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“Crosby’s
gamble paid off handsomely. His
recording was featured on the
radio show Your Hit Parade
for over 13 weeks.” |
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- JW
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Although
under contract with Paramount Pictures
at the time,
Bing Crosby was occasionally
allowed to make films with other
studios. In 1936 Crosby took a chance
and not only starred but invested
some of his own money in the Columbia
Pictures film,
Pennies from Heaven.
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Pennies from Heaven was
based on Katharine Leslie Moore’s
novel, “The Peacock Feather” and
adapted for the screen by Jo Swerling
(Blood
and Sand,
Lifeboat,
Leave Her to Heaven,
It’s a Wonderful Life,
Guys and Dolls). The story
can be best described as a convoluted
sequence of events. Before the plot
is resolved the characters find
themselves alternately in prison,
on welfare, under arrest, in the
hospital, or sent to an orphanage.
The suggestion seems to be that
no matter how bad things get all
will turn out in the end, a message
that struck a chord with a depression-weary
audience.
While the film’s plot was right
for the times, it was also musical
numbers such as “Skeleton in the
Closet” with
Louis Armstrong that made it
a modest success with filmgoers.
It was the title song that garnered
the movie’s only Academy Award nomination.
Unfortunately it would lose out
to “The
Way You Look Tonight” by
Jerome Kern and
Dorothy Fields.
Crosby’s gamble paid off handsomely.
His recording of “Pennies from Heaven,”
with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra,
was featured on the radio show
Your Hit Parade for over
13 weeks. On the pop charts, “Pennies
from Heaven” also did well:
In 1936
-
Bing Crosby with Jimmy Dorsey
and His Orchestra (#1 for 10
weeks)
- Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
(#8)
- Hildegarde (#16)
- Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra
(#19, Bob Eberle, vocal)
And in 1937
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The songwriting team of Johnny
Burke and Arthur Johnston wrote
a number of songs, although Burke
more often collaborated with
Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnston
with Sam Coslow.
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Presumably Burke’s lyrics were
written to evoke a sense of optimism
in difficult times, assuring the
listener that when it rains, “There’ll
be pennies from heaven for you and
me.” The introductory verse, however,
casts a shadow across the optimistic
chorus. It warns that we may pay
penance for our ancestors’ lack
of appreciation of the better things
in life. Storms may bring us fortune,
but with that fortune we must buy
what we used to get for free.
In 1978 a six-part British Drama
Series Pennies from Heaven
aired on BBC-TV starring Bob Hoskins
and Cheryl Campbell. Written by
Dennis Potter, the story is even
darker than the original, replacing
the prison, welfare, orphanage,
and hospital with infidelity, rape,
murder, and prostitution. The avant-garde
production drew critical and popular
acclaim for its innovative use of
song and dance numbers to depict
the desires of the characters and
society.
The 1981, MGM film, Pennies
from Heaven, is a lavish
adaptation of Dennis Potter’s BBC
series starring Steve Martin and
Bernadette Peters. It received widely
mixed reviews and did little business
at the box office.
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Musical analysis of
“Pennies from Heaven”
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| Original
Key |
C major |
| Form |
A1 – B –
A2 – C |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Primarily
steps and small, arpeggiated skips; repeated
notes |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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Originally, the harmonic progression was
quite simple: I – II7 – V7 – I in the first
“A” section and I7 – IV – VI7 – II7 – V7
in the “B” section. In the second “A,” the
second II7 is replaced by IV, which leads
into the iv – I – II7 – ii7 – V7 ending.
Today jazz players are more inclined to
use extended harmonies and chord substitutions.
For example, the simple progression in the
beginning is elaborated into I – iii – biii˚7
(vii˚7/V) – ii7 – V7(b9), while the secondary
dominant is preceded by a minor 7th
chord a fifth higher (Gm7 – C7 – F, rather
than just C7 – F, for example), or the use
of vi in place of or preceding II7. |
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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“Pennies from Heaven”
was included in these films:
- Pennies from Heaven (1936,
Bing Crosby)
- Cruisin’ Down the River (1953,
Dick Haymes)
- From Here to Eternity (1954)
- Picnic (1956, instrumental)
- Pepe (1960,
Bing Crosby)
- Pennies from Heaven (1981, Arthur
Tracy with Vernal Bagneris lip-synching)
- Angela’s Ashes (1995,
Billie Holiday)
- Corrina, Corrina (2000,
Billie Holiday)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Frank Sinatra/Count Basie
Sinatra/Basie
1990, Warner Bros. 1008
Original recording, 1962, Reprise
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| Two heavyweights of swing get together
for an inspired session. Sinatra sounds
genuinely inspired and Basie pulls out all
the stops. |
Dave Brubeck Quartet
At Carnegie Hall
2001, Sony
Original recording, 1963
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| Considered one of the finest live
recordings in any musical genre, this album
features an intense delivery of the song.
The quartet is tight-knit and the energy
is infectious. |
Joel Frahm
Sorry No Decaf
1999, Palmetto 2043
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| Saxophonist Frahm delivers a quirky
new take on the song that allows the quartet
to explore without losing the inherent personality
of the original. |
Oscar Peterson Trio
On the Town
Verve 314543834
Original recording, 1958
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| The incomparable trio of Peterson
at piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Ray
Brown on bass struts through a live version
of the song. |
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Many jazzmen have pet tunes that they enjoy playing
regularly. Looking through a discography, one might
find an artist recording several versions of a number
over the span of a career. Such was the case with
Lester Young and the tune “Pennies from Heaven.”
Lester was on board with the Count Basie band
for their first recording session for Decca Records
in 1937, when they laid down a swinging version
of tune. The record was primarily a feature for
vocalist Jimmy Rushing and Young was not featured.
However, he started playing the tune with his own
group in the 1940s, recording a version in 1950
and then twice in 1956 on a series of live recordings
made of his quartet in Washington, D.C.
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 “Pennies from Heaven” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, summary and performers.
5 paragraphs including the following types of information: film productions, history and performers.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
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