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According
to composer Matt Dennis,
Herb Jeffries was the first
to record “Angel Eyes,” but the
song’s popularity faltered when
Jeffries’ recording company folded.
Nat “King” Cole then recorded the
song as the B-side to his 1953 hit,
“Return to Paradise.” Dennis, however,
credits Ella Fitzgerald as the vocalist
who popularized “Angel Eyes” saying,
“Finally Ella recorded it for Norman
Granz. She’s done it four times
since. I’m thrilled because she’s
always included it in her shows.”
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A
Herb Jeffries recording of “Angel
Eyes” is included on his
Say It Isn’t So CD (1957).
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“Angel Eyes” can be
found on a number of Ella Fitzgerald
CDs. Her earliest recording of the
song is with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra
from June 26, 1952, and is included
on
75th Birthday Celebration
(1993) and
The Last Decca Years 1949-1954
(1999). A July 24, 1957, recording
is on
First Lady of Song (1993)
and
Ultimate Ella (1997). The
song also appears in a live concert
from April 25, 1958,
Ella in Rome (1988), and
circa 1960,
The Intimate Ella (1990).
The latter CD contains duets with
pianist Paul Smith, which were originally
released as Songs from Let No
Man Write My Epitaph, although
not all of the tracks are in the
film.Fitzgerald often cited “Angel
Eyes” as one of her favorite songs,
and Chris Connor claims that Ella
personally told her that it was
her all-time favorite. Carol Sloane,
on the other hand, claims Fitzgerald’s
favorite was “I Want Something to
Live For.” Fitzgerald delivers equally
heartfelt performances of both these
songs on the DVD
American Masters: Ella Fitzgerald
Something to Live For (1999).
A New York Times article
notes, “Because both songs are sad,
they hint at feelings that Fitzgerald
kept mostly to herself, since she
infused everything she performed
with a sense of joy and almost heavenly
confidence.”
One early performer of “Angel
Eyes” that Matt Dennis did not mention
was himself. The first film to include
his rendition was Jennifer
(1953). The Bradshaw sheet music
associated with the film has Nat
“King” Cole on the cover, but notes
inside say, “As sung by Matt Dennis
in the picture Jennifer starring
Ida Lupino & Howard Duff.”
Today
Frank Sinatra is more closely
associated with “Angel Eyes” than
any of the aforementioned performers.
He recorded the song a number of
times, most notably on the album
he has referred to as his favorite,
Frank Sinatra
Sings for Only the Lonely
(1958). His rendition is interesting
in that he begins not at the chorus,
but the refrain, “Hey drink up all
you people…” In 1971, Sinatra gave
his first in a series of farewell
concerts, choosing “Angel Eyes”
for his last song and “Excuse me
while I disappear” for his last
line.
“Angel Eyes” is often called
“intimate,” “personal,” “lonely,”
“weepy,” “bluesy,” “a torch song,”
or “a saloon song,” the latter being
a category that also contains “One
for My Baby (and One More for the
Road),” and “In
the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.”
- JW
Earl Brent’s lyrics describe
a patron in a bar or lounge, lamenting
the absence of “Angel Eyes, that
old devil sent.” Brent’s choice
for the hook and title, “Angel Eyes,”
has been used as a popular song
title many times before and since
the Dennis/Brent ballad, including
a 1910 hit by Elida Morris and Billy
Murray and a 1989 hit by the Jeff
Healey Band.
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The term “Angel Eyes” is not
only the name of many popular songs
it is also the title of a 2001
Warner Brothers film starring Jennifer
Lopez; numerous books, including
those by Jane Adams (2002), Loren
D. Estleman (1992), and Thea Devine
(1991); an artbook of Akimi Yoshida’s
illustrations (1994); and the nickname
of Lee Van Cleef’s sadistic villain
in the 1966 Clint Eastwood spaghetti
western,
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Last but not least, Angel Eyes is
the name of a therapy cream for
your eyes, “Nothing can replace
your natural beauty, but Angel
Eyes can make you more beautiful
through the healing power of Oxygen.”
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