By Myself (1937 song)

"By Myself" is a song by composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz. ^[1] The song's lyrics communicate both the sadness of being alone but also a satisfaction found in self-reliance and achievement. ^[1] The song is noted for emplying an unusual musical form for a popular song; following the incomplete repetition form AABC. It also vacillates between the keys of g minor and F major making for a more harmonically complex tune. ^[2]

Considered a jazz standard, ^{[3] [1]} "By Myself" was originally created for the 1937 Broadway musical Between the Devil . ^[4] Jack Buchanan introduced the ballad in this musical and it remained a relatively unknown song until it was performed by Fred Astaire in the 1953 musical comedy film The Band Wagon . Astaire's performance catapulted the song from obscurity to popularity; ^[5] debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard chart on August 29, 1953. ^[6] It was later sung by Judy Garland in the 1963 film I Could Go On Singing , ^[2] and by Vivian Reed in the 1972 Broadway revue That's Entertainment . ^[7]

Notable recordings

• Mabel Mercer – Songs by Mabel Mercer, Vol. 2 (1953)
• Barbara Carroll Trio – Lullabies in Rhythm (1954)
• Lee Wiley and Ellis Larkins – Duologue: Lee Wiley Sings Rogers & Hart; Ellis Larkins Plays Piano Solos (1954)
• Art Farmer – Farmer's Market (1956)
• Patty McGovern – Wednesday's Child (1956), arranged by Thomas Talbert
• Helen Merrill – Dream of You (1956), arranged by Gil Evans
• Sammy Davis Jr. – Sammy Swings (1957)
• Judy Garland – Alone (1957), arranged by Gordon Jenkins; I Could Go On Singing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1963)
• Gogi Grant – Granted It's Gogi (1957), arranged by Johnny Mandel
• Jerry Lewis – Jerry Lewis Just Sings (1957), arranged by Buddy Bregman
• Johnny Mathis – Warm (1957), arranged by Percy Faith
• Ruth Price – The Party's Over (1957)
• Freddie Redd – San Francisco Suite (1957)
• Mal Waldron – Mal/3: Sounds (1958)
• Tony Bennett – Hometown, My Town (1959), arranged by Ralph Burns; Steppin' Out (1993)
• Carmen McRae – Book of Ballads (1959), arranged by Frank Hunter
• Teresa Brewer – Ridin' High (1960), arranged by Jerry Fielding
• Shirley Scott – Hip Soul (1961)
• Fred Astaire – Three Evenings with Fred Astaire (1962), arranged by David Rose
• Shelley Manne and Jack Marshall – Sounds Unheard Of (1962)
• Lena Horne – Lena Like Latin (1963), arranged by Shorty Rogers
• Doc Severinsen – Torch Songs for Trumpet (1963)
• Jack Jones – Where Love Has Gone (1964)
• Julie London – In Person at the Americana (1964), arranged by Don Bagley
• Esther Ofarim - Is it really me? (1965), arranged and produced by Bobby Scott ^[8]
• Don Shirley – Water Boy (1965)
• Ann-Margret - Songs from The Swinger (And Other Swingin' Songs) (1966)
• Cher – Bittersweet White Light (1973)
• Dave McKenna – By Myself (1976), "Dancing in the Dark" and Other Music of Arthur Schwartz (1986), and Fresh Air in Concert (1990)
• Shirley Horn – A Lazy Afternoon (1978)
• Roger Kellaway – Say That Again (1978)
• James Williams – Flying Colors (1978)
• Cal Collins – By Myself (1980)
• Johnny Hartman – Once in Every Life (1981)
• Maxine Sullivan – Maxine Sullivan With the Ike Isaacs Quintet (1981); On Tour With the Allegheny Jazz Quartet: Starring Maxine Sullivan (1984); Uptown (1985, with the Scott Hamilton Quintet)
• Buddy De Franco and Oscar Peterson – Hark: Buddy De Franco Meets the Oscar Peterson Quartet (1985), with Joe Pass and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
• Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass – Easy Living (1986)
• Barney Kessel – Red, Hot and Blues (1988)
• Joe Pass – Blues for Fred (1988)
• Junior Cook – On a Misty Night (1990)
• Trudy Desmond – Tailor Made (1992), arranged by Roger Kellaway
• Stephanie Nakasian – Bitter Sweet (1992)
• Lou Levy – By Myself (1995)
• Gary Lemel – Moonlighting (1999), arranged by Roger Kellaway
• Paul Smoker – Standard Deviations (1999)
• Stacey Kent – Let Yourself Go (1999)
• Claudia Schmidt – I Thought About You: A Jazz Collection (2001)
• Cleo Laine – Quality Time (2002), arranged by John Dankworth
• Susie Arioli – Learn to Smile Again (2005)
• Herb Geller – Herb Geller Plays the Arthur Schwartz Songbook (2005)
• Stevie Holland – More Than Words Can Say (2006)
• Meredith D'Ambrosio – By Myself (2012)
• Cecile McLorin Salvant – The Window (2018)

See also

• List of jazz standards

References

1. Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael (2006). "By Myself". America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN   978-0415972468.
2. Paymer, Marvin E.; Post, Don E. (1999). "By Myself". Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945. Two Bytes Pub. Co. p. 352. ISBN   9781881907091.
3. "By Myself". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
4. Dietz, Dan (2018). The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 480–481. ISBN   9781538102770.
5. Levinson, Peter (2015). Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography. St. Martin's Press. p. 184. ISBN   9781250091499.
6. Sullivan, Steve (2017). "By Myself (1953) Fred Astaire (music by Arthur Schwartz; lyrics by Howard Dietz)". Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 3. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 249. ISBN   978-1442254480.
7. Watt, Douglas (April 16, 1972). "Musical Fails To Live Up to Promise". New York Daily News . p. 30.
8. "Esther Ofarim - Esther and Abi Ofarim - Esther & Abi Ofarim - Ofraim אסתר עופרים". www.esther-ofarim.de. Retrieved Dec 7, 2020.