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“[Roy Hargrove’s]
soft, gentle tones make this one
of the most heartbreakingly emotional
readings of the ballad.” |
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- Ben Maycock
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In 1940
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
introduced “The Nearness of You”
with vocals by
Ray Eberle. The Bluebird label
recording was a moderate success,
appearing on the pop charts at the
end of June and remaining there
for eleven weeks, peaking at number
five. In 1953 the song became a
charted hit again; this time Bob
Manning, singing with Monty Kelly
and His Orchestra, saw his recording
climb the charts to number sixteen.
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With regard to the song's introduction,
according to Richard Sudhalter’s
Hoagy Carmichael biography
Stardust Melody: The Life and Music
of Hoagy Carmichael, “The
Nearness of You” was a melody that
Carmichael dashed off for
… a screen
adaptation of Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
featuring fifteen-year-old Mickey
Rooney as Puck. With [Ned] Washington’s
lyric, it became “The Nearness
of You,” scheduled for inclusion
in the feature Romance in
the Rough. The film was
never produced and the song
had to wait for republication
in 1940 to win its place as
a standard.
In Sudhalter’s notes, of which
there are more than 50 pages, he
comments that despite accounts to
the contrary, “The Nearness of You”
was never scheduled to be included
in the 1938 Paramount film, Romance
in the Dark, starring John Boles,
Gladys Swarthout and John Barrymore.
Probably a result of the similar
titles, Romance in the Rough
versus Romance in the Dark,
the introduction of “The
Nearness of You” is mistakenly credited
to Ms. Swarthout in Romance in
the Dark in at least one reference
book, numerous sheet music books,
and as a result, the error appears
on hundreds of websites.
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Out of all of Carmichael’s hits,
“The Nearness of You” is his most
straightforward love song, with
both the music and lyrics conveying
an unguarded sentimental tone. Alec
Wilder in
American Popular Song: The Great
Innovators, 1900-1950 calls
it “simple and unclever,” “tender,”
and “a forthright expression of
the romantic world in which boys
and girls once were wont to dream
and dance and gaze and hold hands.”
Wilder also comments that it is
“the sort of song that an academic
musical mind would sneer at.”
As if to refute Wilder’s latter
comment, Allen Forte, Battell Professor
of the Theory of Music at Yale University,
devotes over five pages in his book
Listening to Classic American Popular
Songs to discussion of “The
Nearness of You” terming certain
aspects of the song “unusual,” “remarkable,”
and “striking,” and even offering
a “Congratulations, Hoagy!” for
Carmichael’s slightly concealed
replication of the refrain’s opening
phrase in the verse.
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Carmichael wrote “The Nearness of You” with a
short verse, a 32-bar refrain with an A1-A2-B-A1
form, and a 4-bar extension. Vocalists, including
Dorothy Dandridge (Smooth
Operator), Abbey Lincoln and Hank Jones
(When
There Is Love), and
Sarah Vaughan (16
Most Requested Songs), often sing the introductory
verse.
In each of the first two A sections, Ned Washington
uses 8-bar phrases to say in the first four bars
what is not exciting, and in the last four
bars, “Oh, no, it’s just the nearness of you.” For
the third A section, Washington stretches his final
phrase from eight bars to thirteen, spilling over
from the usual 32-bars into the 5-bar extension.
The resulting delay increases the tension and immediacy
and places his final recitation of the title and
hook phrase “The Nearness of You” at the final notes
of the song. -JW
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Musical analysis of
“The Nearness of You”
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| Original
Key |
F major |
| Form |
A1 – A2 –
B – A1 with four-measure extension |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Ascending
by skips (thirds and fourths) and steps;
descending primarily stepwise |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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This is a flowing ballad with a well-constructed
melody. Intervals are small, for the most
part; only three leaps (sixths and seventh)
occur in the entire song. Harmonic progression
is an interesting variation of I– I7 – IV
– iv with the I – VI7 – II – V7 turnaround
used to end many tunes. Here it is the primary
one used. A v7 (functioning as a ii7 of
IV) is inserted before the I7, and the iv
is turned into a diminished chord resolving
to iii. From there it’s a simple matter
of cycling through the fifths (using minor
substitutions) in order to return to the
tonic. Many contemporary performers use
a chromatically descending progression here.
For example, in the present key of F major,
the traditional changes would be Am –D7
– Gm, whereas contemporary performers might
use Am – Ab – Gm instead. Either is acceptable;
however, the former reflects Carmichael’s
original. |
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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“The Nearness of You” was one of my earliest
songs. It’s sincere, light, romantic and contains
no threat of loss. It’s also questioning, and I
like questioning songs.
Jay
Clayton, jazz vocalist
www.jayclayton.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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“The Nearness of You”
was included in these films:
- Romance in the Dark (1937)
- Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962,
Stella Stevens dubbed by Gilda Maiken, The Jordanaires)
- Ash Wednesday (1973)
- Flashdance (1983)
- Indecent Proposal (1993, Sheena
Easton)
- Nobody's Fool (1994)
- The Impostors (1998, Steve
Buscemi, Gary DeMichele & Band)
- Joe Gould's Secret (2000,
Charlie Parker)
- Two Weeks Notice (2002, Norah
Jones)
- Twisted (2004, Tierney Sutton)
And on television:
- Startrek: The Next Generation
(1988, Jonathan Frakes) Season 1, Episode
16, "11001001"
- Startrek: The Next Generation
(1992, Jonathan Frakes) Season 5, Episode
114, "Conundrum"
- Frasier (1993) NBC sitcom,
Season 1, Episode 6, "The Crucible"
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Bill Charlap
Stardust
2002, Blue Note
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| Pianist Bill Charlap’s delicate
version of “The Nearness of You” is both
cerebral and emotional, a testament to his
great talent at interpreting the music of
Hoagy Carmichael. |
Cannonball Adderley
Sophisticated Swing
1995, Polygram 528408
Original recording, 1958
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| Alto sax player Cannonball Adderley
leads the group (including brother Nat on
cornet) through a hard-bop reading of the
song. Adderley’s full sound is rich in rounded
notes and very romantic |
King & Moore
Cliff Dance
1993, Justice 803
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| Vocalist Nancy King and bassist
Glen Moore team up for their third recording,
but this time they invite pianist Art Lande,
drummer Gary Hobbs, and alto saxophonist
Warren Rand to join them. King takes “The
Nearness of You” very slowly in duo with
Lande. The CD also contains original material
with quirky lyrics by Samantha Moore. |
Roy Hargrove
Family
1995, Verve #527630
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| This beautifully realized version
of “The Nearness of You” highlights just
how talented trumpeter Roy Hargrove is.
His soft, gentle tones make this one of
the most heartbreakingly emotional readings
of the ballad. |
Lynne Arriale
Inspiration
2002, TCB
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| This is a very introspective, reflective
version of “The Nearness of You.” Pianist
Arriale and trio also give a new rhythmic
twist to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t
Got That Swing” and Leonard Bernstein’s
“America.” |
Bennie Wallace
The Nearness of You
2004 Enja Justin Time
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| In the company of pianist Kenny
Barron and bassist Eddie Gomez tenor saxophonist
Wallace languidly deconstructs and reconstitutes
the standards. |
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Vocalist Sarah Vaughn had a special affinity
for this number. Her first recording, in 1949 with
Joe Lippman’s Orchestra, is a fabulous rendition
of this Hoagy Carmichael tune, including the seldom-heard
verse. A few years later Sassy was featured in a
Snader “telescription” video performance of this
tune.
A 1951 concert in St. Louis featured alto saxophone
giant Charlie Parker with
Woody Herman’s Orchestra, and the event was
broadcast and recorded for posterity. There was
a mutual admiration society between Parker and the
Herman Herd, and the version of “The Nearness of
You” is a wonderful exposition on this great song,
with an arrangement by Ralph Burns.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan,
June Christy
The Vocalists
Storyville Video SV 6007
Available from
www.storyville-records.com/video.html
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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 “The Nearness of You” may be found in:
7 pages including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis, music analysis and song lyrics. (Book includes CD).
1 paragraph including the following types of information: music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: summary and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, history, performers and style discussion.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
1 page including the following types of information: music analysis.
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