Misty

By Erroll Garner & Johnny Burke
1954

A late jazz standard, pianist Garner composed the tune, only to have words added by Burke sometime later. It became on the most successful standard compositions of the 1950s, and something of a signature tune for both Johnny Mathis and Sarah Vaughan. It also figures prominently in the 1971 Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me. The melody is thoroughly modern, evoking the boldness of 1950s jazz.

Lyrics:

Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree,
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud, I can't understand,
I get misty, just holding your hand.

Walk my way, and a thousand violins begin to play,
Or it might be the sound of your hello, that music I hear,
I get misty, the moment you're near.

You can say that you're leading me on,
But it's just what I want you to do,
Don't you notice how hopelessly I'm lost,
That's why I'm following you.

On my own, would I wander through this wonderland alone,
Never knowing my right foot from my left, my hat from my glove,
I'm too misty, and too much in love.
I'm too misty, and too much in love.

Recorded By:

Nat King Cole
Frank Sinatra
Julie London
Ella Fitzgerald
Ray Stevens

This Could Be the Start of Something

By Steve Allen
1954

Originally written by Allen as part of the score for the TV musical production, The Bachelor, Allen later co-opted it as the theme song for his Tonight Show from 1954 to 1957. It was used until Jack Paar took over. The song has since become a recognizable anthem of a certain era--the hi-fi, "bachelor-pad" swingin' Space Age '50s, when America really did feel like the sky was the limit.

Lyrics:

You're walkin' along the street, or you're at a party,
Or else you're alone and then you suddenly dig,
You're looking' in someone's eyes, you suddenly realize
That this could be the start of something big.

You're lunching at Twenty-One and watchin' your diet,
Declining a charlotte russe, accepting a fig,
When out of a clear blue sky, it's suddenly gal and guy,
And this could be the start of something big.

There's no controlling the unrolling of your fate, my friend,
Who knows what's written in the magic book.
But when a lover you discover at the gate my friend,
Invite her in without a second look.

You're up in an aeroplane or dining at Sardi's,
Or lying at Malibu alone on the sand,
You suddenly hear a bell, and right away you can tell
That this could be the start of something grand.

This could be the start of something very big,
Why don't you play your part?
Please give your heart to me....and see.
This could be the start of something wonderful,
Why don't you take a chance?
Just try romance with me....and see.

Your watchin' the sun come up and countin' your money,
Or else in a dim cafe you're ordering wine,
Then suddenly there he is, and you wanna be where he is,
And this must be the start of something...
This could be the heart of something...
This could be the start of something big.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Tony Bennett
Eydie Gorme
Oscar Peterson
Count Basie

Learnin' the Blues

By Delores Silver
1954

The song that would become Sinatra's biggest hit of the 1950s has a very mysterious back story. Written by 25-year-old amateur songwriter Silver (real first name Vicki), it was first recorded as a demo by local Philadelphia crooner Joe Valino. Silver would then send that demo to Frank, who selected it and made her an offer to publish the song through his own company, Barton. Valino would later claim to have been muscled out, and prevented from recording the song himself. In any event, a true Sinatra signature tune that has become a standard.

Lyrics:

The tables are empty - the dance floor's deserted
You play the same love song - it's the tenth time you've heard it
That's the beginning - just one of the clues
You've had your first lesson - in learnin' the blues

The cigarettes you light - one after another
Won't help you forget her - and the way that you love her
You're only burnin' - a torch you can't lose
But you're on the right track - for learnin' the blues

When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you constantly
When you're out in a crowd, the blues will haunt your memory

The nights when you don't sleep - the whole night you're cryin'
But you can't forget her - soon you even stop tryin'
You'll walk that floor - and wear out your shoes
When you feel your heart break - you're learnin' the blues

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Michael Buble
Lou Rawls
Rosemary Clooney
Frank Sinatra

Mack the Knife

By Kurt Weill & Marc Blitzstein
1928/1954

German composer Weill originally wrote this song for the 1928 Bertolt Brecht musical drama Die Dreigroschenoper, known in English as The Threepenny Opera. In fact, it was Brecht himself who provided the original German lyrics. Some 25 years later, an English translation by Blitzstein would be introduced as a jazz standard by Louis Armstrong. To this day, the most famous rendition of this swinging pop masterpiece is that of Bobby Darrin.

Lyrics:

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear,
And it shows them pearly white.
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe,
And he keeps it out of sight.

Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe,
Scarlet billows start to spread.
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe,
So there's never a trace of red.

Now on the sidewalk, sunny mornin',
Lies a body just oozin' life.
And someone's sneakin' 'round the corner.
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

There's a tugboat, down by the river don'tcha know,
Where a cement bag just a'droopin' on down
Oh, that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear.
Five'll get ya ten old Macky's back in town.

Now d'ja hear 'bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe,
After drawin' out all his hard-earned cash.
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor.
Could it be our boy's done somethin' rash?

Now Jenny Diver, Sukey Tawdry.
Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown.
Oh, the line forms on the right, babe,
Now that Macky's back in town!

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Michael Buble
The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Wayne Newton

A Blossom Fell

By Howard Barnes, Harold Cornelius & Dominic John
1954


Nat King Cole introduced this song, and it will forever be associated with him. Cole's recording was made in December 1954, and lasted for 20 weeks on Billboard charts, peaking at #2--and at the very moment when rock n' roll was first bursting on to the pop scene. This beautiful waltz can also be heard in Terrence Malick's 1963 film Badlands.

Lyrics:

A blossom fell
From off a tree.
It settled softly on the lips you turned to me.
The gypsies say,
And I know why,
A falling blossom only touches lips that lie.

A blossom fell,
And very soon,
I saw you kissing someone new beneath the moon.
I thought you loved me,
You said you loved me.
We planned together to dream forever.

The dream has ended,
For true love died
The night a blossom fell and touched two lips that lied

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Jerry Vale
Ronnie Hilton
Dickie Valentine
Arlene Murray

Sway

By Pablo Beltran Ruiz & Norman Gimbel
1954

The mambo craze hit very big in the early 1950s, and this song was a direct product of it. Originally written by Mexican bandleader Ruiz in 1953, it had English lyrics added a year later by Gimbel--who would do the same for a number of Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes a decade later. The incomparable Dean Martin introduced the English version, transforming it instantly into the epitome of cool, with every artist who has attempted it since trying to equal his performance.

Lyrics:

When marimba rhythms start to play,

Dance with me, make me sway.
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore,
Hold me close, sway me more.

Like a flower bending in the breeze,
Bend with me, sway with ease.
When we dance you have a way with me.
Stay with me, sway with me.

Other dancers may be on the floor,
Dear, but my eyes will see only you.
Only you have that magic technique;
When we sway, I go weak.

I can hear the sound of violins,
Long before it begins.
Make me thrill as only you know how,
Sway me smooth, sway me now.

Recorded By:

Ben E. King
Julie London
Bjork
Michael Buble
Perry Como

Fly Me to the Moon

By Bart Howard
1954

When it was written for cabaret singer Felicia Sanders, it was called "In Other Words". But it came to be known by its opening line, until even the publisher had the name officially changed. Frank Sinatra's 1964 swing version, by far the most famous, was actually played for the Apollo 10 astronauts on their 1969 mission to the moon. Though written as a waltz, Quincy Jones' swing arrangement for Sinatra has become the standard.

Lyrics:

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars,
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars.

In other words, hold my hand.
In other words, darling, kiss me.

Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forevermore.
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.

In other words, please be true.
In other words, I love you.

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Astrud Gilberto
Kaye Ballard
Julie London
Tony Bennett