From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"What Is This Thing Called Love? " is a 1929
popular
song written by
Cole Porter , for the musical
Wake Up and Dream . It was first performed by
Elsie Carlisle in March 1929. The song has become a popular
jazz standard and one of Porter's most often played compositions.
[1]
Background
Wake Up and Dream ran for 263 shows in London.
[1] The show was also noticed in New York, and the critics praised
Tilly Losch 's performance of the song.
[2] The show was produced on
Broadway in December 1929; in the American rendition, "What Is This Thing Called Love" was sung by Frances Shelley.
Early recordings
Jazz musicians soon included the song in their repertoire. The recordings of
Ben Bernie and
Fred Rich (vocal by The Rollickers) made it to the charts in 1930, and the song was also recorded by
stride pianist
James P. Johnson , clarinetist
Artie Shaw and guitarist
Les Paul .
[1] The piece is usually performed at a fast tempo; the 1956 recording of
Clifford Brown and
Max Roach with
Sonny Rollins is one of the best-known
uptempo instrumental versions. Saxophonist
Sidney Bechet made a slow rendition in 1941 with
Charlie Shavers .
[1]
Other recordings
Libby Holman – (
Brunswick , 1930)
[3]
Leo Reisman – 1930
[4]
[5]
Artie Shaw
[4] (1938)
[6]
[7]
Tommy Dorsey –
Sy Oliver 's arrangement with vocalist
Connie Haines and trumpeter
Ziggy Elman
[4]
[8]
Billie Holiday
[4] with
Bob Haggart and His Orchestra (
Joe Guy on trumpet,
Bill Stegmeyer on alto saxophone, Armand Camgros and Hank Ross on tenor saxophones, Stan Webb on baritone saxophone,
Sammy Benskin on piano,
Tiny Grimes on guitar, Bob Haggart on bass and conductor,
Specs Powell on drums, and a strings sextet) in New York City on August 14, 1945 for
Decca
[9]
Les Paul – This reached No. 11 in the Billboard chart in 1948.
[10]
Dave Brubeck (1950)
[4]
Marian McPartland Lullaby of Birdland (1952)
[11]
Bing Crosby (1955)
[12] for use on his
radio show and it was included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56) issued by
Mosaic in 2009.
[13]
Frank Sinatra –
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
[14]
Eddie Fisher with the
Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra - I Love You (1955)
[15]
Hampton Hawes with
Red Mitchell & Chuck Thompson -
Hampton Hawes Trio (Vol.1)(1955)
[16]
Ella Fitzgerald -
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956)
[17]
Mel Torme -
Mel Tormé at the Crescendo (1957)
[18]
Julie London –
Julie Is Her Name, Volume II (1958)
[19]
Keely Smith –
Swingin' Pretty (1959)
[20]
Anita O'Day - included on her album
Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May (1959)
[21]
Cannonball Adderley – At the Lighthouse (1960)
[4]
Vince Guaraldi Trio –
The Navy Swings (1965)
[22]
Dave Brubeck , on
Anything Goes! The Dave Brubeck Quartet Plays Cole Porter (1967)
[23]
Bobby McFerrin and
Herbie Hancock – The Other Side of 'Round Midnight (1986)
[4]
Johnny Hartman -
Thank You for Everything (1998), rec. 1976
[24]
Jacky Terrasson and
Stefon Harris –
Kindred (2001)
[25]
John Barrowman on Swings Cole Porter (2004)
[26]
Melody Gardot -
Sunset in the Blue (2020)
[27]
Other performances
Influence
See also
References
^
a
b
c
d
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" at jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 8 July 2009
^ Shaw, Arnold (1989). The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s . Oxford University Press US. p. 248.
ISBN
0-19-506082-2 .
^
"The Online Discographical Project" . 78discography.com . Retrieved October 10, 2017 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire . New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 453–355.
ISBN
978-0-19-993739-4 .
^ Whitburn, Joel (1986).
Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954 . Wisconsin: Record Research. p.
605 .
ISBN
0-89820-083-0 .
^ Whitburn, Joel (1986).
Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954 . Wisconsin: Record Research. p.
354 .
ISBN
0-89820-083-0 .
^
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" . Archive.org . 27 September 1938. Retrieved May 31, 2021 .
^ Orodenker, M.H. (February 28, 1942). "On the Records". Billboard. p. 25.
^
"Billie Holiday Discography" . Jazzdisco.org .
^ Davies, Chris (1998). British and American Hit Singles . London: BT Batsford. p. 394.
ISBN
0-7134-8275-3 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved May 11, 2024 .
^
"A Bing Crosby Discography" . Bingmagazine.co.uk . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
^
"The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings 1954-56 - Bing Crosby | Songs, Reviews, Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved May 31, 2021 .
^
"www.discogs.com" . discogs.com . Retrieved June 12, 2024 .
^
"www.discogs.com" . discogs.com . Retrieved June 28, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 13, 2024 .
^
What Is This Thing Called Love? - Ella Fitzgerald | Song Info | AllMusic , retrieved 2021-07-12
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 2, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 17, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 12, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 3, 2024 .
^ Bang, Derrick.
"Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD: The Navy Swings " . Fvecentsplease.org . Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved 25 July 2020 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . Retrieved June 18, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 20, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . Retrieved June 15, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . www.allmusic.com . Retrieved June 19, 2024 .
^
"www.allmusic.com" . allmusic.com . Retrieved June 13, 2024 .
^
Coker, Jerry (1997). Jerry Coker's Complete Method for Improvisation: For All Instruments , p. 13.
ISBN
9780769218564 .
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