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I Won't Dance (1935)

Origin and Chart Information
Rank 999
Music Jerome Kern
Lyrics Dorothy Fields
Oscar Hammerstein II
Otto Harbach
Jimmy McHugh

Here are the top ten...

Year Rank Title
1930 1 “Body and Soul”
1939 2 “All the Things You Are”
1935 3 “Summertime”
1944 4 “'Round Midnight”
1935 5 “I Can't Get Started (with You)”
1937 6 “My Funny Valentine”
1942 7 “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)”
1930 8 “What Is This Thing Called Love?”
1933 9 “Yesterdays”
1946 10 “Stella by Starlight”

Click on Songs for the full list.
Musician's Comments

To me this a great song because of some quirky things that make it special. The “A” section is normal and uses lots of direct repetition. The “B” uses a different kind of repetition in that the same phrase keeps modulating to different keys. The words are also witty rhyming “heaven rest us” with “I’m not asbestos.”

A great version is on the CD Ella and Louis, which is a good reference for many standards in the post big band era, swing style. They have fun and obviously enjoy working together on this playful duet.

Less obvious is Art Tatum with Roy Eldridge (The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 2) who prove that an effective instrumental version can still swing, although you lose out on the words and some of the cleverness. This version has a lot of the same spirit of the song as any good vocal version does.

Peter Kenagy, Trumpet Player

www.peterkenagy.com
www.myspace.com/peterkenagy
 


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By the Same Writers...
Reading & Research

Jazz History Notes

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

Written by the Same Composer or Team...
This section shows the jazz standards written by the same writing team.

Dorothy Fields, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern and Jimmy McHugh

Year Rank Title
1935 999 “I Won't Dance”

Reading and Research
Additional information for "I Won't Dance" may be found in:

Alec Wilder
American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950
Oxford University Press; Reprint edition
Hardcover: 576 pages
2 pages including the following types of information: music analysis.

Thomas S. Hischak
The American Musical Film Song Encyclopedia
Greenwood Press
Hardcover: 536 pages
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, summary, lyric analysis and music analysis.

Robert Gottlieb, Robert Kimball
Reading Lyrics
Pantheon
Hardcover: 736 pages
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.

Roy Hemming
The Melody Lingers On: The Great Songwriters and Their Movie Musicals
Newmarket Pr; Reprint edition
Paperback
1 paragraph including the following types of information: anecdotal. (Page 95).

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