Sweet Sue, Just You
Sweet Sue, Just You is a song written by Victor Young (music) and Will J. Harris (lyrics) and published in 1928. It is considered to be one of the most recorded pop songs of the pre-rock era.
Background and characteristics of the song
The eponymous "Sue" is the silent film star Sue Carol , who later became the wife of Alan Ladd , whose portrait was published on the Sheet Music cover; the song was - possibly - dedicated to Sue Carol. The refrain begins with the lines
- Ev'ry star above
- knows the only I love,
- Sweet Sue, just you.
The song is in the song form AABA and almost exclusively in major; The basic key is G major . Sweet Sue, Just You is based on a repeated rhythmic figure, two quarter notes followed by a half note, played in the same key. This figure appears frequently in early jazz music , particularly Louis Armstrong , as heard in his recording of Struttin 'with Some Barbeque (1926). Perhaps Victor Young was influenced by it, in case he heard Armstrong while in Chicago.
First recordings
Unlike many other pop songs of the time, Sweet Sue, Just You was not known as the number of a show or musical, but rather through the medium of record. The first musicians to record the song in March 1928 included Charlie Straight , for whom Young may have arranged, and Sam Lanin ; the orchestra of Ben Pollack , to which Victor Young belonged temporarily, was in April 1928 with Sweet Sue, Just You and the singer Franklyn Baur in the record studio (Victor 21473). Just like the version by Earl Burtnett with his Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra from the same year, Pollack's interpretation came third on the American charts.
Cover versions
In the following months u. a. Jimmie Noone , Seger Ellis and McKinney's Cotton Pickers also recorded the song in the USA , Lud Gluskin in Berlin and Bert Ambrose and Jack Payne in London . Paul Whiteman's orchestra played the number 1928 with Bix Beiderbecke (cornet) and Jack Fulton (trombone / vocals) as soloists.
In 1932, The Mills Brothers recorded the song successfully and came 8th in American chats; 1939 Tommy Dorsey also had a success with the song (number 13 on the charts); In 1949 Johnny Long came in 19th place. The recordings of musicians such as Django Reinhardt , Erroll Garner , Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman made the song popular in swing . Miles Davis recorded it in 1956 during his session for the Columbia album 'Round About Midnight' . In Germany played Austin Egen and Stefan Weintraub (Weintraub-Syncopators, Electrola 1929), a German cover version one ( Whether you're happy when my mouth kisses you ). Other recordings were made by Gene Austin , Dave Apollon and Oscar Alemán .
Sweet Sue, Just You was also used in several music films, such as the Fred Astaire musical Second Chorus in 1940 , in Rhythm Parade (1942) and in The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), in later years in Sweet and Lowdown (directed by: Woody Allen , 1999) and Red Betsy (directed by Chris Boebel , 2003). Music magazine Variety listed Sweet Sue, Just You in their Hit Parade of a Half-Century and Golden 100 Tin Pan Alley Songs lists . The discographer Tom Lord lists a total of 504 (as of 2015) cover versions.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Don Tyler: Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era . 2007
- ↑ a b c d e f Information at Jazz standards.com
- ↑ Sheet music cover and lyrics by Sweet Sue, Just You ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Tom Lord: Jazz discography (online)
- ↑ Song portrait by Michael John Simmons ( memento of the original from January 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
