The Definitive American Songbook: Harry Warren Pt. 1

When glancing at a list of Harry Warren's definitive songs, it's hard to believe that his name isn't often top-of-mind when recalling Great American Songwriters. This is even harder to believe when you learn about the critical and mass popularity of his music. Warren won three Oscars, wrote the first gold record in history, and can claim more hits on Hit Parade than the King of Popular Song, Irving Berlin. Still, it is difficult for fans of the Songbook to list Warren's accomplishments. This month The Jonathan Channel is on a mission to change all that by sharing the greatest performances of Warren's music. This week we're heading back to where it all started, Broadway and 42nd Street.

"Would You Like To Take A Walk" Ella & Louis 

This song actually took a 21-year-stroll from it's composition by Warren to it's debut as a true jazz standard, fitting perfectly into each medium along the way. Warren composed the song with lyricist Mort Dixon and tag-along Billy Rose in 1930. The song was first performed on the Broadway stage in a show called Sweet and Low that featured Rose's wife, the very funny Fanny Brice. It was then introduced to the entire nation with recordings by popular performers like Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby. Warner Bros., who Warren spent the early years of his Hollywood career writing music for, used it in two of their cartoons during the second world war. An act of mental rationing and tactical recycling by the company. A decade later Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald took on the duet in a Decca recording studio. The result is a sweet, humorous, personable, and pleasantly imperfect recording.

"I Found A Million Dollar Baby" Nat King Cole from The Very Thought of You

If you've seen Funny Lady you may know a bit about the history of this song. Harry Warren rewrote the music for 5-year-old lyrics written by Mort Dixon and "Billy Rose." It was first performed by Fanny Brice in Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt in 1931 (later recreated by Barbara Streisand for the silver screen). With its new and danceable music the song quickly became a standard for many of 1931's most popular dance orchestras. A slow yet bouncy number appropriate for dancing with a partner you just want to remain friendly with. One of the most popular recordings of the song that year was by Bing Crosby. His recording was a bit less sentimental than the ones made by popular dance bands, because he kept the song's theatrical tradition intact with his goofy Fanny Bricesc humor and adding his own tipsy scats. 27 years later Nat King Cole took a different approach to the song when he included it on his album The Very Thought of You. Suddenly, this campy dance number was transformed by Cole's smooth vocals and Gordon Jenkins's lush string arrangements.   

"You're My Everything" Rebecca Kilgore from Moments Like This

1931 continued to be a good year for Harry Warren and Mort Dixon. Their next hit, "You're My Everything," was written with the help of lyricist Joe Young for the Broadway revue The Laugh Parade. The song was apart of Warren's first complete Broadway score. This would usually be a time of celebration for a composer, but Warren did not enjoy the experience. As a result of this and the country's current financial depression, Warren decided to make the dreaded move across the country to Hollywood. "You're My Everything" was the last great standard Warren wrote on Broadway, but there would be many more to come in Tinseltown. Rebecca Kilgore and her trio selected it for her 2000 album Moments Like This. The recording highlights the song's melody with Randy Porter on piano, Scott Seed on bass, and Neil Masson on drums.

"42nd Street" Mel Tormé from Songs of New York

It was a big deal for Warren to leave his home of New York City and move to Hollywood. He had previously visited the West Coast and found it boring. But Warner Bros. called him at the right time and for the right project. Warren had just written his first full musical score, but felt that all his hard work received little payoff. With the Great Depression in full swing, the only showbiz industry that seemed to be booming was film. Warner Bros., ready to cash in on sound, looked to Broadway for its next big film. Warren and lyricist Al Dubin were hired to recreate the sounds of the Great White Way for 42nd Street. In 1963, Mel Tormé acknowledged Warren's and Dubin's success in capturing the city when he selected the film's title song for his Atlantic Jazz record Songs of New York.

"You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" Nancy LaMott and Michael Feinstein from Ask Me Again

Another Warren and Dubin song, "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me," from 42nd Street was quickly adapted as a popular standard. Guy Lombardo (with vocals by Bing Crosby) and Fred Warning & His Pennsylvanians both recorded the song after its film debut in 1933. Many more great and original recordings were made throughout the years. Sinatra made it swing sweetly when he recorded it in 1956 for Songs for Swingin' Lovers. Alan Sherman even adapted it to be about rabbits (of course) for his 1963 album My Son, the Nut. But it's this previously unreleased version, which Nancy LaMott had given to Jonathan Schwartz as gift that treats the song in a whole new way. It was finally released on a compilation album of unreleased material by Nancy LaMott after her death called Ask Me Again. On the recording LaMott and Michael Feinstein turn the 1932 standard into a beautiful duet.