"September Song" | |
---|---|
Single by Walter Huston [1] | |
B-side | The Scars [2] |
Published | September 24, 1938 by Crawford Music Corp., New York [3] |
Released | December 1938 [1] |
Recorded | November 14, 1938 [2] |
Studio | Columbia Records, 1776 Broadway, New York |
Genre | Popular music, musical theatre [1] |
Length | 2:51 |
Label | Brunswick 8272 [2] |
Composer(s) | Kurt Weill [2] |
Lyricist(s) | Maxwell Anderson [2] |
"September Song" is an American standard popular song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. It was introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production Knickerbocker Holiday. [1] The song has been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists.
The song originated from Walter Huston's request that he should have one solo song in Knickerbocker Holiday if he were to play the role of the aged governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant. Anderson and Weill wrote the song in a couple of hours for Huston's gruff voice and limited vocal range. [4]
Knickerbocker Holiday was roughly based on Washington Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York set in New Amsterdam in 1647. It is a political allegory criticizing the policies of the New Deal through the portrayal of a semi–fascist government of New Amsterdam, with a corrupt governor and councilmen. It also involves a love triangle with a young woman forced to marry the governor Peter Stuyvesant while loving another. [5] The musical closed in April 1939 after a six-month run. [1]
In "September Song", a man now recognizes the "plentiful waste of time" of earlier days, and in the "long, long while from May to December", having reached September, he is looking forward to spending the precious days of autumn with his loved one. [6]
"September Song" was used as diegetic music in the 1950 film September Affair . [9] The song is used in the 1987 Woody Allen film Radio Days ; Allen has stated that the song may be the best American popular song ever written. [10]
In "Previews", the Season 1/Episode 14 of the TV series Smash , the character of producer Eileen Rand sings a version of "September Song". Anjelica Huston, who played Eileen Rand, is the granddaughter of Walter Huston, who introduced the song in the original production of Knickerbocker Holiday. [11]
"Stormy Weather" is a 1933 torch song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem in 1933 and recorded it with the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra under Brunswick Records that year, and in the same year it was sung in London by Elisabeth Welch and recorded by Frances Langford. Also in 1933, for the first time the entire floor revue from Harlem's Cotton Club went on tour, playing theatres in principal cities. The revue was originally called The Cotton Club Parade of 1933 but for the road tour it was changed to Stormy Weather Revue; it contained the song "Stormy Weather", which was sung by Adelaide Hall.
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by his son John Huston. He is the patriarch of the four generations of the Huston acting family, including his son John, grandchildren Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston, as well as great-grandchild Jack Huston. The family has produced three generations of Academy Award winners: Walter, his son John, and granddaughter Anjelica.
"In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by Edgar Hayes & His Orchestra in 1938.
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera. The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld from the musical named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" of the title.
"Love and Marriage" is a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It is published by Barton Music Corporation (ASCAP).
Manhattan Murder Mystery is a 1993 American black comedy mystery film directed by Woody Allen, which he wrote with Marshall Brickman, and starring Allen, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, and Diane Keaton. The film centers on a married couple's investigation of the death of their neighbor's wife.
Knickerbocker Holiday is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson ; based loosely on Washington Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York about life in 17th-century New Netherland. The musical numbers include "September Song", now considered a pop standard.
"Night and Day" is a popular song by Cole Porter that was written for the 1932 musical Gay Divorce. It is perhaps Porter's most popular contribution to the Great American Songbook and has been recorded by dozens of musicians. NPR says "within three months of the show's opening, more than 30 artists had recorded the song."
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out to "The Way You Look Tonight". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra.
"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."
"The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" is a popular song composed by Isham Jones with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was recorded by Isham Jones' Orchestra on December 21, 1923, at Brunswick Studios in New York City, and published on January 7, 1924. On January 17 in Chicago, Jones recorded another version, with Al Jolson on lead vocals. Both versions made the charts that Spring, with Jolson's peaking at number 2, and Jones' at number 5. Sophie Tucker recorded her version February 1924, released on Okeh 40054.
"Nice Work If You Can Get It" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
"I'm Sitting on Top of the World" is a popular song with music written by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. It was published in 1925. This composition is not to be confused with, "Sitting on Top of the World" written by Walter Vinson and notably performed by Taj Mahal and Corey Harris.
"Almost Like Being in Love" is a show tune with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It was written for the score of their 1947 musical Brigadoon. The song was first sung by David Brooks and Marion Bell, in the Broadway production. It was later performed in the 1954 film version by Gene Kelly.
"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song about missing a loved one, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, it was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The title of the 1944 film I'll Be Seeing You was taken from this song at the suggestion of the film's producer, Dore Schary. The song is included in the film's soundtrack.
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble, Howard Barrie, vocalist; (ii) Red Norvo, Mildred Bailey, vocalist; (iii) and Billie Holiday with her orchestra. The song – sung by Dick Powell and Alice Faye – debuted on film February 12, 1937, in the musical, On the Avenue.
"What's New?" is a 1939 popular song composed by Bob Haggart, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was originally an instrumental tune titled "I'm Free" by Haggart in 1938, when Haggart was a member of Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. The tune was written with a trumpet solo, meant to showcase the talents of band-mate Billy Butterfield. Crosby's orchestra recorded "I'm Free" the same day it was written.
"Speak Low" (1943) is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash.
September Affair is a 1950 American romantic drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, and Jessica Tandy. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis.