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“...the champion, by common
agreement, is Johnny Green's
“Body and Soul,” a bridge
unlike any other. ” |
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- William Zinnser on song bridges
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While in London, Hollywood songwriter/conductor
Johnny Green wrote “Body and Soul”
for
Gertrude Lawrence. Jack Hylton
& His Orchestra recorded the ballad
first in Britain, but it was
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
(Jack
Fulton, vocal) who popularized
it. Their recording hit the charts
on October 11, 1930, and held the
number one spot for six weeks.
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On October 15th, 1930,
“Body and Soul” appeared in the
Broadway revue, Three’s a Crowd.
The show would run for 272 performances
with Libby Holman performing the
song as Clifton Webb danced. “Body
and Soul” was one of the revue’s
standout songs, and Holman’s recording
rose to number three on the recording
charts.
Although instantly popular, “Body
and Soul” was banned from radio
for nearly a year because of its
suggestive lyrics, which leave little
doubt as to their sexual nature.
In spite of, or possibly because
of, its racy lyrics, an astounding
number of renditions made the charts
in the 1930s and 1940s:
-
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
(1930,
Jack Fulton, vocal)
- Libby
Holman (1930, #3)
-
Ruth Etting (1930, #10)
- Annette
Hanshaw (1930, #12)
- Helen
Morgan (1930, with Leonard
Joy and His Orchestra)
- Ozzie
Nelson and His Orchestra
(1930, #18)
- Leo
Reisman and His Orchestra
(1930, Frank Luther, vocal,
#15)
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Louis Armstrong (1932, originally
recorded in 1930, #7)
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Benny Goodman Trio (1935,
instrumental, #5)*
- Henry
Allen and His Orchestra (1935,
Henry Allen, vocal, #17)
- Art Tatum
and His Swingsters (1937, instrumental,
#19)
- Coleman
Hawkins (1940, instrumental,
#13)
- Ziggy
Elman and His Orchestra (1947,
instrumental, #25)
- Billy
Eckstine (1949, with Buddy Baker
and His Orchestra, #27)
* The
Benny Goodman Trio consisted
of
Benny Goodman on clarinet, Gene
Krupa on drums, and
Teddy Wilson on piano. Their
release of “Body and Soul” and its
flipside, “After
You’ve Gone,” was their first
recording endeavor.
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The name “Body and Soul” was
used as the title of two movies
about an amateur boxer trying to
make it to the top. The 1947 release
is generally rated highly. The 1981
release flounders at the opposite
end of the spectrum.
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Because of its complex chord progressions, “Body
and Soul” remains a favorite of jazz musicians.
The unusual changes in key and tempo are also highly
attractive and provide a large degree of improvisational
freedom. And finally, there is the bridge which,
in
Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters
and Their Songs, William Zinnser calls “a
bridge unlike any other. The first 4 bars are in
the key that’s a half-tone above the home key… the
next 4 bars are a half-tone below the home
key.”
- JW
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Musical analysis of
“Body and Soul”
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| Original
Key |
Db major;
false key changes to C major during section
“B” |
| Form |
A – A – B
– A |
| Tonality |
Primarily
major |
| Movement |
Primarily
upward by leaps, descending scale and arpeggio-wise;
“B” ascends by step, followed by leaps,
then descends with upward moving intervals |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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A very motivic melody, thus easily remembered.
Noteworthy is the use of the penultimate
“blue note” (flatted third) at the end of
“A,” – easily missed by the untrained or
novice performer. The harmonic progression
seems to be controlled by the movement of
the bass line, descending and ascending
by step (Ebm –Bb7/D – Ebm7/Db - Ab/C – Db
– Ab9/Eb – Db/F –E˚7 – Ebm – Ebm7/Db – Cm7(b5))
before returning to the tonic via the
circle
of fifths, using parallel minor substitutions.
“B” works essentially the same way a half-step
higher for the first four measures. The
“tonic of the moment” then becomes minor,
turning into the ii7 of the chord a whole
step below, then repeats the a variation
of the same melodic sequence, this time
in a key a half-step below the original
tonic. Instead of the linear progression,
these four measures start with a ii7– V7
– I – vi – ii7 (substituting aiii for the
I and a ct˚7, or “common-tone diminished
seventh” for vi), then returns to the ii7
of the original tonic key via a circle of
fifths, using a tri-tone substitution on
beat two of measure eight (in the original,
C7 - B7 –Bb7 instead of C7 – F7 – Bb7). |
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath's book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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“Body and Soul”
was included in these films:
- Stormy Weather (1943)
(outtake)
- Broadway Rhythm (1944, The
Hazel Scott Trio) outtake
- The Man I Love (1946, Ida
Lupino dubbed by Peg LaCentra)
- Body and Soul (1947)
- The Helen Morgan Story (1957,
Ann Blyth dubbed by Gogi Grant)
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
(1969)
- Stardust Memories (1980, Django
Reinhardt)
- American Pop (1981)
- The Color Purple (1985)
- Round Midnight (1986, Dexter
Gordon)
- Radio Days (1987, Benny Goodman
Trio)
- Torch Song Trilogy (1988,
Charles Haden Quartet West)
- I Hired a Contract Killer
(1990)
- En Kaerlighedhistorie (2001,
Sven Wolter, Peaches Latrice Petersen)
- Catch Me If You Can (2002)
And on stage:
- Three's a Crowd (1930, Libby
Holman) Broadway musical
- Body and Soul (1988) Munich
musical
- Black and Blue (1989, Ruth
Brown) Broadway revue
And on television:
- Edderkoppen (2000, Katrine
Madsen) Danish tv mini series
- Sex and the City (2002, Billie
Holiday) HBO TV series, Season 4, Episode 65,
"A 'Vogue' Idea"
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Billie Holiday
Body and Soul
2002, Universal
Original recording, 1957, Verve
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| Vocalist Holiday is at her best
here. Her sophistication and smoldering
passion are enhanced by the polished playing
of pianist Jimmy Rowles and guitarist Barney
Kessel. |
Stefon Harris/ Jacky Terrasson
Kindred
2001, Blue Note
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| Pianist Terrasson and vibes player
Harris (here on marimba) push each other
to the limits on this high-energy, Latin-laced,
bop version of the song. |
Walter Norris
Live at Maybeck Recital Hall
1990, Concord 4425
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| The piano wizard’s imagination is
inspired, in this case (he says) by tenor
saxophonist Teddy Edwards. This solo exploration
of the tune is nothing less than magical
and totally refreshing. |
Eddie Jefferson
Body and Soul
1991, Orig. Jazz Classics 396
Original recording, 1969
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| This most unusual reading of “Body
and Soul” by the vocalese master is a gem,
and the back-up musicians on the CD include
James Moody and Barry Harris. |
Mel Tormé
Tormé
2003, Verve
Original recording, 1958
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| The Velvet Fog lives up to his nickname
on this dreamy version of the song. A bit
more straight-ahead than his other collaborations
with Marty Paich, still the arrangements
and musicians are standouts, and Tormé’s
smooth vocals are the perfect measure of
romance and yearning. |
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Out of all the hit recordings of “Body and Soul,”
Coleman Hawkins’ is the best remembered. Considered
the first truly great jazz saxophonist, Hawkins’
October 11, 1939, version cemented his fame and
must be considered the definitive recording of the
song. According to Mark C. Gridley, author of
Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, “Coleman
Hawkins loved to improvise on complicated chord
progressions and invent solo lines whose construction
implied that chords had been added. His recording
of ‘Body and Soul’ demonstrates this.” In 1973,
the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
inducted Hawkins’ 1939 recording into the Grammy
Hall of Fame. The original recording is on Coleman
Hawkins’ Body and Soul CD. An interesting
reworking of the tune can be heard as the title
cut on Hawkins’ 1944 Rainbow Mist recording
on which he lays a new melody over the chord changes
of “Body and Soul.” - JW
Although
Louis Armstrong was the first jazz artist to
record “Body and Soul” in 1930, his version clung
close to the song’s written melody. In 1935, Armstrong’s
New Orleans colleague Henry “Red” Allen’s version
begins to plumb the improvisational possibilities
of the tune. In a recording made for the indie label
Commodore in November, 1938, tenor saxophonist “Chu”
Berry explores the changes in a manner continued
a year later by his mentor Coleman Hawkins. But
it is the blistering, double-time solo by Roy Eldridge
on Berry’s recording that steals the show and clearly
points the direction that the trumpet would take
in the work of
Dizzy Gillespie.
-
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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| This section shows the jazz standards
written by the same writing team. Click
on a name to see all of a writer's jazz standards.
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Additional information on “Body and Soul” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history, music analysis and performers.
1 page including the following types of information: music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: summary, lyric analysis and music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, history, lyric analysis, music analysis and performers.
37 pages including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis, music analysis, performers, recordings and song writer discussion.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
1 page including the following types of information: music analysis and performers.
4 paragraphs including the following types of information: history and performers.
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