"My Funny Valentine" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart coming of age musical ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...

'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star

Mitzi Green Mitzi Green (born Elizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969) was an American child actress for Paramount and RKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted on Broadway and in other stage works, as well as in films and on television ...

. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed by over 600 artists. One of them was Chet Baker, for whom it became his signature song. In 2015, it was announced that the

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

quartet featuring Chet Baker's version of the song was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for the song's "cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy". Mulligan also recorded the song with his Concert Jazz Band in 1960.

History

'' opened at the Shubert Theatre on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, in

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on April 14, 1937 and ran for 289 performances. In the original play, a character named Billie Smith (played by

) sings the song to Valentine "Val" LaMar (played by

Ray Heatherton Ray Heatherton (June 1, 1909 – August 15, 1997) was an American singer, Broadway musical theatre performer, and a New York City television personality in the early days of the medium. Early career Ray Heatherton was born in the New York C ...

). The character's name was changed to match the lyric of this song. In the song, Billie describes Valentine's characteristics in unflattering and derogatory terms (at one point Billie describes Valentine's looks as "laughable", in keeping with the title), but ultimately affirms that he makes her smile and that she doesn't want him to change. The description of Valentine was consistent with Lorenz Hart's own insecurities and belief that he was too short and ugly to be loved. (The lyrics are sufficiently gender-neutral to allow the song to be sung about a person of any gender, and a large proportion of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of the song have been by men describing a hypothetical woman.)

Chart versions

*The song first hit the charts in 1945, performed by

Hal McIntyre Hal McIntyre (born Harold William McIntyre; November 29, 1914, Cromwell, Connecticut – May 5, 1959 Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. McIntyre played extensively as a teenager and led his ow ...

with vocals by

Ruth Gaylor Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

. It only appeared for one week and hit No. 16. As cited i
My Funny Valentine (1937)
written, compiled, and published by jazzstandards.com.

History

Chart versions

See also

References

Further reading