Love is here to stay

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Love is here to stay
publication 1938
Genre (s) musical
text Ira Gershwin
music George Gershwin

Love Is Here to Stay is a song composed in 1937 by George Gershwin for the film The Goldwyn Follies (1938) and provided with text by Ira Gershwin . It developed into an evergreen and also a jazz standard .

history

George Gershwin, 1937
Photo: Carl van Vechten

Love Is Here to Stay was first sung by Kenny Baker in The Goldwyn Follies , and became even more popular in the opinion of biographer Edward Jablonski when Gene Kelly sang it for Leslie Caron in An American in Paris (1951). First the title was It's Here to Stay and then Our Love Is Here to Stay . It was published by Chappel in 1938 as Love Is Here to Stay . Ira Gershwin said that for years he had wanted to change the title back to Our Love Is Here to Stay but then didn't think it was right as it had already become the standard.

The song can also be heard in the films Manhattan (1979), Harry and Sally (1989) and Forget Paris (1995). An instrumental version of the song can be heard in an episode of The Honeymooners . The song is also used in the musical The 1940's Radio Hour (1979).

composition

Love Is Here to Stay is predominantly in major and written in the song form ABAB '. It was the last musical composition that George Gershwin completed before his death on July 11, 1937. He had previously consulted his brother and his friend, the pianist Oscar Levant , to whom he had played the melody.

Oscar Levant recalls in his memoir A Smattering of Ignorance (1940):

“ Love Is Here to Stay has an oddly continuous melody line, a rather complex pattern. After hearing it for the first time, I found fault with the lack of breathing space in the second eight bars, the excessively long contours, I gave very convincing reasons - I thought - for my opinion. George spent two days recomposing the melody, simplifying the line and eventually returning to the original form. Ira was pretty mad at me - and rightly so. "

- Oscar Levant

Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics after George's death in homage to his brother. Though George had n't written down the verses for the song, he played them to both Ira and Levant. Vernon Duke was commissioned to reconstruct this passage at the beginning of the song based on the harmonies Levant remembered.

For the musicologist KJ McElrath, who has worked a long time with standards, this song is a good example of how it is "Gershwin succeeded in making challenging music from simple materials." The melody of the A section is based on a pentatonic scale over a II-VI - chord progression on. But Gershwin changed the chords and surprises the listener at the transition to the B-part by using chord extensions . After a conventional beginning, the resolution of the tonic is delayed in the B part by taking a harmonic path that is reminiscent of the A part of the evergreen “ Just You, Just Me ”, and then leads to the tonic of the second A part. The first two bars of the second B-part are melodically and harmonically similar to the first, except that everything has been subjected to a rhythmic reduction .

Goldwyn Follies

According to Michael Feinstein , Baker's interpretation of the song is "bloodless" (compared to his version of Gershwin's song "Love Walked In", which was also featured in the film Goldwyn Follies ). Ira Gershwin recalled about the film: " Love Is Here to Stay was given so little space - I think just a chorus - that it had hardly any meaning in The Goldwyn Follies ." The performance is partially drowned in a dialogue. Oscar Levant recalls that the film's producer called Gershwin for a meeting one afternoon and insisted that he play the full score. This enraged Gershwin, who felt he had gotten past this stage in his composing career. Samuel Nathaniel Behrman visited Gershwin a few days before his death and noted that George Gershwin told him:

"I had to live for Sam Goldwyn to say to me, 'Why don't you write hits like Irving Berlin ?"

- George Gershwin

Breakthrough and later versions

Although it only played a minor role in the film, Love Is Here to Stay was a hit in two recordings in 1938: Larry Clinton and His Orchestra (with singer Bea Wain ) reached number 15 on the US charts; Red Norvo and His Orchestra with singer Mildred Bailey reached number 16. However, the song only became a standard through Gene Kelly's interpretation in the film An American in Paris (1951).

Other versions

In the field of jazz , 875 versions of the song were recorded according to the discographer Tom Lord .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Love Is Here to Stay). Retrieved November 10, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b Edward Jablonski: Gershwin . Simon & Schuster, London 1988, ISBN 0671699318 , p. 317.
  3. ^ William Grimes: 'Honeymooners' Isn't Over, As Early Sketches Turn Up . In: The New York Times . March 17, 1993, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed November 10, 2019]).
  4. ^ The 1940's Radio Hour - The Guide to Musical Theater. Retrieved November 10, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Oscar Levant: A smattering of Ignorance . Doubleday, Doran & Company, Incorporated, 1940 ( google.de [accessed November 11, 2019]).
  6. ^ M. Feinstein with I. Jackman The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs Simon & Schuster: New York City 2012, p. 335
  7. ↑ Oscar Levant: A smattering of Ignorance . Garden City Publishing, 1942, p. 196.
  8. ^ Edward Jablonski: Gershwin Remembered , 1st edition, Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon 1992, ISBN 0-931340-43-8 , p. 157.
  9. ↑ a b c d e Ted Gioia: The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire . Oxford University Press, New York City 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4 , pp. 324-326.
  10. ↑ Chasing Dreams Album - Bradley Walsh. Retrieved November 10, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Love Is Here to Stay - Tony Bennett, Diana Krall | Songs, reviews, credits. Retrieved November 10, 2019 (American English).
  12. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 11, 2019)