I'm Beginning to See the Light

I'm Beginning to See the Light is a song from 1944, which was composed by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and received a text from Don George. Different versions of the play in 1945 in the United States and Australia a number -one hit.

Genesis of the song

1944 worked the two bandleader Duke Ellington and Harry James with Johnny Hodges on a melody of the piece I'm Beginning to See the Light, to which Don George wrote the text in the same year, the lyrics to Ellington's I Is not Got Nothin 'But the Blues had contributed. Bandvokalistin at the first recording of the song was the only seventeen year old Joya Sherrill, who had just come to the Duke Ellington Orchestra; Soloists were here Johnny Hodges and trombonist Lawrence Brown.

The Ellington biographer James Lincoln Collier pointed out that I'm Beginning to See the Light have the shape of the classic American popular songs.

" But more than most composers of popular songs, [ Ellington ] tended to write more consecutive melodies, made up of quite different, even contrasting, phrases, producing more the effect of speech or dialogue. When well done, this system of writing Inevitably Produces a more interesting and melodically richer tune, Although Perhaps one correspondingly less acceptable to the ordinary ear. "

Don Georges lyrics of I'm Beginning to See the Light managed to romantic notions such as " lantern -shine " and " rainbows in my wine". George used this list of "Light " metaphors. Ellington's piece was partly difficult to put into text, since each A- section consisted of the same phrase that is repeated three times before the melody finally changed. George raised this musical insistence by the same rhyme repeated each section in the first three verses:

The text ends with the rediscovery flames one of the oldest songwriter clichés by weaving metaphors "light" and "heat":

First shots and successes

The first recording was made by Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra with singer Joya Sherrill, recorded in New York City on December 1, 1944, and published by RCA Victor. This recording reached the U.S. charts, where it remained for twelve weeks, and came up to # 6. The resulting 1945 recording of co-composer Harry James and his orchestra and the singer Kitty Kallen was for two weeks, a number -one hit in the United States and stayed a total of 19 weeks in the charts. In the same year was a cover version by Ella Fitzgerald with the Ink Spots, which also came into the American pop charts, remaining there six weeks, and reached number five. In Australia, their version became a number -one hit.

Development as a jazz standard

After I'm Beginning to See the Light had established itself as a pop song, he was repeatedly taken up by jazz musicians and ultimately become a popular jazz standard.

Billy Eckstine recorded the song several times, with Billy May, Quincy Jones, Bobby Tucker and Gil Asky. Ella Fitzgerald sang it well accompanied by the Basie band ( Ella and Basie! , Verve 1963), with arrangements by Quincy Jones. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker recorded the song in 1953. There then followed by other instrumental versions by musicians like Don Byas, Oscar Pettiford, Art Tatum, Chico Hamilton and Red Norvo. Among the vocalists who interpreted the song include Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra and 2004, yet Al Jarreau.

Use on stage and in film

Jo Stafford and Paul Weston parodied the song in the 1960s in Darlene Remembers Duke. I'm Beginning to See the Light was sung in the 1981 Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies. The version of Harry James My dog ​​is heard in the film Skip ( 2000), by Duke Ellington in the film The Matrix (1999 ).

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