1929 Green met the English actress Gertrude Lawrence , who was looking for song material for her stage appearances. Green was working with copywriters Edward Heyman and Robert Sour at the time. They wrote a passionate text to his melody. Now the song needed a title, and Heyman came up with Body and Soul . This now had to be taken up in the text. "I'm all for you / Body and Soul". The exact year the song was created cannot be proven. The music publisher Chappell & Co. Ltd. in London, in any case, the composition registered for copyright in February 1930 only on condition that its employee Frank Eyton is mentioned as a co-author - a " cut in " customary at the time . Co-composer Robert Sour was amazed: "He hasn't even changed a comma". Excited about the finished composition, Lawrence took over the song. Composer Green accompanied Lawrence on the piano and had written the song especially for her.
Features of the song
The musical theme comprises 32 bars and is played in the song form AABA. The transition to the middle section is characterized by an abrupt change of key. The tempo is molto moderato . The text is written from the point of view of a person who is consumed by sorrow over another person who does not notice it:
My heart is sad and lonely.
I cry for you.
For you, dear, only for you.
Really, that's what I mean.
Everything about me belongs to you,
body and soul
Original version
It is unclear who is considered the original performer. From a musicological point of view, the original is the first version of a composition that has not yet been recorded in the recording studio (see cover version ). Gertrude Lawrence sang it on the stage and on the radio, but initially hadn't recorded it in the recording studio. The original is very likely from the famous English band leader Jack Hylton , who first recorded the song with his orchestra on February 7, 1930 in London, a few weeks before the copyright was registered. However, Hylton's second recording was published on February 14, 1930 from the Queen's Small Hall in London . Pat O'Malley sang; the B-side With A Song in My Heart was made on February 25, 1930, also in London. The single was released in March 1930 (Victor # 36027). Body and Soul was therefore first published in England and presented on stage by Gertrude Lawrence.
Important cover versions
Numerous cover versions came out in 1930, possibly because the construction of the song with a major-minor change was very attractive. In addition, it consisted of complex chord progressions , and changes in tempo leave the interpreters plenty of scope for improvisation . The vocal version was difficult for singers to sing because of the required vocal range , but singer Sam Browne with Ambrose and his Orchestra on February 8, 1930 and Carrol Gibbons & the Playmates on February 19, 1930 in the London recording studio dared to tackle the difficult material approach. Lawrence himself only accepted him twice in late March 1930. Both the original and the first cover versions were therefore made in England.
The composition by the American Green came to the USA in the fall of 1930. There, Paul Whiteman and singer Jack Fulton (recorded on September 10, 1930) released by far the most commercial version in October 1930, as it occupied the first position on the charts for 6 weeks. "Whiteman loved the song," said Green. Conversely, Paul Whiteman felt a great artistic affection for the composer Green.
A large number of other versions hit the US market in quick succession, for example by Helen Morgan (September 12, 1930), Ruth Etting (September 18, 1930; 10th place) or Annette Hanshaw (October 7, 1930; 12th place). Louis Armstrong & His Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra took the title on October 9, 1930 (rank 7). Singer Libby Holman immortalized the piece in September 1930 and presented it from October 15, 1930 as part of the Broadway revue Three's a Crowd , which brought it to 272 performances. The song sung by Libby Holman on the show was one of the standout pieces on the show. Libby Holman's version made it to number 3 in the charts and thus reached the second-best position. A total of 13 versions of the original were released in 1930, 6 of which made it onto the charts in 1930. The song was not played on the radio for almost a year because of its sexually oriented lyrics. The word "body" was too risky for NBC radio, so that all vocal versions were not airplayed for the time being . The censorship was only lifted when the line "My life, a hell you're making" was changed to "My life, a wreck you're making".
The recording of tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins on October 11, 1939 is considered musically remarkable. Hawkins set out on a five-year European tour in 1934, which only took him back to the USA shortly before the recording date in October 1939. In one take recorded (one-take) instrumentals with its typical legato - phrasing made Body and Soul after publication in December 1939 to a jazz standard and Evergreen . At the same time, Hawkins transformed the romantic ballad into a demonstration song for advanced solo saxophone playing. Another special feature here was the first time that a saxophone - Solo a complete record side handed because Hawkins improvised over the full length of the piece. Although only came out 13th in the charts, about 100,000 copies were sold within the first 6 months of its publication; overall, the Hawkins version became the only million seller of this title. In the same year, Down Beat magazine named Hawkins "best tenor saxophonist". A previously unreleased live version by Coleman Hawkins appeared in The Savory Collection 1935–1940 in 2018 . Composer Johnny Green & His Orchestra (with Green on piano) did not record the song until August 13, 1944 (Decca 23902).
The early vocal versions of the song included those by Billie Holiday (February 29, 1940), Frank Sinatra (November 9, 1947) or Sarah Vaughan (July 18, 1946 with the George Treadwell Orchestra). Further instrumental versions brought Henry "Red" Allen (April 29, 1934; rank 17), the Benny Goodman trio (July 13, 1935; rank 5), Chu Berry & Roy Eldridge (November 10, 1938), Jimmy Dorsey (23. June 1939), Charlie Parker (February 28, 1943), Nat King Cole Trio (January 17, 1944), Wes Montgomery (October 12, 1960) and John Coltrane (October 24/26, 1960). Almost every famous jazz band took the song into their repertoire.
In the duet between Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett , two different generations came together for body and soul . They recorded the version produced by Phil Ramone on March 23, 2011 at Abbey Road Studios - the last studio recording before Winehouse's death on July 23, 2011.
statistics
The title is registered with ASCAP , which only lists 184 versions. She does not mention Frank Eyton as a co-author. This official copyright listing does not reflect the number of versions likely to be included. There are 429 versions of second-hand songs . In January 1972, co-author Sour estimated on Billboard that 2,000 versions had been recorded, the songbook assumes that almost 3,000 versions of Body and Soul exist to this day . This makes this song one of the most covered pieces in jazz and pop music.
literature
- Teddy Doering: Coleman Hawkins . Oreos, Waakirchen
- Hans-Jürgen Schaal (Ed.): Jazz standards. The encyclopedia. 3rd, revised edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1414-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, I Got Rhythm: 40 Jazz Evergreens and Their History , 1994, p. 82
- ↑ Will Friedwald, Stardust Melodies , 2002, p. 150
- ↑ Bob Bernotas, A Jazz Masterpiece: "Body And Soul" by Coleman Hawkins , 2010
- ^ Joshua Barrett, Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz , 2004, p. 176
- ↑ Text from Body and Soul (English)
- ↑ Don Rayno, Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music , 2012, p.8
- ↑ Ross Laird, Tantalizing Tingle , 1995, p 69
- ^ Ross Laird, Moanin 'Low , 1996, p. 268
- ↑ Gerald Nachman, Raised on Radio , 2000, p. 179
- ↑ Alyn Shipton, Jazz-Makers: Vanguards of Sound , 2002, p. 88
- ↑ Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, I Got Rhythm: 40 Jazz Evergreens and Their History , 1994, p. 85
- ↑ Ted Gioia, The Jazz Standards , 2012, p. 46 ff.
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 29
- ^ Henry Martin / Keith Waters, Jazz: The First 100 Years , Volume 1, 2006, p. 167
- ↑ Denis Brown, Sarah Vaughan: A Discography , 1991, p. 5
- ↑ ASCAP, entry Body And Soul
- ↑ Socondhandsongs on Body & Soul
- ↑ Billboard Magazine, January 29, 1972, Sour Writing Again - Body & Soul , p. 3
- ↑ Songbook about Body And Soul