It's Only a Paper Moon (song)

It's Only a Paper Moon is a pop song, who wrote 1932, his tune by Harold Arlen and EY Harburg its text. The third author Billy Rose is registered. The song became the Jazz Standard.

Genesis

The song, the second collaboration between Arlen and Harburg, was written for the Broadway play The Great Magoo, who played in the New York amusement park Coney Iceland and of a crier acted there. Billy Rose, the producer of the play in question to Arlen and Harburg, if they could write a song. Used a song for the carnival barker, who had actually love no more illusions, but was. After Rose had called at Arlen, where a suitable melody the same occurred. Yarburg then had the idea of the man looking over the bay and the lights of Broadway sees and thinks that the whole world is a theater, the moon and the sky only from paper paper mache. Rose was excited and wanted to take the song to play The Great Magoo if he registered as co-authors. The song is in AABA song form and in G major.

Effective history

The play The Great Magoo was a failure and had only eleven performances; succeeded the authors in the following year to accommodate the song in the movie Take a Chance, which is really a film adaptation of the musical of the same name. Harburg changed the title in It's Only a Paper Moon, but the royalties with Rose had to share, further claimed co-authorship.

Paul Whiteman took in the same year with his orchestra and singer Peggy Healey the song on plate on; he came in 9th place in the American charts. Correct the song was popular but it was only during the Second World War, when Nat King Cole interpreted the song and 1943 also recorded. 1945, there were recordings of Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald ( with the Delta Rhythm Boys as background singers ) and successfully reached both in the charts.

1949 Django Reinhardt played his instrumental version of the piece one. An extensive solo took Miles Davis on 1951 ( with Sonny Rollins ); 1956 was followed by Kenny Drew. Lionel Hampton and Oscar Peterson played the song in her quartet, a number of times. The Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey with Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter had the song in the repertoire, as Marian McPartland / Willie Pickens ( Is not Misbehavin ': Live at the Jazz Showcase 2000). When Leon Parker ( on his CD Above & Below ) " the song mutates with the pianist Jacky Terrasson in a crazy Calypso. "

Theater and film music

Not only in Take a Chance came before the song. The song was used for the play by Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire, that was premiered in 1947. After the song, the film Paper Moon by Peter Bogdanovich is named. Furthermore, classical versions of the song were used in more recent movies, which by Ella Fitzgerald in the movie The Break-Up (2006), the Benny Goodman in the film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep ( 2007).