"Tea for Two" | |
---|---|
Single by Marion Harris | |
B-side | "The Blues Have Got Me" |
Written | 1924 |
Published | June 10, 1924Harms, Inc. [2] |
Released | January 1925 |
Recorded | October 15, 1924[3] |
Studio | Brunswick Studios, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City |
Genre | Popular music, musical theater |
Label | Brunswick 2747 |
Composer(s) | Vincent Youmans |
Lyricist(s) | Irving Caesar |
Official audio | |
"Tea for Two" (Recorded November 1924) on YouTube |
"Tea for Two" is a 1924 song composed by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. [4] [5] It was introduced in May 1924 by Phyllis Cleveland and John Barker during the Chicago pre- Broadway run of the musical No, No, Nanette. [6] [4] When the show finally hit Broadway on September 16, 1925, Nanette was played by Louise Groody, and her duet with Barker of "Tea for Two" was a hit. The song went on to become the biggest success of Youmans' career. [7]
Youmans had written the basic melody idea of "Tea for Two" while he was in the navy during World War I, and he used it later on as an introductory passage for a song called "Who's Who with You?" While in Chicago, Youmans developed the idea into "a song that the hero could sing to the heroine" for the musical No, No, Nanette. He soon after played his composition for Irving Caesar and insisted he write the lyrics then and there. Caesar quickly jotted down a mock-up lyric, fully intending to revise it later on. Youmans, though, loved the mock-up and convinced Caesar it was just right for the melody. [8] [4]
It has been proposed, with little supporting evidence, that the phrase 'Tea for Two' was originally shouted by hawkers on the streets of 18th century England who wanted to attract business by lowering the price of a pot of tea from thruppence to tuppence. While this may be the case, 'tea for two' would have been a commonplace order for a couple in 19th-century English cafeterias. [9] [10]
"Tea for Two" has an A1-A2-A3-B form, a range of just over an octave, and a major tonality throughout. [11] [12] The song's original key was A♭ major with a pivot modulation to C major during the second "A" section. [11] It is rhythmically repetitive (as the entire song consists of eighth and quarter notes, except for a pattern of eighth, quarter, and eighth notes which briefly emerge in the second section) and has a relatively simple harmonic progression, as well as a simple yet charming melody. [11] [12]
The following artists covered the song: Benny Goodman (1937), Fats Waller (c. 1938–1939), Gene Krupa with Anita O'Day (c. 1942), Art Tatum, Stan Kenton with O'Day (1944–1945), Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore (1947), Doris Day (1955), Duke Ellington, appearing on a 1999 expanded version of Ellington at Newport (1956), Bud Powell, The Genius of Bud Powell (1956), Teddy Wilson (1956), Anita O'Day, Anita O'Day at Mister Kelly's (1959).
"Tea for Two" | |
---|---|
Single by Marion Harris | |
B-side | "The Blues Have Got Me" |
Written | 1924 |
Published | June 10, 1924Harms, Inc. [2] |
Released | January 1925 |
Recorded | October 15, 1924[3] |
Studio | Brunswick Studios, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City |
Genre | Popular music, musical theater |
Label | Brunswick 2747 |
Composer(s) | Vincent Youmans |
Lyricist(s) | Irving Caesar |
Official audio | |
"Tea for Two" (Recorded November 1924) on YouTube |
"Tea for Two" is a 1924 song composed by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. [4] [5] It was introduced in May 1924 by Phyllis Cleveland and John Barker during the Chicago pre- Broadway run of the musical No, No, Nanette. [6] [4] When the show finally hit Broadway on September 16, 1925, Nanette was played by Louise Groody, and her duet with Barker of "Tea for Two" was a hit. The song went on to become the biggest success of Youmans' career. [7]
Youmans had written the basic melody idea of "Tea for Two" while he was in the navy during World War I, and he used it later on as an introductory passage for a song called "Who's Who with You?" While in Chicago, Youmans developed the idea into "a song that the hero could sing to the heroine" for the musical No, No, Nanette. He soon after played his composition for Irving Caesar and insisted he write the lyrics then and there. Caesar quickly jotted down a mock-up lyric, fully intending to revise it later on. Youmans, though, loved the mock-up and convinced Caesar it was just right for the melody. [8] [4]
It has been proposed, with little supporting evidence, that the phrase 'Tea for Two' was originally shouted by hawkers on the streets of 18th century England who wanted to attract business by lowering the price of a pot of tea from thruppence to tuppence. While this may be the case, 'tea for two' would have been a commonplace order for a couple in 19th-century English cafeterias. [9] [10]
"Tea for Two" has an A1-A2-A3-B form, a range of just over an octave, and a major tonality throughout. [11] [12] The song's original key was A♭ major with a pivot modulation to C major during the second "A" section. [11] It is rhythmically repetitive (as the entire song consists of eighth and quarter notes, except for a pattern of eighth, quarter, and eighth notes which briefly emerge in the second section) and has a relatively simple harmonic progression, as well as a simple yet charming melody. [11] [12]
The following artists covered the song: Benny Goodman (1937), Fats Waller (c. 1938–1939), Gene Krupa with Anita O'Day (c. 1942), Art Tatum, Stan Kenton with O'Day (1944–1945), Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore (1947), Doris Day (1955), Duke Ellington, appearing on a 1999 expanded version of Ellington at Newport (1956), Bud Powell, The Genius of Bud Powell (1956), Teddy Wilson (1956), Anita O'Day, Anita O'Day at Mister Kelly's (1959).