With a Song in My Heart (song)

"With a Song in My Heart"
"With a Song in My Heart"
Song
Published	1929
Genre	Showtune
Composer(s)	Richard Rodgers
Lyricist(s)	Lorenz Hart

Last updated March 22, 2024

"With a Song in My Heart" is a show tune from the 1929 Rodgers and Hart musical Spring Is Here.^[1]

Background

In the original Broadway production it was introduced by John Hundley and Lillian Taiz. The following year, it was sung by Lawrence Gray in the Hollywood musical version of that show by Bernice Claire and Frank Albertson. The most popular recording of the song in 1929 was by Leo Reisman.^[2]

Notable recordings

A recording with Perry Como, sung with choir and orchestra conducted by Henri René, was made in New York City on December 23, 1948.^[3] It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-3329 (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number BD 1230.^[4]
Arild Andresen, piano with guitar and bass recorded it in Oslo on March 11, 1955 as the second melody of the medley "Klaver-Cocktail Nr. 3" along with "Sophisticated Lady" and "Flamingo". The medley was released on the 78 rpm record His Master's Voice A.L. 3514.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in 1956 on her two-record Verve release: "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook" which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
It was covered by The Supremes on their 1966 album I Hear A Symphony . Shortly after it was re-recorded for an intended inclusion on their 1967 tribute album to Rodgers & Hart titled The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart , but that version remained an outtake released for the first time in 1987 on The Rodgers & Hart Collection.
Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1975 for his album At My Time of Life
Renowned tenor Anthony Kearns recorded the song, naming his highly anticipated debut solo CD after the title track, "With a Song in My Heart."^[5]
Another version of the song was recorded by the jazz pianist Sonny Clark on his second studio album as a leader for the Blue Note Records label, Sonny's Crib. The album features many prominent jazz musicians of the Hard bop era, such as John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, and Paul Chambers.
Opera singer Joyce DiDonato's Grammy-winning crossover album Songplay included the song, arranged by Craig Terry.

Other film appearances

In 1933, it was included in a two-reel version of the film re-titled Yours Sincerely, part of the Broadway Brevities series, starring Lanny Ross.
In the 1944 Hollywood musical This Is the Life, it was sung by Donald O'Connor and Susanna Foster.
It was included in the 1948 musical film, Words and Music, a biography of Rodgers and Hart, where it was sung by Perry Como.
A notable version of the song features in Michael Curtiz's 1950 Hollywood musical biographical drama Young Man with a Horn , performed by the film's star Doris Day with iconic trumpeter Harry James and His Orchestra.
In the 1951 Hollywood musical Painting the Clouds with Sunshine it was sung by Dennis Morgan and Lucille Norman.
It was the title song in the 1952 Hollywood musical With a Song in My Heart, a biographical movie about Jane Froman, in which it was sung by Froman on the soundtrack for Susan Hayward.
In the 1953 science fiction classic The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms the song is playing in the background while Tom Nesbitt is trying to identify the beast he saw from sketches of prehistoric creatures.

Popular culture

The line "With a song in my heart" is performed by a male penguin in the animated film "Happy Feet" (2006).
It was also the memorable signature tune for a BBC radio programme, "Family Favourites" (original played by Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra) which was presented by a variety of well-known radio personalities including Cliff Michelmore, Jean Metcalfe, Michael Aspel, Judith Chalmers, Sarah Kennedy, and Jean Challis

Related Research Articles

<i>With a Song in My Heart</i> (film) 1952 film by Walter Lang

With a Song in My Heart is a 1952 American biographical musical drama film that tells the story of actress and singer Jane Froman, who was crippled by an airplane crash on February 22, 1943, when the Boeing 314 Pan American Clipper flying boat she was on suffered a crash landing in the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal. She entertained the troops in World War II despite having to walk with crutches. The film stars Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Thelma Ritter, Robert Wagner, Helen Westcott, and Una Merkel. Froman herself supplied Hayward's singing voice.

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.

"Blue Room" is a show tune from the 1926 Rodgers and Hart musical The Girl Friend, where it was introduced by Eva Puck and Sammy White. It is also a jazz standard.

"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Abraham, Jack Mendelsohn and Al Stillman in 1953. The most popular version was recorded by Italian-American singer Frankie Laine, and spent eighteen weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The lyrics salute the nightlife of Broadway and its denizens, who "don't sleep tight until the dawn."

"People Will Say We're In Love" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! (1943). In the original Broadway production, the song was introduced by Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts.

"Heat Wave" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters.

"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.

"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."

"Hello, Young Lovers" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by Anna, played by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production; by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production; and by Deborah Kerr in the film version.

"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.

"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by the Supremes, Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mel Torme, among many others. It is often known as "We'll Have Manhattan" based on the opening line. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1925 revue Garrick Gaieties. It was introduced by Sterling Holloway and June Cochran.

"It's a Lovely Day Today" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for his successful musical Call Me Madam (1950) when it was introduced by Russell Nype and Galina Talva. The musical was adapted as a movie in 1953 and the song "It's a Lovely Day Today" was performed by Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen.

"Here in My Arms" is a popular song published in 1925, written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart.

"I've Got Five Dollars" is a 1931 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical America's Sweetheart (1931) where it was introduced by Harriette Lake and Jack Whiting.

"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.

"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).

"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.

"You Were Meant for Me" is a popular American song with music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed, published in 1929.

References

↑ "Internet Broadway Database". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 613. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
↑ Macfarlane, Malcolm (2009). Perry Como - A Biography and Complete Career Record. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7864-3701-6.
↑ "kokomo.ca". kokomo.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
↑ "Tenor Anthony Kearns to Perform on 'Huckabee' Tonight at 8 p.m. ET". PR Newswire.

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[1] "Internet Broadway Database". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.

[2] Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 613. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.

[3] Macfarlane, Malcolm (2009). Perry Como - A Biography and Complete Career Record. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7864-3701-6.

[4] "kokomo.ca". kokomo.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2016.

[Tenor_Anthony_Kearns_to_Perform_on_'Huckabee'_Tonight_at_8_p.m._ET-5] "Tenor Anthony Kearns to Perform on 'Huckabee' Tonight at 8 p.m. ET". PR Newswire.

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v t e Rodgers and Hart
Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart
Musicals	Fly with Me Poor Little Ritz Girl The Garrick Gaieties Dearest Enemy The Girl Friend Peggy-Ann A Connecticut Yankee Present Arms Chee-Chee Ever Green Simple Simon America's Sweetheart Jumbo On Your Toes Babes in Arms I'd Rather Be Right The Boys from Syracuse I Married an Angel Too Many Girls Higher and Higher Pal Joey By Jupiter
Songs	"Manhattan" "Mountain Greenery" "Here in My Arms" "Blue Room" "My Heart Stood Still" "Thou Swell" "To Keep My Love Alive" "You Took Advantage of Me" "With a Song in My Heart" "A Ship Without a Sail" "Dancing on the Ceiling" "Ten Cents a Dance" "He Was Too Good to Me" "I've Got Five Dollars" "Isn't It Romantic?" "Lover" "Mimi" "You Are Too Beautiful" "Blue Moon" "It's Easy to Remember (And So Hard to Forget)" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" "My Romance" "Little Girl Blue" "There's a Small Hotel" "Glad to Be Unhappy" "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" "Where or When" "I Wish I Were in Love Again" "My Funny Valentine" "Johnny One Note" "The Lady Is a Tramp" "Have You Met Miss Jones?" "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" "Spring Is Here" "Falling in Love with Love" "This Can't Be Love" "Sing for Your Supper" "I Like to Recognize the Tune" "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" "Give It Back to the Indians" "You're Nearer" "It Never Entered My Mind" "I Could Write a Book" "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" "Ev'rything I've Got" "Wait till You See Her"