"Chlo-e (Song of the Swamp)" (

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

) is a show tune with music by Charles N. Daniels, writing under the pseudonym of "Neil Morét," and lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

. It is now regarded as a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

Origin

The sheet music of ''Chlo-e (Song of the Swamp'') bears the front cover image of singer

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

and connects it to the show ''Africana''. This marked the Broadway debut of Waters, and began her rise to stardom. Produced by Earl Dancer and principally written by Donald Heywood, the show opened on July 11, 1927. "''Chloe''"—to which the title is frequently, and usefully, modified, and is used hereafter—may have been placed in this revue as a later addition to the production. Waters' never recorded ''Chloe'', and it is not listed among the known songs that she sang in ''Africana''. The sheet music was first published in 1927 by Charles N. Daniels' own Villa Morét imprint, based in San Francisco. In 1934, Heywood re-fashioned ''Africana'' into an operetta, but it did not include Chloe or any other external number. It closed after just three performances.

Content

Chloe tells a story. The verse is sung by an omniscient narrator, describing the struggle of a lonely character, conducting a long and determined search for "Chloe" in the "dismal swampland." The searcher then picks up the chorus, with its hook of "I Got to go where you are," declaring that "If you live, I'll find you." The score is marked "In a tragic way" and while—owing to its narrative opening—it is not necessarily gender-specific, its range and melodic line suggests that it was designed for low voice. Women have sung it also, including

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Valaida Snow Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tru ...

The Ingenues . The Ingenues was a vaudeville all-female jazz band based in the American Midwest, which toured the United States and other countries from 1925 to 1937. Managed by Edward Gorman Sherman (1880-1940), the orchestra performed with great popular ...

and

Eva Taylor Eva Taylor (January 22, 1895 — October 31, 1977) was an American blues singer and stage actress. Life and career Born Irene Joy Gibbons in St. Louis, Missouri, as one of twelve children. On stage from the age of three, Taylor toured New ...

, who recorded the first female vocal version for Okeh in 1928, followed closely by

Bessie Brown Bessie Brown (1890–1955) also known as "The Original" Bessie Brown, was an American classic female blues, jazz, and cabaret singer. She sometimes recorded under the pseudonyms Sadie Green, Caroline Lee, and possibly Helen Richards. Brown was ...

for Brunswick. While its topic hearkens back to the milieu of minstrel-type material, the music is uncharacteristically rich, dark hued, expressive and atypical of the Jazz Age, looking forward to the more muted and reflective sound of depression-era songwriting.

Recordings

The first recording of ''Chloe'' was made for Columbia in Los Angeles in September 1927 by singer Douglas Richardson, a vocalist with ties to Charles N. Daniels; it was followed by another Columbia by The Singing Sophomores made in November. The first instrumental recording of Chloe was made by the All-Star Orchestra for Victor, with a vocal chorus by

Franklyn Baur Franklyn Baur (April 5, 1903 – February 24, 1950) was a popular tenor vocal recording artist.Gracyk, Tim with Frank Hoffman, ''Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895--1925'', Haworth Press, New York, 2000, pp. 39--42. DeLong, Thomas A., ''Radio ...

, in December 1927. This is identified in the Victor ledgers as "the Fud and Farley Orchestra, directed by

Nat Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

," indicating the probable participation of

Fud Livingston Joseph Anthony "Fud" Livingston (April 10, 1906 – March 25, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Career In the 1920s, he performed with Ben Pollack and served as his arranger (to summer 1925, and again ...

and Max Farley. Shilkret recorded another arrangement of it for Victor with his Rhyth-Melodists in March 1928. However, the record that appears to have popularized ''Chloe'' is an elaborate version by the

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

Concert Orchestra recorded in 1928 with vocals by Austin Young. This arrived along with a host of other 1928 recordings of the song. These include

Bob Haring Bob Haring (August 21, 1895 – February 18, 1975) was an American popular music bandleader of the 1920s and early 1930s. Biography Haring began recording as the music director of the then-new Cameo Records label beginning in 1922 under a plethor ...

, as the "Colonial Club Orchestra" and Louis Katzman for Brunswick, and a vocal version for Victor featuring the vocal group The Rounders, recorded in Oakland, California. The Tracy-Brown Orchestra of Chicago recorded it for Columbia in March 1928 with a vocal by

Sam Coslow Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, ...

; Coslow also recorded a test of the piece for Victor that year, but it didn't pass.

Seger Ellis Seger Pillot Ellis (July 4, 1904 – September 29, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He also made a few brief film appearances, most notably in collaboration with director Ida Lupino. Life and career He was born in Houston, Texas, ...

recorded it in a vocal rendition for Okeh that was the first made by a crooner;

Sam Lanin Samuel Charles Lanin (September 4, 1891 – May 5, 1977) was an American jazz bandleader. Lanin's brothers, Howard and Lester, were also bandleaders, and all of them had sustained careers in music. Lanin was one of ten children born to Benjamin ...

recorded it for Okeh in January under the name of The Gotham Troubadours. Among budget labels, Plaza Records' Hollywood Dance Orchestra, led by Adrian Schubert and with a vocal by Leroy Montesanto, recorded it in January, and Cameo/Pathé waxed it as by the Goodrich Broadcasters—possibly Sam Lanin again—in February. The most famous recording of ''Chloe'' is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

version by

Spike Jones and his City Slickers Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

, featuring a vocal by

Red Ingle Ernest Jansen "Red" Ingle (November 7, 1906 – September 6, 1965) was an American musician, singer and songwriter, arranger, cartoonist and caricaturist. He is best known for his comedy records with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides f ...

and recorded for RCA Victor in 1945. Another humorous version was cut by

diseuse A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...

Leona Anderson in 1957 for her LP ''Music to Suffer By''. Among serious recordings, instrumental versions far outdistance the vocal ones. The most respected instrumental version is the 1940 recording by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's Famous Orchestra, with a " wah-wah" intro by trombonist

Tricky Sam Nanton Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (February 1, 1904 – July 20, 1946) was an American trombonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Early life Joe Nanton was born Joseph Irish Nanton in New York City, United States. His parents were John Barzly Nanton an ...

, featuring

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

on trumpet alternating with bassist

Jimmy Blanton James Blanton (October 5, 1918 – July 30, 1942) was an American jazz double bassist. Blanton is credited with being the originator of more complex pizzicato and arco bass solos in a jazz context than previous bassists. Nicknamed "Jimmie," Blan ...

and a solo by

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

;

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

's arrangement makes a radical overhaul of Daniels' harmony, and places the verse after the chorus.This version by Duke Ellington from October 28, 1940 in Chicago is part of '' Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band'' as well as other compilations of the orchestra's recordings of that time. This chart also appears on the famous live recording made of the Ellington Orchestra in Fargo, North Dakota in December 1940. Among other notable pre-war instrumental versions of ''Chloe'' is

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

's from 1937,

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

's piano solo from 1938 and those by

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and

John Kirby (musician) John Kirby (December 31, 1908 – June 14, 1952), was an American jazz double-bassist, who also played trombone and tuba. In addition to sideman work (prominently with Benny Goodman), Kirby is remembered for leading a successful chamber jazz ...

, both from 1940. After the war, it was recorded by jazz artists such as

Herbie Harper Herbert Harper (2 July 1920 — 21 January 2012) was an American jazz trombonist of the West Coast jazz school. Born in Salina, Kansas, he played swing music with Benny Goodman and Charlie Spivak in the 1940s and 1950s. Working on the West Coas ...

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

Eddie Bert Edward Joseph Bertolatus (May 16, 1922 – September 27, 2012), also known as Eddie Bert, was an American jazz trombonist. Music career He was born in Yonkers, New York, United States. Bert received a degree and a teaching license from the Manha ...

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, Gen ...

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

, Jerry Jerome,

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition " ...

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...

Arne Domnerus Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly), ...

, Paul Horn,

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zo ...

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

(at least twice),

Bill Doggett William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" ...

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

and

Eddie Heywood Edward Heywood Jr. (December 4, 1915 – January 3, 1989) was an American jazz pianist particularly active in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Heywood was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was also a jazz m ...

George Melachrino George Melachrino (born ''George Miltiades''; 1 May 1909 – 18 June 1965) was a musician, composer of film music, and musical director who was English born of Greek and Italian descent. He was an accomplished player of the violin, viola, oboe, cla ...

arranged it for string orchestra;

Bunk Johnson Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (December 27, 1879 – July 7, 1949) was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a dec ...

—in his last session in 1948—recorded it in a traditional jazz setting, and

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

has performed it as a guitar solo. Non-jazz oriented recordings of Chloe were made by the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

in 1961, by guitarist

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His m ...

in 1962 and by Anton LaVey on keyboards and Nick Bougas on vocals in 1995. The most well-known vocal version is that by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, who did not record the piece until 1952; it was also sung on record by

Henry "Red" Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

, for ARC in 1936.

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

included it with a chorus on his 1965 LP ''Love Affair''.

Film and television

Although it was seldom recorded in the early part of the 1930s, ''Chloe'' was heard constantly on radio during this period, as it fit in with the general mood of the times. Its popularity led to a loose horror film adaptation based on the song directed by

Marshall Neilan Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958) was an American actor. Early life Born in San Bernardino, California, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey N ...

entitled ''Chloe, Love Is Calling You'' (1934) filmed in the Everglades and starring

Olive Borden Olive Mary Borden (July 14, 1906 – October 1, 1947) was an American film and stage actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was nicknamed "the Joy Girl", after playing the lead in the 1927 film of that same title. Borden ...

. Produced by short-lived poverty row studio Pinnacle Productions, it was targeted to African-American audiences, but was unsuccessful. A 1929 short made in Britain by the early sound company Electrocord also likely was a performance of the song, but it is unclear as to by whom. Probably as a nod to the song, the monster in

Norm McCabe Norman McCabe (February 10, 1911 – January 17, 2006) was an English-born American animator who enjoyed a long career that lasted into the 1990s. Early career McCabe was born in England and raised in the United States. He soon developed a ...

's Daffy Duck cartoon ''The Impatient Patient'' (1942) is named "Chloe" and lives in a swamp. Singer Vera Van performs a lovely and romantic version, without the introductory verse, in the Vitaphone short, "Mirrors" featuring Freddie Rich and his Orchestra. The film was released on September 8, 1934. In an early episode of the 1951-53

CBS-TV CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

version of ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'' known as ''The Amos 'n' Andy Show'', actress singer

Lillian Randolph Lillian Randolph (December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s until shortly before her death. She appeared in hundreds of radi ...

portraying Andy's estranged ex-fiancee, Madame Queen, wins a television contest for her rendition of the song Chloe.

Other songs named "Chloe"

''Chloe'' is not to be confused with

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

and

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...

's song ''Chloe'', written for the show ''Sinbad'' in 1918 and recorded by Jolson in 1920, nor an

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

song by that title included on his 1981 album ''The Fox''.

References

External links

"Chloe" at Jazz Standards
{{authority control 1927 songs 1927 in music Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn Songs with music by Charles N. Daniels (music)