You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me

By Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal and Pierre Norman
1930

Iconic Frenchman Maurice Chevalier was one of the leading film heartthrobs of the Depression era, and this song was one of the reasons why. Introduced by him in the romantic comedy The Big Pond, in which he sung it to the beautiful Claudette Colbert, the song is an ebullient love anthem, with a Kahal lyric that extols the virtues of the beloved in the manner of a Shakespearean sonnet. Chevalier's recording was a major hit, and was famously lampooned the following year by the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business, which features a scene in which the boys try to pass themselves off as the crooner to get through customs.

Lyrics:

If the nightingales could sing like you
They'd sing much sweeter than they do
For you brought a new kind of love to me

And if the sandman brought me dreams of you
I'd want to sleep my whole life through
You brought a new love to me

I know that I'm the slave, you're the queen
Still you can understand that underneath it all
You're a maid and I am only a man

I would work and slave the whole day through
If I could hurry home to you
You brought a new kind of love to me

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Doris Day
Benny Goodman
Peggy Lee 
Vera Lynn

Ten Cents a Dance

By Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
1930

This song tells the melancholy tale of a "taxi dancer"--women who were employed in the early 20th century in dance halls in which male customers paid to dance with them. It was introduced by the legendary Ruth Etting in the Florenz Ziegfeld-produced stage musical Simple Simon. Etting replaced Lee Morse, the actress for whom the song was written, when Morse showed up to the Boston premiere intoxicated. Etting later had a major hit with the song, and the following year it inspired a film starring Barbara Stanwyck. Doris Day performed the song in the 1955 Etting biopic, Love Me or Leave Me.

Lyrics: 

I work at the Palace ballroom, but gee that palace is cheap
When I get back to my chilly hall room, I'm much too tired to sleep
I'm one of those lady teachers, a beautiful hostess you knowOne that the palace features, at exactly a dime a throw.

Ten cents a dance, that's what they pay me
Gosh how they weigh me down.Ten cents a dance, pansies and rough guys, tough guys who tear my gown.

Seven to midnight I hear drums, loudly the saxophone blows,
Trumpets are tearing my ear-drums, customers crush my toes.
Sometimes I think, I've found my hero
But it's a queer romanceAll that you need is a ticket,
Come on big boy, ten cents a dance.

Fighters and sailers and bow-legged tailors
Can pay for their tickets & rent me
Butchers and barbers and rats from the harbor
Are sweethearts my good luck has sent me
Thought I've a chorus of elderly bows
Stockings are porous with holes at the toes
I'm here till closing time
Dance and be merry it's only a dime
Sometimes I think, I've found my hero
But it's a queer romance

All that you need is a ticket.
Come on, come on big boy, ten cents a dance.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Anita O'Day
Shirley Horn
Twiggy
Ralph Sharon Trio

Body and Soul

By Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton
1930

The jazz standard of all jazz standards, "Body and Soul" actually began its life as a London concert hall number, written for British actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence. It was soon brought to Broadway for Libby Holman to sing in the revue Three's a Crowd. With its rich, complex melody from Green, it was immediately taken up by jazz bands, beginning with Louis Armstrong's, and has remained a top favorite ever since, known for its easy adaptability by improvisational musicians. Perhaps the most highly regarded of all jazz takes on this immortal tune is the recording by tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins.

Lyrics:

My heart is sad and lonely 
For you I sigh, for you dear only 
Why haven't you seen it 
I'm all for you body and soul 
I spend my days in longin' 
And wondering why it's me you're (ogling)

I tell you I mean it 
I'm all for you body and soul 
I can't believe it 
It's hard to conceive it 
That you turn away romance 
Are you pretending 
It looks like the ending 
And less I could have one more chance to prove, dear

My life a wreck you're making 
You know I'm yours for just the taking 
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul 
My life a wreck you're making 
You know I'm yours for just the taking 
I would gladly surrender myself to you body and soul

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Billy Eckstine
Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse
Stan Kenton
Benny Goodman

Reaching for the Moon

By Irving Berlin
1930

We wrap up the week-long celebration of Irving Berlin's 125th birthday with this bonus post about a song he composed for a movie musical of the same name. At the time, musicals were temporarily out of favor, and most of Berlin's songs for the film were actually cut. This song, in fact, wound up only being used as background music, which is a shame. Ironically, it would become one of the biggest hits of the year, and was recorded by artists at every major record label.

Watch the film in its entirety below!

Lyrics:

The moon and you appear to be
So near and yet so far from me
And here am I on a night in june
Reaching for the moon and you.

I wonder if we'll ever meet
My song of love is incomplete
I'm just the words, looking for the tune
Reaching for the moon and you. 

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Lizz Wright & Regina Carter
Holly Cole
Ruth Etting

The Lady Is a Tramp

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart

1937

Just this past Saturday, I'm proud to say that Standard of the Day celebrated its fourth birthday. In honor of this event, tonight I'm presenting what is truly one of the most recognizable and beloved (not to mention gorgeous) standards of all time. Rodgers & Hart composed the tune for their stage musical Babes in Arms, in which it was introduced by Mitzi Green. Hart's lyrics in particular are quite clever and have led to much speculation--they're basically a cheeky lampoon of New York society, about a woman rejected because she refuses to adhere to their mores.

The song is absolutely timeless, and has become one of the most recorded ever. Specifically, Frank Sinatra made it one of his signature tunes thanks to his performance of it in the 1950s film version of Pal Joey. Many others have made it their own as well, as recently as the high-profile duet of Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga.

Lyrics:

She gets too hungry for dinner at eight,
She loves the theater but she never comes late.  
She never bothers with people she'd hate, 
That's why the lady is a tramp.
 
She doesn't like crap games with barons and earls, 
Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls, 
She won't dish the dirt with the rest of those girls. 
That's why the lady is a tramp!
 
She loves the free, fresh wind in her hair, 
Life without care  
She's broke, but it's oke!  
She hates California, it's crowded and damp, 
That's why the lady is a tramp!
 
She goes to Coney, the beach is divine.
She loves the Yankees, and the bleachers are fine, 
She follows Winchell, and reads every line, 
That's why the lady is a tramp! 

She loves a prize fight that isn't a fake,  
She loves to go rowing on Central Park Lake, 
She goes to the opera and stays wide awake,
That's why the lady is a tramp!
 
She likes the green grass under her shoes,
What can she lose?  
No dough! Oh, no! 
She's all alone when she lowers her lamp, 
That's why the lady is a tramp!

Recorded By:

Buddy Greco

Lena Horne

Tommy Dorsey

Ella Fitzgerald

Shirley Bassey

Though tempted to include the Sinatra Pal Joey footage, in honor of SOTD's fourth birthday, I give you my own daughter Layla's impromptu rendition of the song from March 2011 (she was 9 at the time)...

I'm Yours

By Johnny Green & E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
1930

For the 400th post here at Standard of the Day, I give you this warm and innocent ballad, written by one-time Ethel Merman accompanist, bandleader and pianist Johnny Green (pictured), who dedicated it to his wife Bonnie. His lyricist was long-time Harold Arlen collaborator E.Y. Harburg. Green is best known for "Body and Soul", which along with this song was one of his first two compositions, written at age 22 after deciding to disobey his father, drop out of military school and pursue music. It was introduced by the great Ruth Etting.

Lyrics:

Ask the sky above
And ask the earth below
Why I'm so in love
And why I love you so
Couldn't tell you though I tried do
Just why I'm yours.

When you went away
You left a glowing spark
Trying to be gay as
Whistling in the dark
I am only what you make me
Come take me
I'm yours

How can I happy
I would be to beg or borrow
For sorrow
With you
Even though I knew
Tomorrow
You'd say we were through.

If we drift apart
Then I'll be lost and alone
Though you use my heart
Just for a steppin' stone
How can I help dreaming of you
I love you
I'm yours

Recorded By:

Ruth Etting
Billie Holiday
Bert Lown Orchestra
Artie Shaw Orchestra
Dean Martin

Georgia on My Mind

By Hoagy Carmichael & Stuart Gorrell
1930

One of the pillars of the Great American Songbook, penned by one of its most underrated tunesmiths. Writing primarily for Tin Pan Alley and not the stage, Carmichael was often looked down upon in comparison to other songwriters, but this and "Stardust" are not only his unquestioned masterpieces, they are two of the finest pieces of popular music ever created. Hoagy himself introduced the song on record, accompanied by legendary cornet player Bix Beiderbecke in what would be Bix's final recording session. Today, it is most associated with the Ray Charles rendition, recorded some 30 years later.

* This post is dedicated to Standard of the Day supporter Judy Segor.

Lyrics:

Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through.
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind.

Georgia, Georgia,
The song of you
Come as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines.

Other arms reach out to me,
Others eyes smile tenderly.
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you.

Georgia, Georgia,
No peace I find.
Just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind.

Recorded By:

Ray Charles
Willie Nelson
Lou Rawls
Anita O'Day
Jerry Lee Lewis

Mood Indigo

By Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard & Irving Mills
1930

The melody for this tune was actually learned by Bigard from his clarinet teacher, who called it, "Mexican Blues". It was composed for an October 1930 radio broadcast, on which it was announced as "Dreamy Blues". Further, in 1987, lyricist Mitchell Parish would come forward claiming to have actually written the words, the credit for which was allegedly taken by Mills due to his being the publisher's brother.

Lyrics:

You ain't been blue; no, no, no.
You ain't been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes,
While I sit and sigh, "Go 'long blues".

Always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
In the evenin' when lights are low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a soul who's
Bluer than blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Nat King Cole
Nina Simone
Paul Robeson

Dancing on the Ceiling

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1930

Although written for a musical called Simple Simon, it did not make the final score. Instead, it was introduced in the musical Evergreen, when it opened in London on December 3, 1930. British musical star Jessie Matthews (pictured) further put her stamp on the song when she sang it in the movie version made four years later. The tune was popularized in the States by British band leader and showman, Jack Hylton.

Lyrics:

The world is lyrical, because a miracle
Has brought my lover to me.
Though he's some other place, his face I see.
At night I creep in bed, and never sleep in bed,
but look above in the air.
And to my greatest joy, my boy is there.

He dances overhead,
On the ceiling near my bed.
In my sight,
Through the night.

I tried to hide in vain
Underneath my counterpane.
There's my love,
Up above.

I whisper, "Go away my lover, it's not fair"
But I'm so grateful to discover he's still there.

I love my ceiling more
Since it is a dancing floor
Just for my love.

Recorded By:

Peggy Lee
Artie Shaw
Frank Sinatra
Chet Baker
Jo Stafford

Falling in Love Again

By Frederick Hollander & Sammy Lerner
1930

A timeless theme of femininity introduced iconically by Marlene Dietrich in the motion picture Der Blaue Engel. It was originally composed in German by Hollander as "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt", completely new, unrelated English lyrics were added by Lerner. Dietrich's version was included in an award-winning 1997 Merceded-Benz commercial, and Christina Aguilera recently revived the tune for the soundtrack of The Spirit (see below).

Lyrics:

Failing in love again,
Never wanted to.
What am I to do?
I can't help it.

Love's always been my game,
Play it as I may.
I was born that way,
I can't help it.

Men flock around me
Like moths around a flame,
And if their wings burn,
I know I'm not to blame.

Failing in love again,
Never wanted to.
What am I to do?
I can't help it.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Linda Ronstadt
Doris Day
Sammy Davis Jr.
Marianne Faithful

Get Happy

By Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler
1930

This was the first collaboration of Cotton Club legends Arlen & Koehler, who composed it for Ruth Etting in the 1930 show The Nine-Fifteen Revue. It would become most associated with Judy Garland thanks to her iconic performance of it 20 years later in MGM's Summer Stock. The Abe Lyman recording was used as the original theme music for the Warner Bros.' cartoons. The title refers to the old gospel tradition of being touched by the Holy Spirit.

Lyrics:

Forget your troubles,
Come on, get happy!
You better chase all your cares away.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
Get ready for the judgment day.

The sun is shinin',
Come on, get happy!
The lord is waitin' to take your hand.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
We're going to the promised land.

We're headin' across the river
To wash your sins away in the tide.
It's all so peaceful
On the other side.

Forget your troubles,
Come on, get happy!
You better chase all your cares away.
Shout Hallejulah,
Come on, get happy!
Get ready for the judgement day.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Benny Goodman
Art Tatum
June Christy

You're Driving Me Crazy

By Walter Donaldson
1930

A huge hit for Donaldson, this infectious tune was composed for the production Smiles, and first recorded by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians, who had a big hit with it. But modern audiences probably know it best from Betty Boop's flirty rendition in the 1931 Fleischer cartoon Silly Scandals.

Lyrics:

You left me sad and lonely;
Why did you leave me lonely?
For here's a heart that's only
For nobody but you!
I'm burning like a flame, dear;
Oh, I'll never be the same, dear;
I'll always place the blame, dear,
On nobody but you.

Yes, you,
You're driving me crazy!
What did I do? What did I do?

My tears for you
Make everything hazy,
Clouding the skies of blue.

How true,
Were the friends who were near me to cheer me,
Believe me, they knew!
But you,
Were the kind who would hurt me, desert me,
When I needed you!

Yes, you!
You're driving me crazy!
What did I do to you?

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Buddy Greco
Frank Sinatra
Rudy Vallee
The Squirrel Nut Zippers

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

By Sam H. Stept, Sidney Clare & Bee Palmer
1930

Popular 1910s and '20s singer Palmer is credited as a co-composer, and it was she who introduced the song. Kate Smith was the one who initially popularized it, but it's most well-known rendition may be the one by Michigan J. Frog in Chuck Jones' classic "One Froggy Evening" cartoon. I'd also like to point that I cleverly used it as my answering machine music at one time.

Lyrics:

Please don't talk about me when I'm gone,
Oh honey, though our friendship ceases from now on.
And if you can't say anything real nice,
It's better not to talk at all, is my advice.

We're parting, you'll go your way, I'll go mine,
It's best that we do.
Give a little kiss and hope that it brings
Lots of love to you.

Makes no difference how I carry on,
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Leon Redbone
The Mills Brothers
Jerry Lee Lewis

My Ideal

By Richard Whiting, Newell Chase & Leo Robin
1930

A classic example of the kind of sweet love songs that populated early Hollywood musicals, this one was sung by Maurice Chevalier to Frances Dee in the rare Paramount film The Playboy of Paris. Universal bought the picture from Paramount as part of a major deal in 1958, yet never released it on video, and it is currently in the public domain. Whiting, on of the composers, was the father of vocalist Margaret Whiting.

Lyrics:

Long ago, my heart and mind
Got together and designed
The wonderful girl for me--
Oh, what a fantasy!

Thought the ideal of my heart
Can't be ordered a la carte.
I wonder if she will be
Always a fantasy?

Will I ever find the girl in my mind,
The one who is my ideal?
Maybe she's a dream, and yet she might be
Just around the corner waiting for me.

Will I recognize the light in her eyes
That no other eyes reveal?
Or will I pass her by, and never even know
That she was my ideal?

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Wynton Marsalis
Art Tatum
John Coltrane
Dinah Washington

But Not For Me

By George & Ira Gershwin
1930

A poignant example of the Gershwin brothers' way with a heartbreaking ballad, this song was written for Ginger Rogers to perform in the original stage production of Girl Crazy--in which she also introduced the Gershwin standard "Embraceable You". A popular tune, it has since been featured in such films as Manhattan, When Harry Met Sally and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Lyrics:

They're writing songs of love,
But not for me.
A lucky star's above,
But not for me.

With love to lead the way,
I've found more clouds of gray
Than any Russian play could guarantee.

I was a fool to fall
And get that way;
Heigh-ho! alas!
And also, lack-a-day!

Although I cant dismiss
The memory of his kiss,
I guess he's mot for me.

Hes knocking on a door,
But not for me.
He'll plan a two by four,
But not for me.

I know that love's a game;
I'm puzzled, just the same,
Was I the moth or flame?
I'm all at sea.

It all began so well,
But what an end!
This is the time a feller
Needs a friend.

When every happy plot
Ends with the marriage knot,
And there's no knot for me.

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Dinah Washington
Judy Garland
John Coltrane
Ella Fitzgerald

Under a Blanket of Blue

By Jerry Livingston, Marty Symes & Al J. Neiburg
1933

Composed by the same songwriting team that was responsible for "The Talk of the Town" the same year, this warm little tune was introduced by Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra. Livingston (pictured) went on to form his own publishing firm and work in Hollywood, scoring Disney's Cinderella, as well as writing the TV theme for Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Lyrics:

Under a blanket of blue,
Just you and I beneath the stars.
Wrapped in the arms of sweet romance,
The night is ours.

Under a blanket of blue,
Let me be thrilled by all your charms.
Darling, I know my heart will dance
Within your arms.

A summer night's magic,
Enthralling me so.
The night would be tragic,
If you weren't here
To share it, my dear.

Covered with heaven above,
Let's dream a dream of love for two.
Wrapped in the arms of sweet romance,
Under a blanket of blue.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Patti Page
Frank Sinatra
Coleman Hawkins
Doris Day

Memories of You

By Eubie Blake & Andy Razaf
1930

Blake, of course, was a ragtime and early jazz pioneer, while Razaf is also known for such lyrics as "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose". Significantly for the era, both composers were African American. Minto Cato introduced the tune on Broadway in Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930, but it was Benny Goodman who made a huge hit of it shortly thereafter, and adopted it as his theme song.

Lyrics:

Waking skies
At sunrise,
Every sunset, too.
Seems to be
Bringing me
Memories of you.

Here and there,
Everywhere,
Scenes that we once knew.
And they all
Just recall
Memories of you.

How I wish I could forget those
Happy yesteryears.
That have left a rosary of tears.

Your face beams
In my dreams,
In spite of all I do.
Everything
Seems to bring
Memories of you.

Recorded By:

Duke Ellington
Ethel Waters
Louis Armstrong
Anita O'Day
Billy Eckstine

Exactly Like You

By Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
1930

The Busby Berkely Broadway production International Revue produced this standard, as well as "On the Sunny Side of the Street". Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence (pictured) introduced the light and infectious number, buoyed by Fields excellent-as-always lyric. The song might have slipped into obscurity were it not for a jazzy version recorded six years later by the Benny Goodman Trio, with Lionel Hampton on vocal.

Lyrics:

I know why I've waited,
Know why I've been blue.
I pray each night for someone
Exactly like you.

Why should we spend some money
On a show or two?
No one plays those love scenes
Exactly like you

You make me feel so grand,
I wanna give the world to you.
You make me understand
Every foolish little dream I'm dreaming,
Every scheme I'm scheming.

I know why my mother
Taught me to be true.
She meant me for someone
Exactly like you.

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Nina Simone
Louis Armstrong
Tony Bennett & k.d. lang
Ruth Etting

Little White Lies

By Walter Donaldson
1930

One of the great composer's solo gems, "Little White Lies" was first recorded by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, with vocals by Clare Hanlon. However, it would take another 18 years before Dick Haymes finally made a hit out of it--taking it all the way to #3 on the charts.

Lyrics:

The moon was all aglow,
And heaven was in your eyes,
The night that you told me
Those little white lies.

The stars all seemed to know
That you didn't mean those sighs,
The night that you told me
Those little white lies.

I try, but there's no forgetting
When evening appears.
I sigh, but there's no regretting,
In spite of my tears.

The devil was in your heart,
But heaven was in your eyes,
The night you told me
Those little white lies.

Recorded By:

Dinah Shore
Stacey Kent
Eartha Kitt
Kay Starr
Mel Torme

On the Sunny Side of the Street

By Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
1930

A classic Depression-era pick-me-up, this song was written by Fields & McHugh (pictured) for Lew Leslie's International Revue at the Majestic Theatre (current home of Phantom of the Opera), where it was introduced by Harry Richman. Although a flop, the show produced this standard, as well as "Exactly Like You." For years, rumors have persisted that it was actually written by Fats Waller and sold for some fast money. It has also been alleged that its lyric is a reference to blacks who "pass" for white. The upbeat number has long been a favorite of jazz musicians.

Lyrics:

Grab your coat and get your hat,
Leave your worries on the doorstep.
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street.

Can’t you hear the pitter-pat?
And that happy tune is your step.
Life can be complete
On the sunny side of the street.

I used to walk in the shade,
With my blues on parade.
But I’m not afraid...
This rover’s crossed over.

If I never had a cent,
I’d be rich as Rockefeller,
Gold dust at my feet,
On the sunny side of the street.

Recorded By:

Ted Lewis
Tommy Dorsey
Jo Stafford
Dizzy Gillespie
Keely Smith