Mean to Me (1929 song)

Mean to Me is a pop song, the Fred Ahlert wrote to a text by Roy Turk; the song was released in 1929, charted several times and became the Jazz Standard.

Features of the song

In Mean to Me, the singer complained to the person he loved more than the thoughtless ill-treatment; never done a call and it will even scolded in the presence of third parties. It is not entirely clear whether these complaints are taken seriously or not are more of a banter between lovers.

The 32 -bar song is in the form of a song AA'BA "held and" built -balanced rhythmically and melodically. "It makes held in major topic affects happy with the sequence- like ascending the main subject. In the A- parts, the basic chord scheme is II -VI, which is, however, each time slightly modified, and the B section begins on the subdominant and performs on the parallel minor to the dominant According to Alec Wilder, the bass line is unusually innovative for a song from the late 1920s. .

First record

Ruth Etting sang the original version in 1929. " In the verses ( which is usually not sung today ) and in the themes idea they visit the sites delicate and understated yearning for the loved one. However, after an interlude with a sobbing coffee house violin she seems to be fighting back tears " The record sold more than a million times.; The song entered the American charts at number 3

More versions

In the same year, further interpretations of Annette Hanshaw and Helen Morgan have been published; Morgan's version came in at number 13 in the U.S. charts. Billie Holiday recorded the song in 1937 with Teddy Wilson on; this version was four weeks at number 7 in the U.S. charts. As a result of this interpretation - by Marcus A. Woelfle " a high point in the cooperation between the singer and the geistesverwandeten tenor Lester Young, who blew one of his best solos here " - discovered jazz musicians the potential of the song. Musically outstanding are the recordings of Sarah Vaughan (1945 with Dizzy Gillespie, 1950 with Budd Johnson). Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song in her album Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson in 1962 for Verve with the orchestra of Nelson Riddle, which was in 1963 awarded a Grammy Award for best female solo vocal performance; by a recording of her with pianist Oscar Peterson is from the year 1975 ( Ella and Oscar, Pablo Records). Linda Ronstadt also recorded the song with Nelson Riddle for her album Lush Life (1984). Rachel Gould in 1993 enriched the song with blues elements. Mention should continue interpretations of Betty Carter and Helen Humes, but also instrumental versions of Nat Adderley, Curtis Counce and Barney Kessel with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown.

Use in the film and on stage

The song was repeatedly used in feature films and documentaries:

Also, the song is part of the musical Is not Misbehavin ', which is listed repeatedly since 1978.

Dominant (music) Verse–chorus form Love Me or Leave Me (film) Stepping Out (1991 film)
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