"I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (with You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

(music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the film '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1936'', where it was performed by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

Hal Kemp James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. Biography Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the a ...

and his Orchestra recorded it and it had a bit of popularity, rising briefly to 14th place on the recording charts.

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

's 1937 version was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Recordings

Ira Gershwin noted in 1959 that "The sheet-music sale of the song never amounted to much... but an early recording by Bunny Berigan—considered by jazz devotees a sort of classic in its field—may have been a challenge (or incentive) for the great number of recordings that have followed. Not a year has gone by, in the past fifteen or so, that up to a dozen or more new recordings haven't been issued."

Bunny Berigan

, a trumpeter with Benny Goodman and

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 ...

, started a band in 1937 and chose "I Can't Get Started" as his theme song. He had been performing the song during the previous year at a club in New York City. He made a recording for

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

on April 13, 1936 but gradually he made subtle changes in the arrangement. After forming his band, he recorded "I Can't Get Started" again, this time for Victor. Jazz trumpeter

Dick Sudhalter Richard Merrill Sudhalter (28 December 1938 – 19 September 2008)Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American jazz trumpeter and writer. Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sudhalter was inspired to pursue a musical career by his ...

noted the changes that had been made since the Vocalion recording. "An introduction—an extended cadenza over four different sustained chords in the key of C—had been added by this time, but otherwise Berigan's routine had not changed since the Vocalion recording. But whereas the Vocalion comes across as a virtuoso performance of a great song, the Victor version presents itself as a kind of concerto, a tour de force for a trumpeter of imagination and daring having impeccable command of his instrument." The Berigan band's recordings of "I Can't Get Started" and "The Prisoner's Song" were issued together on the twelve-inch Victor record 36208, and were a part of an album of four such records entitled ''A Symposium of Swing''. An edited version was created by Victor on December 4, 1937, and issued as 25728A. The recording was a hit and reached number 10 on the chart. In 1975, Berigan's 1937 recording of "I Can't Get Started" was inducted into the

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

recorded it on September 15, 1938.

Other recordings

* Duke Ellington – '' Piano in the Foreground'' (1961) * Paul Bley Trio – (

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

/ Charles Mingus/ Art Blakey) – '' Introducing Paul Bley'' (1953) *

Hamiet Bluiett Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A mem ...

with Ted Dunbar – ''Ballads and Blues'' (1994) *

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

– '' Happy Time'' (1975) * Maynard Ferguson - ''Chameleon'' (1974) *

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 ...

– '' Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall'' (1973) * Stan Getz with Kenny Barron – ''

Anniversary! ''Anniversary!'' is a live album by saxophonist Stan Getz which was recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in 1987 and released on the EmArcy label in 1989.

'' (1987) * Dizzy Gillespie – (1945) *

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

– '' Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark'' (1980) *

with

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

– (1938) *

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

with

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

and Chico Hamilton – '' Grand Encounter'' (1956) *

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

with Tom Harrell – ''Live at the Village Vanguard'' (1994) * Charles Mingus with John Handy – '' Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland'' (1959) * Joe Pass – '' Virtuoso No. 4'' (1983, recorded in 1973) *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

– '' Soft Sands'' (1957) * Sonny Rollins – '' A Night at the Village Vanguard'' (1957) * Frank Sinatra – '' No One Cares'' (1959) *

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

– 1946 *

with

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cr ...

(1942) * Lester Young with Oscar Peterson – ''

Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio ''Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio'' is a 1954 studio album by Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson's working trio of the time (featuring Ray Brown and Barney Kessel), plus drummer J. C. Heard. The music on this album was origin ...

'' (1954) *

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

– ''

Pointless Nostalgic ''Pointless Nostalgic'' is Jamie Cullum's second album but his first major release on a record label. It was released in 2002 through Candid Records. It was recorded at Clowns Pocket Recording Studio, Bexley, Kent by Derek Nash who also co prod ...

'' (2002)

References

External links

"I Can't Get Started (with You)"
a
JazzStandards.com

Ira Gershwin's manuscript for "I Can't Get Started" at The Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Can't Get Started 1936 songs 1930s jazz standards Songs written for films Songs with music by Vernon Duke Songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin Al Hirt songs Billie Holiday songs Frank Sinatra songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Jazz compositions in B-flat major Torch songs

Recordings

Bunny Berigan

Other recordings

See also

References

Further reading

External links