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“Baker became identified with this
song, giving it an original introduction
on trumpet and then singing it.” |
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- Sandra Burlingame
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“There Will Never Be Another
You” was one of the bright spots
in Twentieth Century-Fox’s 1942
film Iceland.
John Payne serenaded costar
Sonja Henie with the song, and
Joan Merrill sang it backed
by Sammy Kay and His Orchestra.
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A modest hit at the time, “There
Will Never Be Another You” appeared
on the pop charts by:
-
Woody Herman and His Orchestra
(1942, #23)
- Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra
(1943, Nancy Norman, vocal,
#20)
- Chris Montez (1966, #33)
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With the production of Iceland,
Twentieth Century-Fox was hoping
to repeat the success of Sun
Valley Serenade. Although the
film company employed the same director,
H. Bruce Humberstone, and cast the
same leads, Sonja Henie and
John Payne, the lavish production
did not measure up to its predecessor.
The film was even described as a
“Wheezy old bore” by Clive Hirschhorn,
author of
Hollywood Musicals.
Audiences, too, were indifferent,
apparently not enamored of the lightweight
plot revolving around a marine and
a Reykjavik girl. On the positive
side, the skating sequences are
some of Henie’s best and the musical
score, although uneven, had its
own captivating moments, including
“There Will Never Be Another You,”
“You Can’t Say No To A Soldier”
and “It’s a Lover’s Knot.”
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At first blush, lyricist Mack
Gordon’s sentiment in “There Will
Never Be Another You” sounds complimentary
and romantic, at least by virtue
of its hook phrase. The verse tells
a different tale, one emotionally
mixed, of two lovers parting. The
refrain describes the “other” nights,
lovers, songs, seasons, and lips
that lie in store, though “There
Will Never Be Another You.”
The lyrics are unusual for a
Tin Pan Alley song; the pure sweet
sentiment seems out of place in
the context of an impending breakup.
In a 1940’s Hollywood film score,
however, it makes perfect sense,
the parting only a temporary diversion
to create drama – with a happy ending
being less than an hour away.
With its A-B1-A-B2 form, the enduring
strength of “There Will Never Be
Another You” is Harry Warren’s unusual
melody. In general, each A section
comprises two long sequences of
ascending quarter notes. The B sections
more or less invert the idea containing,
in the main, three descending sequences
of quarter notes. The overall feeling
then is that of rising and falling,
moderated by brief changes of direction,
with no true bridge. -JW
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Musical analysis of
“There Will Never Be Another You”
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| Original
Key |
Eb major |
| Form |
A – B1 –A
– B2 |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Primarily
scale-wise in both directions; few skips
and only one upward leap in the entire piece |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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This melody’s careful construction is what
makes it memorable: a sequence of two virtually
identical phrases, the second one played
diatonically a third higher than the first,
is followed by two more phrases that roughly
mirror the opening ones. This is a fairly
easy tune to learn and memorize and is one
of the first tunes learned by the novice
jazz performer.
The harmonic progression of the first
twelve measures is reminiscent of the “B”
section of “Laura Lee” (a.k.a. “Love
Me Tender”). Composer Warren, of course,
uses chord substitutions – m7 and m7(b5)
for secondary dominants – but the basic
sequence (I – III7 – vi – I7 – IV –iv –
I) is still intact. The last four measures
of “B1” consist of a II7 – V7 turnaround
returning to “A”, while “B2” uses IV – iv
– I – iii – VI7 on its way out, skipping
the ii7-V7 modulation and going directly
back to I for the final four measures. The
chords written in
The Real Book are:
Ebma7 – D7 – G7 – C7 in mm. 5-6 of “B2”;
however, the melody here implies that Warren’s
original changes were Ebma7 – Bb7(+5) –
Eb6 – C7(+5) before ending on a ii7 – V7
– I cadence.
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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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“There Will Never Be Another
You” was included in these films:
- Iceland (1942, 1-John Payne,
2-Joan Merrill, Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra)
- I’ll Get By
(1950)
- The World According to Garp
(1982)
- The Cemetery Club (1993, Etta
Cox)
- The Devil's Own (1997)
- That Old Feeling (1997, Keely
Smith)
- Kissing Jessica Stein (2002,
Ernestine Anderson)
- Anything Else (2003, Lester
Young)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Stan Getz
The Steamer
1999, Polygram
Original recording, 1956
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| Tenor saxophonist Getz sets the
bar with this bouncy rendition. His velvet
tone is complimented by a dynamite rhythm
section of bassist Leroy Vinegar, pianist
Lou Levy and drummer Stan Levey. |
Buddy Collette
Nice Day With Buddy Collette
1999, Polygram
Original recording, 1957, Original Jazz
Classics
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| In an infectious, crisp version of
“There Will Never Be Another You” Collette’s
saxophone weaves in and out of the piano
runs on this cool bop version. |
Count Basie/Joe Williams
The Greatest
1955, Polygram 833774
Original recording, 1956
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| This is a match made in heaven as
vocalist Joe Williams joins the Count Basie
band. Williams is his usual exuberant self,
his voice rich and sophisticated while the
Basie crew swings with a vengeance. |
Chet Baker
The Best of Chet Baker Sings
1989, Blue Note 92932
Original recording, 1955, Pacific Jazz
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| Baker became identified with this
song, giving it an original introduction
on trumpet and then singing it. |
Blue Mitchell
The Big Six
1991, Original Jazz Classics 615
Original recording, 1958
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| Trumpeter Blue Mitchell slows the
pace right down for this deeply moving reading
of the song. Pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist
Wilbur Ware and drummer Philly Joe Jones
keep the rhythm with hushed reverence. |
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After
Woody Herman’s initial recording of this tune
in 1942, it dropped out of sight until being picked
up again vibraphonist Lionel Hampton’s big band
in 1950. That same year, talented saxophonist Sonny
Stitt would record a version on tenor sax. (After
the death of Charlie Parker, Stitt concentrated on
alto.) One of the players who inspired Stitt (especially
on tenor), Lester Young, laid down a recording of
his own with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952.
The piano genius Art Tatum’s version for Verve
in 1953 includes the seldom-heard verse. Trumpeter/vocalist
Chet Baker’s vocal rendition from 1954 helped bring
the number into a wider sphere than just jazz fans.
Indeed, the tune’s popularity continued with many
subsequent jazz recordings.
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 “There Will Never Be Another You” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: lyric analysis.
6 pages including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis, music analysis and song lyrics. (Book includes CD).
1 page including the following types of information: music analysis.
4 pages including the following types of information: history and music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: summary, music analysis and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
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