“Between the joyous singing of Armstrong and the buoyant accompaniment of Oscar Peterson’s group, one can only imagine the willow weeping tears of joy!” - Noah Baerman

Rank 13 Words and Music Ann Ronell   “Willow Weep for Me” was introduced by vocalist and whistler Muzzy Marcellino performing with Ted Fio Rito and His Orchestra. Their October, 1932, Brunswick recording entered the pop charts December 3, 1932, and rose to number seventeen. On December 17 Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra’s Victor recording with singer Irene Taylor entered the charts and was more favorably received, rising to number two. Over thirty years later in 1964 “Willow Weep for Me” reemerged on the pop charts, this time by the British duo Chad and Jeremy.     More on Muzzy Marcellino       More on Ted Fio Rito       More on Paul Whiteman   Whether Ted Fio Rito or Paul Whiteman introduced “Willow Weep for Me” is a matter of some dispute. Ann Ronell had sold the song directly to Paul Whiteman, who presumably performed it first. Fio Rito, on the other hand, had the edge by two weeks in introducing the song to the public at large.   Chart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954   Composer Ann Ronell dedicated “Willow Weep for Me” to George Gershwin, the composer who helped her get her start in the music industry. In Joan Peyser’s Gershwin biography, The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin, Ronell is quoted as saying, “George was sacred to me. He was my idol. I became like a sister to the family and was his protege.” Ronell’s dedication was undoubtedly a gesture of professional thanks rather than flattery by way of imitation. In The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America’s Great Lyricists, author Philip Furia comments that the melody is more Arlen than Gershwin and her “languorously driving lyric is much closer to Koehler than to Ira Gershwin.”     More on Ann Ronell

More information on this tune... Allen Forte The American Popular Ballad of the Golden Era, 1924-1950: A Study in Musical Design Princeton University Press Hardcover: 336 pages (Author/educator Forte devotes three pages to the analyses of both the music and lyric and the history of the song.) See the Reading and Research page for this tune for additional references. - Jeremy Wilson

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with “Willow Weep for Me.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and CD Recommendations sections.

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The definitive instrumental version of “Willow Weep for Me” would have to be Art Tatum’s stunning solo piano version from 1949 (Piano Starts Here). He manages to turn the tune upside down without losing the thread of the tune’s melody. As for vocal renditions, Louis Armstrong’s 1957 version with Oscar Peterson’s group (Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson) stands out as being particularly significant, not to mention irresistible.

Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator

“Willow Weep for Me” is an extremely well-crafted and highly evocative song that at the same time is unusually vague for a lament. Throughout its A-A-B-A format, there are few hints as to the exact cause of the heartbreak. The singer asks of the willow tree, “weep for me,” “bend your branches,” “whisper to the wind,” “murmur to the night,” etc. Within the second “A” section there’s a wisp of a clue as to the cause of the melancholy,

Gone my lover’s dream, lovely summer’s dream

It does not seem to be a well-known lover that has left but just a summer dream, as though the love may never have been stated in the first place. Taking the Gershwin dedication into consideration, it is not difficult to imagine an aspiring Ann Ronell having unspoken romantic feelings for her idol and mentor. Perhaps the dedication of her lament carries a message beyond that of professional gratitude. -JW

Musical analysis of “Willow Weep for Me”
Original Key	G major; “B” is an unsettled minor section that floats between G minor and C minor
Form	A – A – B – A
Tonality	The “A” section is mostly major with hints of minor toward the end; “B” is definitely minor.
Movement	“A” is primarily downward via large (8ve) leaps followed by scale movement. “B” tends to be an arc, ascending then descending.
Comments     (assumed background)
This is an “Arlenesque” tune with strong blues overtones; in fact, the “A” section is essentially the first eight measures of a 12-bar blues, using substitutions and embellishing chords (I-iv I-iv instead of just four measures of I, and the IV–iv movement in mm 5-6, for example). The contrasting “B” section is vague; the ear is not quite certain whether C minor or G minor is the “tonic of the moment.” The Gm – G7 and descending Cm – Bb –Ab – G7 in mm.3-4 of “B” would seem to establish C minor, yet aurally it makes more sense to have the song continue in the parallel minor rather than the key of iv. In any event, the modulation in the last measure before the final “A”–Ab – Am7 – D7+5 –is unexpected. Although it is the most logical return to the original key, coming out of a progression in C minor it serves to reinforce the tonal ambiguity of “B.”
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

On March 19, 1939, the Count Basie Orchestra made its first recording for Columbia Records under the supervision of John Hammond. The last tune recorded that day was “Taxi War Dance,” a clever play-on-words (a taxi dance hall was a place where men paid women to dance with them). Although Basie claimed composer credit, the tune is actually based on the chords of “Willow Weep for Me.” But the record belongs to Lester Young, who opens the proceedings with arguably one of his best solos. Starting out with a quote from “Ol’ Man River,” Lester swings the “Willow’s” changes with ease, making what was once considered a ballad into a swing jazz classic.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

“Willow Weep for Me” was included in these films:

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• Love Happy (1950, Vera Ellen tap dances to ‘The Sadie Thompson Number’)
• Wild Blade (1991, Ben Webster)
• In the Line of Fire (1993)

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