One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road ) is a song by the composer Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer from the year 1943. Posted for Fred Astaire, it became world famous thanks to the interpretations of Frank Sinatra.

History

Fred Astaire

Arlen and Mercer composed the song early in 1943 for the film musical The Sky's the Limit with Fred Astaire in the lead role. Astaire himself choreographed the extended scene in which he interpreted as a drunken Flying Tiger One for My Baby very intense musical and dance. The filming of the scene took two full days to complete, as Astaire injured himself at a setting of broken glass at the bottom. His haunting performance that Astaire described himself later as one of his best scenes, helped that the song was soon gecovert despite its excess length of other artists.

Other Artists

In the classic film noir Road House (1948 ) One For My Baby by Ida Lupino is interpreted in its role as a nightclub singer and pianist as a ballad. This adaptation, arranged by Earle Hagen was the style for interpretations of numerous other vocalists. In addition to Sinatra attended by artists such as Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Marlene Dietrich, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Etta James, Chuck Berry and Julie London on the song. More recently, artists such as Iggy Pop and Robbie Williams were added. For her performance of the song on The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson Bette Midler won an Emmy in 1992.

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra took One for My Baby for the first time in August 1947 with a small orchestra, arranged by Axel Stordahl, for Columbia Records on; However, the recording came out in June 1949, when Ida Lupino film version of 1948 had become successful.

Together with his pianist Bill Miller, who regularly accompanied him since the fall of 1951, Sinatra developed then a ballad version as a duet of voice and piano, which he retained for decades and which was to become one of Sinatra's signature songs.

First heard it in 1954 in the film Young At Heart, in which Sinatra starred with Doris Day. Sinatra's studio recording of the piece in June 1958, one arranged by Nelson Riddle Orchestra for the Capitol album Only The Lonely then became a Sinatra classic and the epitome of the saloon song. In 2005, this version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Sinatra kept the piece he usually afforded as a duet with Bill Miller at the piano in concert, from 1957 ( with an interruption from 1977 to 1985 ) to his last performances in 1994 into the program; numerous live versions of these decades are published. The choreographer Twyla Tharp used Sinatra's recording in 1983 as a leitmotif for The Sinatra Suite, danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov. In January 1985, Baryshnikov danced this piece again, accompanied by Sinatra's vocals, at the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

Beginning of July 1993 led to Sinatra's final studio recording of the song at Capitol Records, again accompanied by Bill Miller. For the album Duets (1993), this recording was added to later rehearsed instrumental solos by Kenny G in the overdub process.