Gee, But You're Swell

Last updated
"Gee, But You're Swell"
Song by Chick Webb and His Orchestra, with vocal Louis Jordan
Published1936
Label Remick Music Corp
Lyricist(s) Abel Baer, Charles Tobias

Gee! But You're Swell was written by Abel Baer and Charles Tobias in 1936, and published by Remick Music Corp. in the same year.

Contents

Recordings

One of the first recordings was in 1937, by Chick Webb and his Orchestra with vocal by Louis Jordan. A (very) brief MP3 excerpt can be heard here.

Popular recordings in 1937 were by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (vocal by Helen Ward) and by Russ Morgan. [1]

"Gee, But You're Swell" was adopted by Australian television performer Graham Kennedy as his theme song for In Melbourne Tonight .

The song is used as background music throughout the 1937 Warner Bros. cartoon Porky and Gabby .

Related Research Articles

"'A' You're Adorable" is a popular song with music by Sid Lippman and lyrics by Buddy Kaye and Fred Wise, published in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Way You Look Tonight</span> 1936 song by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields

"The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film Swing Time that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful."

"Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. First recording of the song was by Ted Wallace and His Swing Kings [Bluebird, B-6252-B, 1936]. The song is referenced several times in the 1936 Kaufman and Hart play "You Can't Take It With You". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, and by Bob Crosby & His Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Only a Paper Moon</span> 1933 popular song

"It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose.

"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.

"I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk. The song was published in 1928. Versions by Nick Lucas, Aileen Stanley and, most successfully, Ruth Etting, all charted in America in 1929.

"Nice Work If You Can Get It" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

"Slumming on Park Avenue" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1937 film On the Avenue, where it was introduced by Alice Faye. Popular recordings in 1937 were by Red Norvo and his Orchestra, Fletcher Henderson and by Jimmie Lunceford.

"(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936.

"Johnny One Note" is a 1937 show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, where it was introduced by Wynn Murray. Judy Garland sang it in the Rodgers & Hart biopic Words and Music (1948).

"(You'd Be So) Easy to Love" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for William Gaxton to sing in the 1934 Broadway show Anything Goes. However Gaxton was unhappy about its wide vocal range and it was cut from the musical. Porter re-wrote it for the 1936 film Born to Dance, where it was introduced by Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, and Frances Langford under its alternate title, "Easy to Love". The song was later added to the 1987 and 2011 revivals of Anything Goes under the complete title "You’d Be So Easy to Love".

"Lover, Come Back to Me" is a popular song composed by Sigmund Romberg with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Broadway show The New Moon, where the song was introduced by Evelyn Herbert and Robert Halliday. The song was published in 1928.

"Mean to Me" is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk, published in 1929. Hit versions that year were by Ruth Etting and by Helen Morgan. Ben Bernie and the Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra also recorded what might be the first male version in February 1929 with vocals by Scrappy Albert.

"I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (with You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, where it was performed by Bob Hope and Eve Arden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right or Wrong (1921 song)</span>

"Right or Wrong" is a jazz ballad from 1921. Composed by Arthur Sizemore and Paul Biese, with words by Haven Gillespie, it is described by the original sheet music as "a beautiful fox-trot ballad."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Every Day I Have the Blues</span> Blues standard

"Every Day I Have the Blues" is a blues song that has been performed in a variety of styles. An early version of the song is attributed to Pinetop Sparks and his brother Milton. It was first performed in the taverns of St. Louis by the Sparks brothers and was recorded July 28, 1935 by Pinetop with Henry Townsend on guitar. The song is a twelve-bar blues that features Pinetop's piano and falsetto vocal. The opening verse includes the line "Every day, every day I have the blues".

<i>Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests</i> 1963 studio album by Andy Williams

Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests is the eleventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in April 1963 by Columbia Records following his first season as host of his variety series, The Andy Williams Show. The LP has a studio recording of the closing theme from the show, "May Each Day", and continues the format of his previous Columbia releases by including songs from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

<i>To You Sweetheart, Aloha</i> 1959 studio album by Andy Williams

To You Sweetheart, Aloha is the fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released late in the summer of 1959 by Cadence Records. This, his fourth LP for the label, has a Hawaiian theme that coincides with the admission of the 50th of the United States.

"Love Is the Sweetest Thing" is a popular song written in 1932 by British band leader and singer Ray Noble. Using guest vocalist Al Bowlly, Noble's recording was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing Noble his first American success. It was published by Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd. Like most compositions published in the period, its main refrain is preceded with what were then called "sectional verses" or "introductory verses" which are usually omitted from early recordings and modern performances.

"This Year's Kisses" is a popular song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the musical film On the Avenue (1937) and introduced by Alice Faye. Popular recordings in 1937 were by Benny Goodman, Hal Kemp, Shep Fields and by Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  501. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.