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 1953
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
Me and Juliet
''Me and Juliet'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The sixth stage collaboration by Rodgers & Hammerstein, it tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage ...
''.
Background
Richard Rodgers originally composed this tune (with the title "Beneath the Southern Cross") for the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television series ''
Victory at Sea
''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was originally broadcast by NBC in the United States in 1952–19 ...
Me and Juliet
''Me and Juliet'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The sixth stage collaboration by Rodgers & Hammerstein, it tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage ...
'', Rodgers took his old melody and set it to new words by Hammerstein, producing the song "No Other Love"."Victory at Sea ong Collection, U.S.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
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 ...
rhythm (referred to by Rodgers as a "languid tango" in his autobiography, ''Musical Stages'').
The 1953 song should not be confused with " No Other Love", a song of 1950. The melody for the 1950 song was taken from Étude in E major, Op. 10, No. 3 by Frédéric Chopin.
Other recordings
*
Vikki Carr
Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...
included in her album ''Discovery II'' (1964).
* Perry Comorecorded the Rodgers and Hammerstein song on May 19, 1953, which was released by RCA Victor. The record reached No. 1 on both the '' Billboard'' and '' Cash Box'' charts in August 1953.
* Bing Crosby recorded it for Decca Records on December 31, 1953 and it was also included on his LP
Bing Sings the Hits
''Bing Sings the Hits'' is a Decca Records album by Bing Crosby of hit songs from the early 1950s. It was issued as a 10-inch LP with catalog number DL 5520. Background
Crosby’s record company had issued an almost constant stream of 10” LP ...
.
*
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...
- included in his 1988 album ''Isn't It Romantic''.
*
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
included the song on her album ''
Ella Sings Broadway
''Ella Sings Broadway'' is a 1963 (see 1963 in music) studio album (recorded during three sessions in Los Angeles, October 3, 4 & 9, 1962) by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol. Short ...
'' (1963).
*
Ronnie Hilton
Ronnie Hilton (born Adrian Hill; 26 January 1926 – 21 February 2001) was an English singer and radio presenter. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, "For a time Hilton was a star – strictly for home consumption – with ...
- his 1956 version reached No. 1 for six weeks on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
*
Edmund Hockridge
Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his li ...
- reached No. 24 in the UK charts in 1956.
*
Jay and the Americans
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...
released a cover version of the song in 1968 and this reached No 119 in the Billboard charts.
* The Johnston Brothers reached No. 22 in the UK charts in 1956.
*
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' sta ...
for his Decca album ''Songs To Remember'' (1960).
*
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s".
Early life
Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell grew up in Toledo, Ohio. By the time ...
recorded for Capitol (2487) in 1953.
* Keely Smith included in her album ''Because You're Mine'' (1962).
*
Victory at Sea
''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was originally broadcast by NBC in the United States in 1952–19 ...
the instrumental only recording is used for Episode 10 ''Beneath the Southern Cross''.
See also
*
List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1950s
The UK Singles Chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. Record charts in the UK began life in 1952 when Percy Dickins from ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') imitated an idea started in American '' Billboard'' magazine and began ...