Nice Work If You Can Get It (song)

The song

Nice Work If You Can Get It is one of nine songs that were written for the film A Damsel in Distress the Gershwin brothers, where it was sung by Fred Astaire. In the first verse of the song, it is said that the only work that makes fun that would be, man and woman were created for. The song is " built - shape, with the A- parts is all held in a major tonality and the B section in a minor tonality. On A- parts can be " in the A'A'BA a swarming - floating first half and a second half tomboyish - rhythmic " differ in the first part of the romance is painted, the second part comments on the nature of an experienced job seekers: . ." Nice job if you can get him "

According to Hans -Jürgen Schaal, the song is considered " one of the best Gershwin songs ever ," involving many details were admired: the swinging opening verse with a triplet in the fourth cycle, the extension of the last A section ( ten cycles), or B section at the end of the Gershwin's I Got Rhythm quote from their text and music of the phrase " who Could ask for anything more? ".

Effect story

The song was recorded before the premiere of the film by Tommy Dorsey ( with singer Edythe Wright) and then by Teddy Wilson ( with Billie Holiday ) to disk. There were several times in the American hit parade; particularly successful was replaced by the text Astaire, which reached number one. The versions in the charts shortly after emergence were:

• Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm (1937, # 8)
• Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra (1937, with singer Billie Holiday, # 20)
• Fred Astaire (1938, with the orchestra of Ray Noble, # 1)
• Maxine Sullivan (1938, vocal, # 10)
• The Andrews Sisters (1939, vocal, # 12)

The piece was later used in the Broadway musical Crazy for You. Cybill Shepherd chose it as the title song for her sitcom Cybill, and interpreted it as well.

The way to Jazz Standard began with the interpretation by Billie Holiday and Wilson's orchestra, which included Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Walter Page and Cozy Cole. Holiday recorded the song on seven times. After the song in the film An American in Paris ( 1951) was used him many jazz singers have interpreted by Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra (1956 with Nelson Riddle, again in 1962 with Count Basie arranged by Neal Hefti ) to Karin Krog towards and Karen Young. Previously discovered him the instrumentalists; 1941 song by Thelonious Monk was played in Minton 's Playhouse. Monk played the song several times a (1947, 1964, 1971). Other important early instrumental versions created by Dizzy Gillespie (1950 ), Woody Herman (1950 ), Benny Goodman (about 1955), Lennie Niehaus ( with Jimmy Giuffre, 1955), Miles Davis ( 1955), Bob Brookmeyer and Stan Getz (1961 ), followed by Holger Mantey ( 1991) and Ran Blake ( 1992).