These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)
The song These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) is a composition by Harry Link and Jack Strachey (music) with lyrics by Holt Marvell from 1936.
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The song is a ballad with 32 (28) bars, in the form AABA. The piece has a major characteristic, the motif of which is partly reminiscent of Puccini's aria Nessun dorma ; the first four bars in the B part are in the minor key. In the text, things are listed (such as a cigarette with traces of lipstick or the clink of the piano next door) that are still associated with the former partner in the memory, so that he is always present. The B part underpins the peculiarity of the relationship: "You came, you saw, you conquered me" (which is reminiscent of Julius Caesar's well-known phrase Veni, vidi, vici ).
History of origin and impact
These Foolish Things was written for the revue "Spread It Around", which premiered in London , and sung by Dorothy Dickson , who did not record the title. The song was first recorded in the United States. No less than five versions became hits there in 1936, namely those of:
- Benny Goodman and his orchestra (with singer Helen Ward , # 1)
- Teddy Wilson and his orchestra (with singer Billie Holiday # 5)
- Nat Brandywynne and His Stork Club Orchestra (with singer Buddy Clark # 6)
- Carroll Gibbons and His Orchestra (# 8)
- Joe Sanders and His Orchestra (# 17)
Because of the success of the title, countless other versions were recorded afterwards, including by Bing Crosby , Frankie Laine , Sarah Vaughan , Ella Fitzgerald , James Brown , Aaron Neville , Frank Sinatra , Dinah Washington , Sammy Davis Jr. , Bryan Ferry , Jane Birkin and Rod Stewart . Jean Sablon submitted a French version as Ces Petites Choses as early as 1936 . Red Ingle and the Natural Seven gave the song an ironic twist in 1947 with the new lyrics, Them Durn Fool Things . On his success single Everything published Michael Bublé song as a B-side.
The song was also interpreted in the film Tokyo Joe from 1949 and was part of the Broadway revue Blues in the Night (1982).
These Foolish Things became a jazz standard early on : Benny Carter (1936), Hot Lips Page , Lionel Hampton , Thelonious Monk , Dave Brubeck , Chet Baker , Stan Getz , Count Basie and many other jazz musicians recorded the title. According to Hans-Jürgen Schaal, the recording by Lester Young from December 1945 is “one of the greatest ballad recordings in jazz ever”, although Young completely “replaces the theme with a superior melody improvised by him” (which, however, is based on the chord progression of the original ). Lester Young's version inspired Eddie Jefferson to write the lyrics for a Vocalese ( Baby Girl ).
literature
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 4th, revised and supplemented edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-15-010355-X .
- Hans-Jürgen Schaal (Ed.): Jazz standards. The encyclopedia. 3rd, revised edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1414-3 .
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ (actually: Eric Maschwitz )
- ↑ "You came, you saw me, you conquered me"
- ↑ The title took Lester Young with Vic Dickenson , Howard McGhee , Dodo Marmarosa and Red Callender ; it was re-released on The Complete Aladdin Sessions .
- ^ Douglas Henry Daniels: Lester Leaps in: The Life and Times of Lester "Pres" Young , Boston, Beacon Press 1990, p. 324