You're the Top

Last updated
"You're the Top"
Song
Published1934
Songwriter(s) Cole Porter

"You're the Top" is a list song by Cole Porter, from the 1934 musical Anything Goes . It is about a man and a woman who take turns complimenting each other. The best-selling version was Paul Whiteman's Victor single, which made the top five. It was the most popular song from Anything Goes at the time, with hundreds of parodies. [1] [2] Some of the lyrics were re-written by P. G. Wodehouse for the British version of Anything Goes. Composer Robert Kapilow refers to "You're the Top" as one of Porter's greatest songs. [3]

Contents

Composition

Porter is believed to have written the song in Paris, while eating dinner at the Le Bœuf sur le toit with Lela Emery, the wife of Alastair Mackintosh. The two of them spent the time amusing themselves with a word game, "making up a list of superlatives that rhymed." [2]

People and items referenced in the song

The following is a list of the references used in the version recorded by Cole Porter on November 26, 1934:

The 1934 recording with Cole Porter's vocals and piano is available on a CD -- Cole Porter: A Centennial Collection (track 18 of 20), Sony Legacy, CD release 2007

Additional references in other versions of the song:

P. G. Wodehouse anglicised it for the British version of Anything Goes. Among other changes, he altered two lines from "You’re an O’Neill drama / You’re Whistler’s mama!" to "You’re Mussolini / You’re Mrs Sweeny" (both figures, later notorious, were widely admired at the time) [7] [8]

Versions of the song

Parodies

Porter biographer William McBrien wrote that at the height of its popularity in 1934 to 1935 it had become a "popular pastime" to create parodies of the lyrics. [2] Porter, who himself had called the song "just a trick" the public would get bored by, [2] was flooded with hundreds of parodies, one reportedly written by Irving Berlin. [2] Despite the ribald nature of some of the parodies, McBrien believes a few, including a King Kong parody, were written by Porter or Berlin. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole Porter</span> American composer and songwriter (1891–1964)

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in Hollywood films.

<i>Anything Goes</i> 1934 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter

Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy Number 13, "Moonface" Martin, aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. Songs introduced that later became pop and jazz standards are "Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "All Through the Night", and "I Get a Kick Out of You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Bolton</span> Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies (1884–1979)

Guy Reginald Bolton was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G. Wodehouse and Fred Thompson, with whom he wrote 21 and 14 shows respectively, and the American playwright George Middleton, with whom he wrote ten shows. Among his other collaborators in Britain were George Grossmith Jr., Ian Hay and Weston and Lee. In the US, he worked with George and Ira Gershwin, Kalmar and Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Lindsay and Crouse was the writing team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, who collaborated famously on a succession of Broadway plays and musicals for 27 years during the mid 20th century. Their first collaboration was the rewriting of the book for the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes in 1935. They continued to co-pen books for Broadway musicals through 1962, including Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in 1959. They also penned several successful comedies; notably winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945 for their original play State of the Union. Several of their works were adapted into motion pictures. The team also co-produced the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace by playwright Joseph Kesselring.

"I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical Anything Goes, and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, including Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, and Ella Fitzgerald. MF DOOM also used this in his song One Beer. A cover by Mel Tormé won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s) for arranger Rob McConnell, while a duet version by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga was nominated for three awards at the 2022 ceremony, including Record of the Year.

"Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" is a show tune composed by Irving Berlin for the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. The song is a duet, with one male singer and one female singer attempting to outdo each other in increasingly complex tasks.

<i>Berlin v. E.C. Publications, Inc.</i> Casos Legales America

Berlin v. E.C. Publications, Inc., 329 F.2d 541, was an important United States copyright law case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1964 involving the right to parody a well-known melody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irène Bordoni</span> American actress

Irène Bordoni was a Franco-American actress and singer.

A list song, also called a laundry list song or a catalog song, is a song based wholly or in part on a list. Unlike topical songs with a narrative and a cast of characters, list songs typically develop by working through a series of information, often comically, articulating their images additively, and sometimes use items of escalating absurdity.

"Don't Fence Me In" is a popular American song written in 1934, with music by Cole Porter and lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

"Miss Otis Regrets" is a song about the lynching of a society woman after she murders her unfaithful lover. It was composed by Cole Porter in 1934, and first performed by Douglas Byng in Hi Diddle Diddle, a revue that opened on October 3, 1934, at London's Savoy Theatre.

<i>Anything Goes</i> (1936 film) 1936 American musical film

Anything Goes is a 1936 American musical film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charles Ruggles and Ida Lupino. It is based on the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, which included songs by Cole Porter.

"Anything Goes" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1934 musical of the same name. Many of the lyrics include humorous references to figures of scandal and gossip from Depression-era high society.

<i>Anything Goes</i> (1956 film) 1956 American musical film directed by Robert Lewis

Anything Goes is a 1956 American musical film directed by Robert Lewis, and starring Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor. Adapted from the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse, the film is about two entertainers scheduled to appear in a Broadway show who travel to Europe, where each discovers the perfect leading lady for the female role. Bing Crosby's character, Bill Benson, goes to England and meets Mitzi Gaynor's character Patsy Blair, and he signs her as the female lead. Meanwhile, Donald O'Connor's character, Ted Adams, travels to France and meets Jeanmaire's character, Gaby Duval, and he signs her to the same role. On the return voyage, with each man having brought his leading lady along, the Atlantic becomes a stormy crossing when each man must tell his discovery that she might not get the role.

Tams-Witmark is an American company that provides professional and amateur theaters license to Broadway musical scripts and scores. Among the many notable properties handled by the company are Kiss Me, Kate; My Fair Lady; Gypsy; Bye Bye Birdie; Hello, Dolly!; Cabaret; Man of La Mancha and A Chorus Line. The company has also acquired numerous properties often inspired by or based upon motion pictures or comic strips, such as 42nd Street, The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Li'l Abner. The company has also prepared for licensing simpler, shorter derivative works for performance by elementary and middle school students, such as an abbreviated version of Bye, Bye Birdie.

<i>Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Cole Porter</i> 1982 studio album by Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Cole Porter is a 1982 album by Rosemary Clooney, of songs by Cole Porter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Gesner</span> Musical artist

Clark Gesner was an American composer, songwriter, author, and actor. He is best known for composing the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts.

<i>Anything Goes</i> (soundtrack) 1956 soundtrack album by Bing Crosby

Anything Goes is a soundtrack album issued by Decca Records from the film of the same name. The film starred Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor. Joseph J. Lilley was the musical director with special orchestral arrangements by Van Cleave. All the songs were written by Cole Porter with the exception of three additional songs from Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) which have been annotated in the listing below. The soundtrack recording took place between April and June 1955. Three songs were recorded in February 1956 with Joseph J. Lilley and his Orchestra for inclusion in the album to replace the original soundtrack versions.

<i>Its De Lovely - The Authentic Cole Porter Collection</i> 2004 compilation album by Cole Porter

It’s De Lovely – The Authentic Cole Porter Collection is a 2004 compilation album featuring music by American composer Cole Porter presented by Bluebird Records. The album solely contains compositions by Cole Porter performed by his contemporaries who were also under contract to RCA Victor and its subsidiary, Bluebird.

<i>Anything Goes</i> (1989 cast album) 1989 studio album by John McGlinn

Anything Goes is a 74-minute studio recording of a historically informed version of Cole Porter's musical, starring Kim Criswell, Jack Gilford, Cris Groenendaal and Frederica von Stade, performed with the Ambrosian Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John McGlinn. It was released in 1989.

References

  1. ↑ Redmond, James (1981). Drama, Dance and Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 60. ISBN   978-0-521-22180-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McBrien, William (1998). Cole Porter : a biography (1 ed.). New York: Knopf. pp.  169–171. ISBN   978-0-394-58235-1.
  3. ↑ Kapilow, Robrert (2006). "'You're the Top'—Cole Porter (1934)". Library of Congress. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  4. ↑ Noah, Timothy (June 9, 2005). "A skeleton key to "You're the Top."". Slate. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  5. ↑ Day to Day. June 10, 2005. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  6. ↑ Botto, Louis (December 10, 1997). "A User's Guide to Cole Porter's "You're the Top". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  7. ↑ "Mayfair, the Duchess of Argyll and the Headless Man polaroids". Another Nickel In The Machine. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  8. ↑ Hoge, Warren (16 August 2000). "London Journal; A Sex Scandal of the 60's, Doubly Scandalous Now". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "1985 Canadian commercial – Heinz Ketchup – You're the Top". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Mortimer, John (1985). Paradise Postponed. London: Penguin Books. ISBN   014009864X.
  11. ↑ Noah, Timothy (18 June 2005). "Farewell to Berlin". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.