My Funny Valentine

My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine"
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Published 1937
Language English
Form Jazz
Recorded by Hal McIntyre, Ruth Gaylor, Chet Baker, Eartha Kitt, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Giuffre, Bradley Joseph, Barbra Streisand, Mary Kaye Trio, Miles Davis, The Supremes, Elvis Costello, Brian Conley, Keith Jarett Trio.
Performed by Mitzi Green, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Tony Bennett, Ben Webster, Buddy Rich, Anita O'Day, Shirley Horn, Mel Tormé, Sammy Davis, Jr., Rachelle Ferrell, Chaka Khan, Dolly Parton, Michael Bublé, Maggie Wheeler, Jenna Ushkowitz Dianne Reeves, Vanessa Lynn Williams, Anita Baker, Keith Jarett Trio.

"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. After being recorded by Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis, the song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed by over 600 artists.

Contents

Structure

The basic structure of the song on a c-minor tonic is as follows:

  • C-, C-maj7, C-7, C-6, Abmaj7, F-7, D-7(b5), G7(b9)
  • ditto thru to the F-7, then Db9, Bb7(b9)
  • (bridge) Ebmaj7, F-7, G-7, F-7, Ebmaj7, F-7, G-7, F-7, Ebmaj7, G7(+5),C-,(Bb7,A7) Abmaj7, D-7(b5) G7,
  • C-, C-maj7, C-7, C-6, Abmaj7, D-7(b5) G7(b9), C-, Bb-7 A7, Abmaj7, F-7, Bb7(b9), C-7 (preferred, or Ebmaj7)

This simple and classic structure makes it easy to adapt to other genres and for jazz musicians to improvise over the established chords.

History

Babes in Arms opened at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway, in New York City on April 14, 1937 and ran for 289 performances.[1] In the original play, a character named Billie Smith (played by Mitzi Green) sings the song to Valentine "Val" LaMar (played by Ray Heatherton).[2] In the song, Billie pokes fun at some of Valentine's characteristics, but ultimately affirms that he makes her smile and that she doesn't want him to change. The song first hit the charts in 1945, performed by Hal McIntyre with vocals by Ruth Gaylor.[3] It only appeared for one week and hit #16.[4]

Notable recordings

The song is part of the Great American Songbook and has had many notable recordings, including:

Reception

In a 2006 survey of people between 10 and 49 years of age in Japan, Oricon Style found "My Funny Valentine" to be the fifth most popular Valentine's Day song in Japan. The most popular song was Sayuri Kokushō's 1986 debut single "Valentine Kiss" followed by "Love Love Love" from Dreams Come True, "Valentine's Radio" from Yumi Matsutoya, and "Happy Happy Greeting" from the KinKi Kids.[11]

See also

  • List of 1930s jazz standards

References

  1. ^ Trager, James (2005). The People's Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (3 ed.). Detroit: Gale. ISBN 1414401409. 
  2. ^ Playbill from 1937 Babes in Arms theatrical performance
  3. ^ Orodenker, M. H. (1945-01-27). "Popular Record Reviews". Billboard 27 (4). ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=whEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1992). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0898200830.  As cited in My Funny Valentine (1937), written, compiled, and published by jazzstandards.com.
  5. ^ http://www.discogs.com/sergio-franchi
  6. ^ "Toku Do overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r160482. 
  7. ^ "My Shining Hour overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r987566. 
  8. ^ "Love's Silhouette overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r602408. 
  9. ^ "A Thousand Kisses Deep overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r658530. 
  10. ^ "Chris Botti - A Thousand Kisses Deep". JazzReview.com. http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=5728. 
  11. ^ "大公開!『バレンタインソング』といえばこの曲! [The Great Exhibition! When speaking of a "Valentine song", this is the song!]" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. February 3, 2006. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5oIA3Hpll. Retrieved March 17, 2010. 

Further reading

  • Bragalini, Luca (1997). "My Funny Valentine: The Disintegration of the Standard". Originally published in Musica Jazz. http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Valentine.html. 
  • Cook, Richard (1999-02-12). "The Hart of the Matter". New Statesman 128 (4423): 45. ISSN 1364-7431. 
  • Fox, Dan (2007). World's Greatest Wedding Music: 50 of the Most Requested Wedding Pieces. Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 0739046748. 
  • Friedwald, Will (2002). "My Funny Valentine (1937)". Stardust Memories: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs. New York: Random House, Inc. pp. 348–373. ISBN 0-375-42089-4. 
  • Gabbard, Krin (2004). Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813533848. 
  • Hischak, Thomas S. (2007). The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press. p. 189. ISBN 0-313-34140-0. 
  • Holbrook, Morris B. (2005). "The Ambi-Diegesis of "My Funny Valentine"". In Steve Lannin and Matthew Caley. Pop fiction: The Song in Cinema. Portland, OR: Intellect Books. pp. 48–62. ISBN 184150078X. 
  • Studwell, William Emmett (1994). The Popular Song Reader: A Sampler of Well-Known Twentieth Century-Songs. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 1560243694. 

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