The Way You Look Tonight

"The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film Swing Time that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936.[6][7] 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."[8]

This article is about the song. For the album by Jimmy McGriff, see The Way You Look Tonight (album). For the song written by Elton John, see Something About the Way You Look Tonight.
"The Way You Look To-night[1]"
Song by Fred Astaire
B-side"Pick Yourself Up"
PublishedJuly 24, 1936[1] by Chappell & Co.[2][3]
ReleasedAugust 1936
RecordedJuly 26, 1936[4]
StudioLos Angeles, California
GenreJazz, Popular Music
LabelBrunswick 7717[5]
Composer(s)Jerome Kern
Lyricist(s)Dorothy Fields
Fred Astaire singles chronology
"A Fine Romance"
(1936)		 "The Way You Look To-night[1]"
(1936)		 "Never Gonna Dance"
(1936)
"The Way You Look Tonight"
Single by The Lettermen
from the album A Song for Young Love
B-side"That's My Desire"
ReleasedJune 13, 1961
Recorded1961
StudioCapitol (Hollywood)
GenrePop, jazz
Length2:21
LabelCapitol 4586
The Lettermen singles chronology
"The Way You Look Tonight"
(1961)		 "When I Fall in Love"
(1961)

In the movie, Astaire sang "The Way You Look To-night" to Ginger Rogers while she was washing her hair in an adjacent room.[6] His recording reached the top of the charts for six weeks in 1936. Other versions that year were by Guy Lombardo and by Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday.[5]

Composition and Publication

The song was sung by Fred Astaire in the 1936 film Swing Time in the key of D major,[9] but it is typically performed in E-flat major with a modulation to G-flat major.[10]

It was first copyrighted on March 17, 1936 as "Way (The) you look to-night; song from I won't dance", and was unpublished ("I Won't Dance" was a song from the 1935 film Roberta by Kern and Fields). The next copyright on July 24, 1936 was from Swing Time and was published. Both were renewed in 1963.[1]

Cover versions

Other versions

Other versions were also recorded by Clifford Brown, Tina Brooks, Johnny Griffin (with John Coltrane), Charlie Parker, Michael Buble.[7]

In the Friends episode "The One in Massapequa", Ross reveals to Rachel that he intended to propose to her in the planetarium with lilies and the stars forming the words "Will you marry me?" with the song playing in the background. In another Friends episode, "The One with Unagi", Chandler gives Monica a mix tape with the song in it.

Charts

The Lettermen
Chart (1961) Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 36
US Billboard Hot 100 13
US Billboard Easy Listening chart[15] 3

See also

References
  1. "The way you look to-night / words by Dorothy Fields ; music by Jerome Kern". The Morgan Library & Museum. 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  2. Limited, Alamy. "Stock Photo - Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers 1930's Cover Sheet music 'SWING TIME' for the song "The Way You Look Tonight," with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It was". Alamy. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  3. "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7500 - 8000". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 604. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19 ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 449–451. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  7. Wilk, Max (1997). They're Playing Our Song: Conversations with America's Classic Songwriters (1st Da Capo Press ed.). Da Capo Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-306-80746-7.
  8. "The Way You Look Tonight". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. "The Way You Look Tonight". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  11. "The Art of the Trio, Vol. 2: Live at the Village Vanguard - Brad Mehldau | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. "Sixteen Sunsets - Jane Ira Bloom | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  13. "Coming Forth by Day". Allmusic. allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  14. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 144.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.