Lonely Town (On the Town)

Last updated

"Lonely Town" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town . It was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden.

It is performed in Scene 7 of Act 1 of the musical by the character Gabey, a sailor on shore leave, in the musical as he laments his loneliness despite being in the crowds of New York City. It is the first solo number performed by one of the principal characters in the musical. The song is formed of an AABAB structure. The song segues into the "Lonely Town Pas de Deux" ballet in the musical in which Gabey watches other sailors dance with girls while he is alone. [1] A new verse was created when it was released as sheet music as the original verse contained too many references to the specific plot of the musical. The song includes fragments of the song "New York, New York" from the musical. [1] "Lonely Town" is one of the three principal ballads of the show alongside "Lucky to Be Me" and "Some Other Time". [2] The song had developed from "Lonely Me", of which the lyrics only exist. [2]

The Boston Herald critic Elinor Hughes felt that "Lonely Town" was one of the few songs from the musical that would be "most likely to be remembered". [2]

Frank Sinatra starred in the 1947 film version of the musical with Gene Kelly, and believed that he was going to perform the song in the film though in the musical it had been written for Kelly's character. Comden recalled that Sinatra was "very, very angry" upon being told that on the last day of shooting that the song was not to be included. [3] [4]

In his biography of Sinatra, Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art, Will Friedwald wrote that Sinatra and Gordon Jenkins considered the song the "high point" of Sinatra's 1957 album arranged by Jenkins, Where Are You? , and describes the song as a "heavy, moving ballad". [3]

"Lonely Town" was performed by Shirley Horn on Charlie Haden's 1999 album The Art of the Song , in an arrangement by Alan Broadbent. Broadbent won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000. [5]

Recordings

Related Research Articles

"Stardust" is a popular song composed in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics added by Mitchell Parish in 1929. Carmichael recorded the song, originally titled "Star Dust", at the Gennett studio in Richmond, Indiana. The "song about a song about love", played in an idiosyncratic melody in medium tempo, became an American standard and is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century with over 1,500 recordings. In 2004, Carmichael's 1927 recording of the song was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. The song was featured in the film "My Home In Umbria" (2003).

Mel Tormé American recording artist

Melvin Howard Tormé, nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells.

Billy May American composer, arranger and trumpeter

Edward William May Jr. was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for The Green Hornet (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Batman, and Naked City (1960). He collaborated on films such as Pennies from Heaven (1981), and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return, among others.

<i>On the Town</i> (musical) 1945 musical by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green

On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on Jerome Robbins' idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein's music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them "New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook, Too", and "Some Other Time". The story concerns three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City during wartime 1944. Each of the three sailors meets and quickly connects with a woman.

Blossom Dearie American jazz singer and pianist

Margrethe Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City over many years and collaborated with many musicians, including Johnny Mercer, Miles Davis, Jack Segal, Johnny Mandel, Duncan Lamont, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, and Jay Berliner.

<i>In the Wee Small Hours</i> 1955 studio album by Frank Sinatra

In the Wee Small Hours is the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was released in April 1955 by Capitol and produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. All the songs on the album deal with themes such as loneliness, introspection, lost love, failed relationships, depression, and night life. The cover artwork reflects these themes, portraying Sinatra on an eerie and deserted street at night awash in blue-tinged street lights. In the Wee Small Hours has been called one of the first concept albums.

"It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 and originally recorded by Bob Shane with the Kingston Trio.

"April in Paris" is a popular song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by Yip Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical Walk a Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50. Composer Alec Wilder writes, "There are no two ways about it: this is a perfect theater song. If that sounds too reverent, then I'll reduce the praise to 'perfectly wonderful,' or else say that if it's not perfect, show me why it isn't."

<i>Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely</i> 1958 studio album by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely is an album by Frank Sinatra.

Alan Broadbent

Alan Leonard Broadbent is a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work with artists such as Sue Raney, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Natalie Cole, Warne Marsh, Bud Shank, and many others.

"It Might as Well Be Spring" is a song from the 1945 film State Fair. which features the only original film score by the songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. "It Might as Well Be Spring" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for that year.

"Someone to Watch Over Me" is a 1926 song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, assisted by Howard Dietz who penned the title. It was written for the musical Oh, Kay! (1926), with the part originally sung on Broadway by English actress Gertrude Lawrence while holding a rag doll in a sentimental solo scene. The successful musical ran for more than 200 performances in New York and then saw equivalent acclaim in London in 1927; all with the song as its centerpiece. Lawrence released the song as a medium-tempo single which rose to number 2 on the charts in 1927.

"Wait till You See Her" is a popular song. The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart.

<i>Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green</i> 1959 studio album by Blossom Dearie

Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green is a 1959 album by Blossom Dearie, focusing on the work of lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

"Just in Time" is a popular song with the melody written by Jule Styne and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin in the musical Bells Are Ringing in 1956. Judy Holliday and Dean Martin sang the song in the 1960 film of Bells Are Ringing. Martin then recorded it for his 1960 album, This Time I'm Swingin'!.

<i>On the Town</i> (film) 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens

On the Town is a 1949 Technicolor musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage version; for instance, most of Bernstein's score was dropped in favor of new songs by Edens, who disliked the majority of Bernstein's music for being too complex and too operatic for film audiences. This caused Bernstein to boycott the film.

Vincent Ned DeRosa is an American hornist who served as a studio musician for Hollywood soundtracks and other recordings from 1935 until his retirement in 2008. Because his career spanned over 70 years, during which he played on many film and television soundtracks and as a sideman on studio albums, he is considered to be one of the most recorded brass players of all time. He set "impeccably high standards" for the horn, and became the first horn for Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Alfred Newman, and John Williams, among others, with Williams calling him "one of the greatest instrumentalists of his generation." DeRosa contributed to many of the most acclaimed albums of the 20th century, including some of the biggest-selling albums by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Frank Zappa, Boz Scaggs, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Nilsson, Stan Kenton, Henry Mancini, The Monkees, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mel Tormé.

<i>The Art of the Song</i> 1999 studio album by Charlie Haden

The Art of the Song is an album by American jazz bassist Charlie Haden and his Quartet West, released in 1999. It reached number ten on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.

<i>Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley</i> 1960 studio album by Mel Tormé

Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley is a 1960 album by Mel Tormé, arranged by Marty Paich.

<i>Where Is Love?</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Irene Kral

Where Is Love? is an album by vocalist Irene Kral performing with pianist Alan Broadbent that was recorded in 1974 and originally released on the Choice label and rereleased by Candid on CD in 1996.

References

  1. 1 2 Helen Smith (5 July 2017). There's a Place For Us: The Musical Theatre Works of Leonard Bernstein. Taylor & Francis. p. 37. ISBN   978-1-351-53923-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Carol J. Oja (2014). Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War. Oxford University Press. p. 233. ISBN   978-0-19-986209-2.
  3. 1 2 Will Friedwald; Tony Bennett (1 May 2018). Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art. Chicago Review Press. p. 623. ISBN   978-1-61373-773-6.
  4. Spencer Leigh (25 September 2015). Frank Sinatra: An Extraordinary Life. McNidder and Grace Limited. p. 138. ISBN   978-0-85716-088-1.
  5. Don Franks (3 December 2014). Entertainment Awards: A Music, Cinema, Theatre and Broadcasting Guide, 1928 through 2003, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN   978-1-4766-0806-8.