"Prelude to a Kiss" is a 1938

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

composed by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, with lyrics by

Irving Gordon Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was an American songwriter. Biography Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family, and later lived on Coney Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later changed his na ...

and

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

Background and composition

This composition is in the key of

D-flat major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its r ...

but makes extensive use of the secondary dominant chords, secondary

ii–V–I progression The ii–V–I progression ("two–five–one progression") (occasionally referred to as ii–V–I turnaround, and ii–V–I) is a common cadential chord progression used in a wide variety of music genres, including jazz harmony. It is a succ ...

s, diatonic circle of fifths, and evaded cadences. The song is extremely chromatic and complex, employing sophisticated mathematics that were rare at this time in jazz: Ellington's rising semitones (G-G#-A-A#-B) at the end of the bridge mirror the opening of both A sections (B-A#-A-G#-G). By the late 1930s, swing was at the height of its popularity. Using his fame and artistic freedom, Ellington became more ambitious and experimental, writing "Prelude to a Kiss", which abandoned the

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

style hooks and dance tempo for melodic lines and harmonies found more often in classical music. He recorded this piece as an instrumental in August 1938 before returning to the studio a few weeks later to record it as a vocal number with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills that were sung by a young and relatively unknown Mary McHugh. Popular records in 1938 were by Ellington and by

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

and His Orchestra.

Reception

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

described "Prelude to a Kiss" as "One of Ellington's finest ballads, although too sophisticated in its weaving melody and chromatic harmonies to gain wide public acceptance."

Notable recordings

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, ...

-
Oscar Peterson for Lovers
' (1959) *

Claudia Acuña Claudia Acuña (July 31, 1971, Santiago) is a Chilean jazz vocalist, songwriter, and arranger. Biography Born July 3 1971 in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, she was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and op ...

– ''Wind from the South'' (1999) *

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 birth ...

– '' Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool'' (1999) *

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...

and

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

– ''Duet'' (1955) *

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

– '' Prelude to a Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album'' (1996) *

– ''Piano Reflections'' (1953) *

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 si ...

with

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

– ''

Velvet Mood ''Velvet Mood: Songs by Billie Holiday'' is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released in 1956 on Clef Records. The music was recorded over the course of two sessions in Los Angeles, two days apart, which had also resulted in all the materi ...

'' (1956) *

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

– ''Live from New York'' (1982) *

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

– '' Prelude to a Kiss soundtrack'' (1992)

Notes

Songs about kissing Songs with music by Duke Ellington Songs written by Irving Gordon Songs with lyrics by Irving Mills Jazz songs 1930s jazz standards 1938 songs {{pop-standard-stub

Background and composition

Reception

Notable recordings

See also

Notes