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“It’s
Bobby Hackett’s 1939 big
band recording that made
musicians aware of the virtues
of this tune.”
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- Chris
Tyle
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Ginger
Rogers and
Allen Kearns introduced
an Alvin Theatre audience
to “Embraceable You” during
the first performance of
Girl Crazy, on October
14, 1930. Although the Broadway
musical marked Rogers’ debut
as a leading lady, she lost
the limelight to newcomer
Ethel Merman who brought
down the house with her
introduction of “I
Got Rhythm.”
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Girl Crazy was
originally written as a
vehicle for Bert Lahr, but
when he turned down the
part for legal reasons,
master of accents, Willie
Howard, was brought in to
take his place. The orchestra
for the performance was
the Red Nichols Band which
included
Benny Goodman,
Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden,
Jimmy Dorsey, and Gene Krupa.
The star-studded orchestra
thrilled the audiences with
jam sessions during the
intermissions. George Gershwin
conducted the music at the
premier before handing the
baton over to Earl Busby.
Girl Crazy would
run for 272 performances.
The Girl Crazy
score also included “Bidin’
My Time,” “Sam and Delilah,”
“I
Got Rhythm,” “But
Not For Me,” “Treat
Me Rough!” and “Boy! What
Love Has Done to Me!”
A 1932 RKO film adaptation
of Girl Crazy, starring
Bert Wheeler and Robert
Woolsey, relied on sophomoric
comedy and not the original
Gershwin score retaining
only “Bidin’ My Time,” “I
Got Rhythm,” and “But
Not For Me.” Variety
called it “a weak sister”
of the Broadway production.
 A
1943 release of the film
fared much better. MGM’s
Girl Crazy was the
eighth Mickey Rooney/Judy
Garland film and was
generally well reviewed.
The original story and score
were left almost intact
and all of the songs were
included along with “Fascinating
Rhythm” from 1924’s
Lady Be Good added.
MGM again visited the
well in 1966 with Girl
Crazy as the basis for
the film, When the Boys
Meet the Girls, starring
Connie Francis and Harve
Presnell. Suffice it to
say the highlight of the
musical was the songs.
Over sixty years after
making its debut, Girl
Crazy was once again
on Broadway, this time as
the basis for the 1992 hit
Crazy For You. The
musical opened on
February 19th
and ran for 1622 performances.
Seven of the songs from
Girl Crazy were included
in the score along with
13 other Gershwin songs.
The music for “Embraceable
You” was originally written
in 1928-29 for a Ziegfeld
musical based on the 1918
play East is West.
Although the musical was
never produced, some of
the songs were recycled
into another Ziegfeld production,
Show Girl, with “Embraceable
You” being saved for
Girl Crazy. A recent
auction included a Gershwin
sketchbook containing, among
the East is West
material, an early version
of “Embraceable You,” slightly
different and without lyrics
but nevertheless the same
song.
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“Embraceable You” climbed
onto the pop charts within
weeks of its Broadway introduction
with a Red Nichols and His
Five Pennies (Dick Robertson,
vocal) rendition rising
to number two in November,
1930. Over a decade later,
in 1941, Jimmy Dorsey and
His Orchestra with Helen
O’Connell on vocals had
a modest hit, rising to
number twenty-three.
The flip side of Red
Nichols’ recording was another
Girl Crazy number,
“I
Got Rhythm.” Nichols’
“I
Got Rhythm” only made
it to number five, losing
out to “Embraceable You.”
The two songs’ relative
popularity with 1930 consumers
is reflected today. “Embraceable
You” is recorded by more
jazz artists than “I
Got Rhythm,” despite
the popularity of the “I
Got Rhythm” chord progressions
that have been used as the
basis of literally hundreds
of jazz songs.
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Musical analysis
of “Embraceable You”
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Original Key |
G
major, with brief passages in E
minor and D major |
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Form |
A1
– B – A2 |
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Tonality |
Primarily
major |
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Movement |
80%
step-wise, with occasional downward
leaps ranging from a fourth to an
octave. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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The chord progression and initial
melodic figure are similar to “Moonlight
Serenade” and “Witchcraft”–three
notes ascending scalewise, beginning
on the 6th, over a I – vii˚7/V7
– V7 progression (while not in Gershwin’s
original version, an embellishing
ii chord is often inserted between
the vii˚7 and the V7)
Challenges to the performer:
occasional wide interval leaps and
chords with unexpected resolutions
(particularly at the end of measure
12 going into 13, and 28 going into
29). Gershwin used many “embellishing”
chords, which is this tune’s blessing
as well as its curse. Mainly these
extra harmonies are decorative and
tasteful substitutions for the otherwise
plain “I -V7 – I” progression. They
can lead the unwary novice performer
astray, however, if s/he does not
remain aware of the harmonic direction.
The best advice is to learn the
head thoroughly with accompaniment
and then begin one’s improvisations
by adding embellishments to the
original melody before striking
out in new directions.
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K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath's book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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 Well, what
can I say? Ya’ gotta love those Gershwin
boys. I recorded “Embraceable You” as part
of my Sarah Vaughan tribute project. It’s
a song that contains the types of interval
changes and chordings that Sassy seemed
to be drawn to. It has a lot of “swoops”
that I have fun with whenever I sing it.
Janis Mann, Jazz Vocalist
www.janismann.com
Are
you a published Vocalist or Instrumentalist?
Add a comment and we'll credit you with
a link to your site.
(more...)
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“Embraceable You”
was included in these films:
- Girl Crazy (1930,
Allen Kearns, Ginger Rogers)
- Girl Crazy (1932,
Arline Judge, Eddie Quillan)
- Girl Crazy (1943,
Judy Garland, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,
MGM Studio Chorus)
- Rhapsody in Blue (1945,
Joan Leslie dubbed by Louanne Hogan)
- Humoresque (1946)
- Nancy Goes to Rio
(1950, Jane Powell)
- An American in Paris
(1951, Leslie Caron)
- With a Song in My Heart
(1952, Susan Hayward dubbed
by Jane Froman, Robert Wagner)
- Sincerely Yours (1955,
Liberace)
- When the Boys Meet the Girls
(1965, Harve Presnell)
- Who Cares? (1970,
New York City Ballet)
- Manhattan (1979, New
York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta)
- City Heat (1984, Irene
Cara)
- Bicentennial Man (1999,
Paula West)
- Catch Me If You Can
(2002, Judy Garland)
- Taking Sides (2002)
- The Human Stain (2003,
Teddy Wilson)
And on stage:
- Crazy for You (1992,
Jodi Benson, Harry Groener)
And on television:
- I Love Lucy (1955)
Episode 117, "The Fashion Show"
- Jeeves and Wooster
(1990) Granada TV comedy series
- Crazy for You (1999,
Stacey Logan, Jim Walton)
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Click on a CD for more
details at Amazon.com
Clifford Brown
With Strings
1998, Polygram #558078
Original recording, 1955, Verve
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| Brown’s bright, concise
trumpet work in front of a backdrop
of exquisite strings conveys the
romanticism of a truly romantic
song. |
Charlie Parker
Jazz at the Philharmonic
1993, Polygram Records #519803
Original recording, 1949, Verve
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| This live release contains
a wonderful big band version of
the song. While saxophonist Parker
is leader here, it is trumpeter
Roy Eldridge’s spine tingling introduction
that makes this unforgettable. |
Billie Holiday
The Silver Collection
1990, Polygram Records #23449
Original recording, 1956-57
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| This CD includes two sessions.
On “Embraceable You” Billie is joined
by “Sweets” Edison, Ben Webster,
Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel, Red
Mitchell, and Alvin Stoller. Mitchell
said that he adopted the tune as
his signature because it laid so
nicely on his fifth-tuned bass. |
George Cables
By George
1991, Contemporary 87 Fantasy #14030
Original recording, 1987, Fantasy
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| In a trio setting, the pianist,
whom Art Pepper named “Mr. Beautiful,”
interprets six Gershwin beauties. |
John Stetch
Stetching Out
1996 Terra Nova #9013
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| Breathtaking innovation
is an understatement when describing
this solo piano rendition. Sophisticated
and daring, Stetch takes “Embraceable
You” to a whole new level of improvisation,
rearranging the song without losing
one ounce of the sentiment behind
it. |
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Although “Embraceable You*” had been
recorded numerous times by various artists
in the 1930s, it’s Bobby Hackett’s 1939
big band recording that made musicians aware
of the virtues of this tune. About this
performance, Richard M. Sudhalter wrote
in his book
Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution
to Jazz 1915-1945, “The Hackett
charms are in fully early bloom; balanced
phrasing, the melodic essence glowing through
the embellishments; an unerring ability,
as (cornetist) Ruby Braff observed, to select
the most poignant intervals and chordal
voices, all delivered with a heart-warming
tone.” Hackett was a self-proclaimed
Louis Armstrong fan, yet his approach
verged on the cool and in some ways precedes
Miles Davis’ playing, who was a self-proclaimed
Hackett fan.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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| This section shows the
jazz standards written by the same writing
team. Click on a name to see all
of a writer's jazz standards.
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Additional
information on “Embraceable You” may be
found in:
2 paragraphs including
the following types of information:
lyric analysis.
10 pages including the
following types of information: history,
lyric analysis, music analysis and song
lyrics. (Book includes CD).
3 paragraphs including
the following types of information:
music analysis.
2 pages including the
following types of information: music
analysis.
6 pages including the
following types of information: music
analysis.
1 paragraph including
the following types of information:
summary, lyric analysis and music analysis.
1 paragraph including
the following types of information:
history and performers.
3 pages including the
following types of information: anecdotal,
history, lyric analysis and song lyrics.
1 paragraph including
the following types of information:
lyric analysis.
Includes the following
types of information: song lyrics.
4 pages including the
following types of information: music
analysis and sheet music.
2 pages including the
following types of information: music
analysis and jazz solo transcription.
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