| "There's a Small Hotel" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1937 |
| Composer(s) | Richard Rodgers |
| Lyricist(s) | Lorenz Hart |
"There's a Small Hotel" is a 1936 song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Originally written for but dropped from the musical Billy Rose's Jumbo (1935), it was used in On Your Toes (1936), where it was introduced by Ray Bolger and Doris Carson, and repeated by Jack Whiting and Vera Zorina in the London West End production that opened on 5 February 1937, at the Palace Theatre.
Betty Garrett sang it in the 1948 film Words and Music, and it was interpolated in the film version of Pal Joey (1957) with a Frank Sinatra-Nelson Riddle collaboration.
According to the biography of Lorenz Hart by Gary Marmorstein, [1] : 260 the song was inspired by a visit Hart made to the Stockton Inn in Stockton, New Jersey, accompanied by the bandleader Paul Whiteman. Hart "noted the wishing well outside the inn. Out of that visit emerged the lyric 'There's a Small Hotel', written to one of the few Rodgers melodies that annoyed Larry no end." [2] [3]
Another claimant to be the inspiration is the Montecito Inn, in Santa Barbara County, California. [4] [5] Renovations to the hotel in the 1950s replaced the wishing well, claimed to be mentioned in the song, [6] by a floral fountain. [7]
 | This section possibly contains original research . The last two sentences require a citation to a reliable, secondary source.(August 2024) |
The second verse begins with the line "There's no bridal suite". [8] In many printed editions of the song this appears as "There's a bridal suite", undermining Hart's depiction of the hotel as unassuming. Many performers, including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, sing "a".[ citation needed ]
Lorenz Milton Hart was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; "The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"; and "My Funny Valentine".
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943.
Jumbo is a musical produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.
"Blue Moon" is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934 that has become a standard ballad. Early recordings included those by Connee Boswell and by Al Bowlly in 1935. The song was a hit twice in 1949, with successful recordings in the U.S. by Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé.
"Lover" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was sung in the movie Love Me Tonight (1932) by Jeanette MacDonald.
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book is a 1956 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, focusing on the songs written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
"Wait till You See Her" is a popular song. The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart.
"This Can't Be Love" is a show tune and a popular song from the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse when it was sung by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott. The lyrics poke fun at the common depiction of love in popular songs as a host of malignant symptoms, saying, "This can't be love because I feel so well."
"I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 musical Too Many Girls. Introduced by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott in the stage musical, early hit versions were recorded by Benny Goodman and by Jimmy Dorsey .
It was then performed by Trudy Erwin and Richard Carlson in the 1940 film adaptation produced by RKO. The song was later interpolated into the score of the 1957 film Pal Joey, sung by Frank Sinatra, and has become a jazz standard.
"Little Girl Blue" is a popular song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Gloria Grafton in the Broadway musical Jumbo.
"Have You Met Miss Jones?" is a popular song that was written for the musical comedy I'd Rather Be Right. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was published in 1937.
"Thou Swell" is a show tune, a popular song and a jazz standard written in 1927.
"Here in My Arms" is a popular song published in 1925, written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart.
"My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for the Charles Cochran revue One Dam' Thing after Another, which opened at the London Pavilion on May 19, 1927. The show starred Jessie Matthews, Douglas Byng, Lance Lister, and Richard Dolman, running for 237 performances.
"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical Present Arms (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell. The characters were formerly married, but still have romantic feelings for each other. On opening night, Berkeley forgot the lyrics and had to scat and hum the entire second verse. Berkeley also claimed that his nonsense lyrics for the improvised second verse left Hart "almost apoplectic", but the audience was amused and Hart later forgave him. The song was subsequently included in the 1930 film Leathernecking, an adaptation of Present Arms.
"Spring is Here" is a 1938 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel (1938), where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.
"Dancing on the Ceiling" is a 1930 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1930 London musical Ever Green when it was sung by Jessie Matthews. It was originally part of the musical Simple Simon, but it was cut from the production before the premiere. In the film of Evergreen (1934), "Dancing on the Ceiling" was again sung by Jessie Matthews.
"Glad to Be Unhappy" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was introduced in their 1936 musical On Your Toes, sung by Doris Carson and David Morris, although it was not popular at the time, as there was only one recording of the song. In the 1937 London production, it was sung by Gina Malo and Eddie Pola. The song was performed in the 1954 Broadway revival by Kay Coulter and Joshua Shelley.
Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Rodgers & Hart is a 1995 compilation album by Frank Sinatra. In this album, Sinatra sings his renditions of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Beginning a couple of years before he bought his Walking House Farm in western New Jersey, [Paul] Whiteman would eat and drink at Colligan's Inn in Stockton, New Jersey, which had become popular with reporters covering the Lindbergh kidnapping trial in nearby Flemington in December 1934. On one of his trips there, Whiteman was accompanied by Larry Hart, who noted the wishing well outside the inn. Out of that visit emerged the lyric "There's a Small Hotel", written to one of the few Rodgers melodies that annoyed Larry no end.
This musical number with lyrics by Lorenz Hart and tune by Richard Rodgers was inspired by the charming (and still existent) Stockton Inn in Stockton, New Jersey. Though cut from Jumbo, the show for which it was originally intended, the song instead found a home in On Your Toes (and another home, later, in Pal Joey).
A patio with a waterfall and wishing well was added in the 1930s, which inspired the lyrics for the classic song, "There's a Small Hotel" by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart.
For rejuvenation, pick the Montecito Inn, a 60-room hostelry that inspired Rodgers and Hart to write "There's a Small Hotel." Built by Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle...
(...) There's no bridal suite: (...)
C'EST UN NID CHARMANT (THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL) / JOSEPHINE BAKER / L. HENNEVE / 00:03:07 / 1937.
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