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“All of
the repeated notes flatten the
melody, which transfers the
emphasis to the harmonies and
the Latin beat, all bonuses for
a dancer like Astaire.” |
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- JW
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On November 29, 1932, Gay
Divorce opened at the Ethel
Barrymore Theatre. The show marked
a departure for star
Fred Astaire as it was his first
appearance without his sister Adele.
That night, teamed instead with
Claire Luce, Astaire introduced
Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.”
Gay Divorce would continue
for another 247 performances, distinguishing
itself as
Fred Astaire’s last Broadway
appearance.
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Today most people believe that
Astaire introduced “Night and Day”
during the 1934 RKO film The
Gay Divorcée. While the
film retained much of original plot,
it contained none of Porter’s score
except for “Night and Day.” The
slight change in title was requested
by the Hays Office which insisted
that divorce could not be gay but
a divorcée might well be.
Fred Astaire’s recording of
“Night and Day” was an instant hit,
climbing the pop charts within weeks
of the show’s opening. It would
remain in the number one position
for ten weeks. In all, five recordings
of “Night and Day” would become
charting hits, and two of those,
by the Eddy Duchin Orchestra and
Frank Sinatra, would make second
appearances as reissues. “Night
and Day” was the first of over 100
hits Sinatra would record under
his own name.
- Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
(1932,
Fred Astaire, vocal, #1)
- Eddy Duchin and His Central
Park Casino Orchestra (1933,
instrumental, #2)
- Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra
(1934, instrumental, #13) (reissue)
- Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra
(1940, instrumental, #24)
-
Frank Sinatra (1942, with
Axel Stordahl and His Orchestra,
#16)
-
Frank Sinatra (1944, #15)
(reissue)
-
Bing Crosby (1946, #21)
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Ginger Rogers replaced Claire
Luce for the film version while
Erik Rhodes and Eric Blore both
retained their Broadway roles from
Gay Divorce. Although Astaire
and Rogers had appeared together
in Flying Down to Rio (1933),
The
Gay Divorcée would be
the first movie in which they received
top billing. The
Gay Divorcée
received five Academy Award nominations
and became the formulaic basis for
subseqent Astaire/Rogers films.
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The farcical plot revolves around
a woman (Ginger
Rogers) who wants a divorce,
her aunt who arranges for a correspondent,
and a suitor (Fred
Astaire) who is mistaken for
the correspondent. Compensating
for the plot were the song and dance
numbers, which delighted audiences.
Clive Hirschhorn, in his book
Hollywood Musicals, comments,
“…although the couple spent only
about ten minutes of the film’s
107 minutes dancing, they were ten
minutes of heaven…” Highlights also
included Con Conrad and Herb Magidson’s
“The
Continental,” which won the
first Academy Award for best song,
and an eighteen-year-old Betty Grable
singing and dancing with Edward
Everett Horton to
Mack Gordon and Harry Revel’s
“Let’s K-nock K-nees.”
According to David Ewen in
Great Men of American Popular Song,
“The idea of using a persistent
note in the verse (B flat) came
to Porter during a visit to Morocco
where he heard the steady, even
beat on a tom-tom from a distance.”
Porter even alludes to the origin
in the opening lyrics, “Like the
beat, beat, beat, of the tom-tom;
When the jungle shadows fall…” Will
Friedwald gives a very different
account in
Stardust Melodies, in which
he tells of Porter visiting friends
in Newport. On a rainy night, the
hostess, Mrs. Vincent Astor, exclaimed
about a broken drainpipe, “…This
drip-drip-drip is driving me mad.”
Porter raced to the piano to finish
his song. And in the verse Porter
also alludes to this origin, “Like
the drip, drip, drip, of the rain
drops…”
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Night and Day was also the
title for the 1946 Warner Brothers
film biography of Cole Porter. If
one overlooks the miscasting of
Cary Grant and forgives the strength
of fiction over fact, there are
some enjoyable songs.
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With a 48-bar, A-A-B-C form (16 bars in each
A section) the A sections open with the “hook” phrase,
“Night and Day” or “Day and Night,” and close with
“Night and Day.” In each case the melody is just
the same, one note either played or held for two
and one-half measures. And in between the openings
and closings of the A sections are additional full
measures of repeated notes. The effect of all the
repetition is the flattening of the melody, which
transfers the emphasis to the harmonies and the
Latin beat, all bonuses for a dancer like Astaire
and jazz improvisationalists. -JW
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Musical analysis of
“Night and Day”
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| Original
Key |
Eb major |
| Form |
A1 – A2 –
B |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
It descends
primarily via steps and small skips, then
leaps back up to its starting point. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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The beauty of the opening harmonic progressions
lies in the initial V7 which is preceded
by a major seventh chord a half step higher
(in the original, Bma7-Bb7). This is purely
an embellishment; the melody would work
just as well without it but would sound
quite bland. The consequent eight measure
phrase uses a descending progression that
was quite remarkable for its time: #ivø7
– iv – I(3rd in bass) – biii˚ - ii – V7
– I (in the original key, this is Am7(b5)
– Abm – Eb/G – Gb˚7 – Fm7 – Bb7 –Eb). This
chord progression has been used
subsequently as an “outro” for so many
tunes by so many jazz players
(particularly big band arrangers) that
it has nearly become a cliché.
The “B” section contains another surprise
when it leaps up to the bIII chord, going
back and forth between it and the tonic
I chord. This particular harmonic progression
was later used frequently in the film scores
of biblical epics, but Porter’s use of it
in a popular song context seems to be unique.
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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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“Night and Day”
was included in these films:
- The Gay Divorcee (1934, sung
by Fred Astaire; danced by Fred Astaire, Ginger
Rogers)
- The Singing Marine (1937)
- Now, Voyager (1942)
- Action in the North Atlantic
(1943, Julie Bishop dubbed by Martha Mears)
- The Hard Way (1943, instrumental)
- Reveille with Beverly (1943,
Frank Sinatra)
- Lady on a Train (1945, Deanna
Durbin)
- Night and Day (1946)
- Desk Set (1957, Katherine
Hepburn)
- Evil under the Sun (1982)
- Once upon a Time in America
(1984)
- Radio Days (1987)
- September (1987, Art Tatum,
Ben Webster, Red Callender, Bill Douglass)
- The Rocketeer (1991)
- Jumanji (1995)
- Le Jour et la nuit aka Day and Night
(1997, Ella Fitzgerald)
- Dream for an Insomniac (1998,
Frank Sinatra)
- The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
(1998, Fred Astaire)
- What Women Want (2000, The
Temptations)
- De-Lovely (2004, John Barrowman,
Kevin Kline)
And on stage:
- Gay Divorce (1932, Fred Astaire)
- Gay Divorce (1933, Fred Astaire,
Claire Luce) London revival
- Cole (1974, 1: instrumental,
2: Kenneth Nelson) London
- Happy New Year (1980, John
McMartin, Michael Scott)
- A Swell Party (1991, Angela
Richards) London revue
And on television:
- Ford Star Jubilee: You're the Top
(1956, George Chakiris, Sally Forrest)
CBS
- The Muppet Show (1981, The
Mummies) Episode 112
- Highlander (1995, Tamara Gorski)
Canadian TV, Season 3, Episode 11: "Vendetta"
- Friends (1997, Frank Sinatra)
NBC sitcom Season 4, Episode 4 "The One with
the Ballroom Dancing"
- Chocolate com Pimenta (2003,
Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Bregman Orchestra) Brazilian
TV
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Bill Evans
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
1991, Orig. Jazz Classics 68
Original recording, 1958, Riverside Records
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| Pianist Bill Evans, bassist Sam
Jones and drummer Philly Joe Jones deliver
a spirited version of the song, as entertaining
as it is technically brilliant. Jones is
particularly engaging as he plays with variations
on a theme and adds some Latin spice. |
Anita O’Day
Swings Cole Porter
1991, Polygram 849266
Original recording, 1959
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| The always energetic singer is her
usual highly inventive self on this track.
She spends the song playing cat-and-mouse
with the orchestra and with the melody,
lagging behind and then rushing joyously
ahead. |
Maxine Sullivan
1938-1941
1998 Melodie Jazz Classics 991
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| There is an ethereal quality to
Sullivan’s voice on this lovely rendition
of the song. Backed by a small band, she
elegantly floats through this unhurried
and romantic reading. |
Kenny Garrett
Trilogy
1995, Warner Bros. Records 45731
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| Alto saxophonist Garrett is all
over the map with this bop rendition. Through
his sharp improvisation he seems to, at
times, channel the likes of Dexter Gordon
or John Coltrane while still maintaining
unique freshness. |
Adam Makowicz
A Tribute to Art Tatum
2000, VWC 4108
Original recording, 1997
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| Makowicz was inspired to pursue
jazz as a child in Poland when he heard
Tatum on Willis Conover’s radio program,
Voice of America. Makowicz has the technique
to elevate this tribute to the level of
the master. It’s hard to believe that only
two hands are playing “Night and Day.” He
includes another version in his solo concert
in the Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol.
24. |
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The big bands of trombonist Tommy Dorsey (1937)
and clarinetist
Benny Goodman (1939) had interesting arrangements
of Cole Porter’s 1932 opus, which maintained its
popularity through the Swing Era. With his first
attempt at band-leading in 1937, clarinetist Artie
Shaw and the group he called “New Music” recorded
a version featuring Shaw with a string section and
rhythm. Although musically interesting, Shaw soon
opted for a regular “brass and reeds” big band.
1944 was a banner year for “Night and Day,” with
three small combos recording the tune for indie
labels. Although there are great versions by tenor
saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and clarinetist Edmond
Hall, the standout is pianist Mary Lou Williams’
group with trumpeter Bill Coleman.
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 “Night and Day” may be found in:
1 page including the following types of information: lyric analysis.
2 paragraphs including the following types of information: history.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history, music analysis and performers.
2 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.
1 page including the following types of information: history, performers, style discussion and song writer discussion.
33 pages including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis, music analysis, performers, recordings and song writer discussion.
3 paragraphs including the following types of information: history and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: lyric analysis.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
3 paragraphs including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis and music analysis.
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