''Jalousie'' is a

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

written by Danish composer

Jacob Gade Jacob Thune Hansen Gade (29 November 1879 – 20 February 1963) was a Danish violinist and composer, mostly of orchestral popular music. He is remembered today for a single tune, ''Jalousie'' (also known as ''Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" '' and ''T ...

in 1925. Its full title is ''Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" '' (''Jealousy "Gypsy Tango"''). It soon became popular around the world and is today a classic in the modern songbook.

Music

The work consists of two themes – the first "a temperamental theme in D minor", followed by a "lyrical section in D major", both with a typical tango rhythm. Although it became Gade's most popular and successful work, he wrote successor tangos, such as the ''Romanesca, Tango'' in 1933.

Composition

The composer claimed that the mood of the piece had been inspired by his reading a sensational news report of a crime of passion, and "jealousy" became fixed in his mind.History of Tango Jalousie at the Jacob Gade's Legat website
accessed 6 January 2015. Gade was principal conductor of the 24-piece orchestra of the

Palads Cinema Palads Teatret (the Palads Cinema), also known simply as the Palads, is a cinema operated by Nordisk Film in Copenhagen, Denmark. It offers a wide selection of films in its 17 auditoriums, more than in any other Danish cinema. History The Pala ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

at the time he composed the piece. He wrote it at Tibirke Mølle, north

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, where he had a holiday home,Det Kongelige Bibliotek http://wayback-01.kb.dk/wayback/20100902125859/http://www2.kb.dk/kb/dept/nbo/ma/fokus/tango.htm as part of the musical accompaniment for the Danish premiere of the silent film ''

Don Q, Son of Zorro ''Don Q, Son of Zorro'' is a 1925 American silent swashbuckler romance film and a sequel to the 1920 silent film '' The Mark of Zorro''. It was loosely based upon the 1909 novel ''Don Q.'s Love Story'', written by the mother-and-son duo Kate a ...

''. It was performed under Gade's baton on the opening night, 14 September 1925.

Publication and performance history

The music was published in 1925 by Gade and Warny in Denmark, then the following year in New York and Paris. Radio broadcasts and its use in 1930s films spread its popularity. The first recording was made in 1935 by the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

, conducted by

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one o ...

, on the

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

label.Friis, S. Liner notes for CD ‘Jealousy – Suites, Tangos and Waltzes’. DACAPO 6.220509, 1998 & 2008. Many others followed, often in highly different arrangements. The royalties from the performances of the work allowed Gade to found a charity to help young Danish musicians, called Jacob Gade's Legat. In 1931 Vera Bloom (daughter of writer-politician

Sol Bloom Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...

) provided English lyrics. Alternate English lyrics were also composed by Winifred May.

Recordings

and the

recorded a version that was released in November 1943 on V-Disc 52 (VP 161).

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

recorded a version in 1946 (released in 1947) on Columbia 37218. As "Jalousie" the song was released on a single in 1951 by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

with

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the F ...

& his Orchestra (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

catalog number 4-39585). A cover version with amended English lyrics by

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

reached No.2 on the UK singles chart in 1961, becoming Fury's highest-charting UK single. Organist

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

recorded a version in 1955 on the former Paradise Theatre Wurlitzer pipe organ that became a classic and was often used to demonstrated high-fidelity equipment. Also in 1961, Esquivel recorded a popular "space age" version that later gained even more currency as the soundtrack of a classic

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...

sketch in which office supplies come to life. In addition to Bloom's, lyrics in many languages have been fitted to the composition.

In film and television

With and without vocals the piece by its various names has been used in numerous films and in television, including: * ''

'' (1925), starring

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

* ''

Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zim ...

'' (1945), a classic

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

musical * ''

Conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

'' (1945), a

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mystery * ''

Painting the Clouds with Sunshine "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" is a popular song published in 1929. The music was written by Joe Burke and the lyrics by Al Dubin for the 1929 musical film ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' when it was sung by Nick Lucas. ''Gold Diggers of Broa ...

'' (1951) * ''

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'' (1976), a

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satire * ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at s ...

'' (1978), an

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mystery * '' Brusten Himmel'' (Swedish film) (1982) * ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

'' (1993), in the second scene in the cabaret * ''

The Man Who Cried ''The Man Who Cried'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro. The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after being ...

'' (2000), with

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

playing a 1920s gypsyIMDb soundtrack listing
/ref> * ''

Fargo (TV series) ''Fargo'' is an American black comedy crime drama television series created and primarily written by Noah Hawley. The show is inspired by the 1996 film of the same name, which was written and directed by the Coen brothers, and takes place within ...

'' (2020), in Season 4, Episode 2 ''The Land of Taking and Killing''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalousie 1925 compositions Tangos Tango in Denmark Billy Fury songs 1925 songs