"The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film ''

Swing Time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...

'' that was performed by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful." In the movie, Astaire sang "The Way You Look To-night" to

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

while she was washing her hair in an adjacent room. Astaire's recording was a top seller in 1936. Other versions that year were by

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...

and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

with

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 ...

Composition and publication

The song was sung by Fred Astaire in the 1936 film ''Swing Time'' in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, but it is typically performed in

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

with a modulation to

G-flat major G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats. Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel ...

. It was first copyrighted on March 17, 1936 as "Way (The) you look to-night; song from I won't dance", and was unpublished ("

I Won't Dance "I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimmy ...

" was a song from the 1935 film ''

Roberta ''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It features the songs " Yesterdays", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Let ...

'' by Kern and Fields). The next copyright on July 24, 1936 was from ''Swing Time'' and was published. Both were renewed in 1963.

Contemporary recordings

Fred Astaire recorded "The Way You Look To-night" in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on July 26, 1936. Bing Crosby and his wife

Dixie Lee Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby. Biography She was born Wilma Winifred Wyatt in Harriman, Tennessee, on N ...

recorded the song as a duet on August 19. To take advantage of the song's success, pianist

brought

into a studio 10 weeks after the film ''Swing Time'' was released. Holiday was 21 when she recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" with a small group led by Wilson in October 1936. A number of

British dance band British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War. Thousands of mile ...

s also made contemporary cover recordings of the song: Ambrose (with vocals by Sam Browne), Roy Fox (with vocals by

Denny Dennis Denny Dennis (1 November 1913 in Derby – 2 November 1993 in Barrow-in-Furness) was a British romantic vocalist during the 1930s to the 1950s, when British dance bands were at the peak of their popularity. He was a band singer, a solo recording s ...

), Tommy Kinsman, Harry Roy,

Carroll Gibbons Carroll Richard Gibbons (January 4, 1903 – May 10, 1954) was an American-born pianist, bandleader and popular composer who made his career primarily in England during the British dance band era. Image of Gibbons from the W.D. & H.O. Wills ...

and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans (vocal by George Melachrino) and Jay Wilbur (with vocals by

Sam Costa Samuel Gabriel Costa (17 June 1910 – 23 September 1981) was an English singer, entertainer and broadcaster. Initially a popular singer in the dance band era and a comic actor on the show ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', he was later a disc j ...

Cover versions

*Six years passed before the song appeared on the charts again, this time in a version by Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee on vocals and

Mel Powell Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over ...

on celeste. *A live recording was released by Dave Brubeck Quartet in their 1953 live album Jazz at Oberlin. *The most popular and imitated version was recorded by Frank Sinatra with the Nelson Riddle orchestra in 1964. * The Lettermen found their first hit when their version reached No. 13 on the '' Billboard'' magazine Hot 100 singles chart in 1961 and No. 36 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 ...

that same year. * Sonny Rollins and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

recorded it in 1954. *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

recorded the song on his album '' Long Ago and Far Away'' in 1958, and then again with the Ralph Sharon Trio for the film '' My Best Friend’s Wedding'', released in 1997. The singer also recorded two duets of the song: with Faith Hill in 2011 on '' Duets II'' and one year later on his album '' Viva Duets'' with

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

. A new version only accompanied by the piano of Bill Charlap was on the album '' The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern'' in 2015. *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

covered the song on her 1989 album '' Warm and Tender''. * Phil Collins did a live version cover of the song, which is included in the 2004 album '' Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New''. *

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Qua ...

included a version on his 1998 album '' Live at the Village Vanguard: The Art of the Trio Volume Two'' * Rod Stewart included it on the album '' Great American Songbook'' in 2002. *Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan included a cover of this song in her 2013 album ''The Standards''. *

Jane Ira Bloom Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer. Early years Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxopho ...

included the song in her 2013 album '' Sixteen Sunsets''. *

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

included the song in her 2015 album '' Coming Forth by Day''. *

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 ...

on her

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

1963 release '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book''. * Dermot Mulroney sings the song to

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

in the movie ''

My Best Friend's Wedding ''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett. The film received generally positiv ...

''. * The Jaguars, a Los Angeles quartet, recorded it in 1956. Their version was only a regional hit when it was first released. Three years later, its appearance on Volume 1 of Art Laboe's “Oldies But Goodies” album series brought it national attention, and it remains a doo-wop favorite to this day. * Chris Pratt, in character as

Andy Dwyer Andrew Maxwell Dwyer KBE () is a fictional character in the NBC comedy ''Parks and Recreation'' portrayed by Chris Pratt. Originally meant to be a temporary character, Andy was so likable that producers asked Pratt back as a series regular. H ...

with his band Mouse Rat, performed a version of the song in the '' Parks and Recreation'' episode " Galentine's Day". The cover was later included in Mouse Rat's 2021 album, ''The Awesome Album''.

Other versions

Other versions were also recorded by Clifford Brown,

Tina Brooks Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks (June 7, 1932 – August 13, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer best remembered for his work in the hard bop style. Early years Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, an ...

, Johnny Griffin (with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

), Charlie Parker,

Michael Buble Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

Charts

The Lettermen

References

External links

The Way You Look Tonight lyrics
!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way You Look Tonight, The Songs about nights 1930s jazz standards 1936 songs 1961 debut singles Songs with lyrics by Dorothy Fields Songs with music by Jerome Kern Fred Astaire songs The Lettermen songs Bing Crosby songs Peggy Lee songs Frank Sinatra songs Guy Lombardo songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Pop standards Capitol Records singles