Nice gigolo, poor gigolo (song)

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Beautiful gigolo, poor gigolo (also Der arme Leutnant ) is a popular hit that was composed in 1928 by the Italian composer Leonello Casucci based on a text written in 1924 by the Austrian librettist and hit writer Julius Brammer and published in 1929 by Boheme Verlag (Vienna, Berlin) . As Just a Gigolo , in the English version of Irving Caesar, it became an Anglo-American pop standard and also established itself as a jazz standard.

The German song

In 1924, Brammer wrote a text in the Berlin Hotel Adlon that summarized the social collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after the First World War using an example: The pitiful situation of a formerly dashing hussar officer who no longer moved in his splendid gold-tied uniform, and the - " Uniform passé, sweetheart says goodbye ”- now“ nothing remained ”and who had to work as a gigolo or dancer . To go with this, Casucci composed a tango with a 16-bar refrain .

The first recording was made by the Dajos Béla orchestra for Odeon with singer Kurt Mühlhardt (August 22, 1929); Another recording by the orchestra was made on October 24, 1929 with Alfred Strauss , before Richard Tauber recorded this song with the Dajos Béla orchestra on November 5, 1929 (again for Odeon). Another interpretation is by Otto Fassel with the Bernard Etté Orchestra (for crystal ); In 1930 the Weintraubs Syncopators followed . The song was also sung in political cabaret; the agitprop group Rote Raketen used it to complain about the SPD as a “poor gigolo” who had to dance to Krupp's music .

International versions

Versions in other European countries followed very quickly: As early as 1929, Daniele Serra sang an Italian version that was written by Enrico Frati (1889–1971); In 1930 Sirio Di Piramo followed with his orchestra. A Czech version was made with Fred Bird's orchestra . In France, André Mauprey wrote two texts; one was sung as C'est mon gigolo by Berthe Sylva and then also by Irène Bordoni (1932 in North America), the other (on which Jean Lenoir co-wrote) under the same title by Damia .

The success of the song prompted Francis Chappell to acquire the rights for the Anglo-American world; he commissioned the then successful Irving Caesar to write an English version. Caesar based himself on the original, but deleted the Austrian references. Since it was hardly possible to generate compassion for an officer of an enemy army in the USA, it was now about the fate of a French war hero who has to make his way as a gigolo: "If you admire me, hire me" took the first English interpretation Louis Armstrong (1930). Another version of Just a Gigolo was Bing Crosby's first big hit in 1931 ; and Leo Reisman was successful in the same year. Numerous artists have interpreted the song as follows:

Version by Louis Prima

The song survived in an arrangement in which the tango is only hinted at and which changes to the more modern dance rhythm of a rock-oriented swing . Just a Gigolo was recorded by Louis Prima in 1945 and again, more successfully, in 1956 , with Prima moving from the title to another song, I Ain't Got Nobody (by Roger Graham and Spencer Williams , 1915) after about a minute . The merging of the two songs succeeded Prima so seamlessly, "as if the second piece were the associated groove- refrain". This medley then became Primate's theme song. However, it is only about "the loneliness of the dancer (or dancer) of the economic boom , the historical background disappears completely [...] Gigolo here probably has no other meaning than that of unrequited love ". The recording session was held in April 1956 at Capitol Tower Studios, Los Angeles . Prima was accompanied by Sam Butera & the Witnesses, with whom he also performed in Las Vegas .

Village People revisited its medley in 1978. 1985 David Lee Roth successfully followed up on the version of Prima with his cover.

Jazz standard

Harry James and Coleman Hawkins presented swing interpretations of Just a Gigolo ; Rod Mason , Wild Bill Davison, and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra released more traditional versions. Art Tatum had the song in the 1940s as a solo number; he encouraged other pianists to interpret the piece. Thelonious Monk first recorded the piece in 1954; he put it afterwards again and again as unaccompanied Capriccio : where he played the theme of the refrain rubato , "it made the repeated eighth notes to motivic basic idea is lined with a few dissonances , and then jumped into another piece." He thus suggested Ran Blake , Jessica Williams , Joachim Kühn and Irene Schweizer come up with their own versions. Other pianists such as Bud Powell , Oscar Peterson , Erroll Garner or Benny Green dealt with Just a Gigolo . The singers Sarah Vaughan (1957) and Carmen McRae (1963) tried to transfer the song into modern jazz .

Effects on the film

Beautiful gigolo, poor gigolo has inspired three films in which it is the central reference: The film Der Schöne arme Tanzleutnant was made in Germany as early as 1930, directed by Emmerich Hanus ; the following year Jack Conway shot Just a Gigolo in the USA . In 1979 the film Beautiful Gigolo, Poor Gigolo by David Hemmings was made , in which Marlene Dietrich interpreted the title song - which she hated.

In the film Kuhle Wampe or: Who Owns the World? (1932) Slatan Dudow and Bert Brecht used this song to characterize sections of the working class that were alienated from themselves; the hit "sounds like a sarcastic comment on the engagement scene". The song is also used in a Betty Boop cartoon from 1932 (performed there in French and English by Irène Bordoni). The song comes but also in other films before, such as in the moving man from Sönke Wortmann in an interpretation of Max Raabe and an American television series from 1993.

Further versions of the text

After this song there is a couplet about the Berlin mayor Gustav Böß (1873-1946) and the Sklarek scandal  :

Mayor Boess, Mayor Boess,
don't think about the times
when you were in office
went in silk and velvet,
could guide Germany's future
Position was passé, Sklarek says goodbye,
beautiful mink, you lie in fringes,
and there you get your wages
a bulky pension,
now go and stop arguing.

Audio documents

1. Germany

  • YouTube Beautiful Gigolo / Orchestra Bernard Etté , Refraingesang Otto Fassel. Kristall-Electro No. 6017 B (C 305) - 1929
  • YouTube Nice gigolo! / Dajos Béla Tango Orchestra with refraing singing [= Alfred Strauss]. Odeon O-11 086 (Be 8737-2). October 24, 1929
  • YouTube Nice gigolo! Tango / Richard Tauber with the Dajos Béla artist orchestra. Odeon O-4952 (Be 8726-2). November 5, 1929
  • YouTube Beautiful gigolo / Marek Weber and his orchestra. Electrola EG 1523 (27-40104) [with vocals: Marcel Wittrisch]

2. Austria

3. Czechoslovakia

  • YouTube "Smutný Gigolo" (Hudba Leonello Casucci. Slova Ruda Jurist) Zpivá duetto s dopr. Homokord Jazzorkestru. Homocord Obj. Čis. 25 925 (Mat. H-69038)

4. Poland

  • YouTube “Piękny Gigolo” (muz. L.Casucci, sl. A.Allen) spiewa Tadeusz Faliszewski, Art. Teatrów Warszawskich. Syrena Electro 3453 (Mat. 20 774)

literature

  • Jürgen Arndt: Under suspicion of kitsch: »Just a Gigolo«. A European hit in the heart of jazz. In: Jazzforschung / Jazz Research, Vol. 36 (2004) [= Jazz and European Music. Lectures of the 6th Jazz Musicological Congress], Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 2004, pp. 133–142.
  • François Genton: Songs that went around the world: German hits and cultural transfers in the 20th century. In: Olivier Agard, Christian Helmreich, Hélène Vinckel-Roisin (eds.): The popular. Studies on interactions and differentiation strategies in literature, culture and language. V&R unipress, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89971-544-6 , pp. 189–203, here pp. 198–202 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  • 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

  1. ↑ a b c Schaal: Jazz standards. P. 269f.
  2. ↑ Mihaela Petrescu: Vamps, Eintaenzer, and Desperate Housewives: Social Dance in Weimar Literature and Film. Indiana University, Ann Arbor 2007, ISBN 9780549442844 , p. 8 ff. ( Limited preview in Google book search).
  3. ↑ Jürgen Arndt: Under Kitsch suspicion: "Just a Gigolo." A European hit in the heart of jazz. In: Jazzforschung / Jazz Research, Vol. 36 (2004) [= Jazz and European Music. Lectures of the 6th Jazz Musicological Congress], Graz 2004, ISSN  0075-3572 , pp. 133-142 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  4. ↑ Cf. Christian Schär: The Schlager and his dances in Germany in the 20s: Social-historical aspects of the change in music and dance culture during the Weimar Republic. Zurich 1991.
  5. ↑ a b Adriano Mazzoletti: Il jazz in Italia: dalle origini all orchestra grandiflora. P. 92.
  6. ↑ Peter Jelavich: Berlin Cabaret. Cambridge (Ma.) 1996, p. 218.
  7. ↑ Here a nude model sings about his great love, a pale boy, whom she would like to take back even though she has long since been abandoned. Cf. Genton: Songs that went around the world. P. 200.
  8. ↑ This version is closer to the original: This is about a dancer who prefers money and jewelry to love and is too pretty to be completely honest anyway. Cf. Genton: Songs that went around the world. P. 200.
  9. ↑ "If you admire me, rent me."
  10. ↑ Just a Gigolo. ( Memento of November 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ a b Genton: Songs that went around the world. P. 201.
  12. ↑ In addition to saxophonist Sam Butera, James “Red” Blount (trombone), William “Willie” McCumber (piano), Jack Marshall (guitar), Amado Rodriques (double bass) and Robert “Bobby” Morris (drums), as well as his Mrs. Keely Smith for backing vocals. The producer was Voyle Gilmore.
  13. ↑ Christoph Dompke: Old women in bad films: From the end of great film careers. Männerschwarm, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86300-114-8 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  14. ↑ Genton: Songs that went around the world. P. 202.
  15. ↑ Genton: Songs that went around the world. P. 199f.
  16. ↑ Harro Segeberg: The Perfection of Appearance: The Cinema of the Weimar Republic in the Context of the Arts. 2000, p. 175. By the way, beautiful gigolo was one of the songs that Brecht liked to like. See Judith Wilke: Helene Weigel 100.Brecht Jahrbuch 25. 2000, p. 116.