Nice Work If You Can Get It (song)
| "Nice Work If You Can Get It" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Fred Astaire | ||||
| B-side | Things Are Looking Up[1] | |||
| Published | September 16, 1937 by Gershwin Publishing Corp., New York[2] | |||
| Released | November 1937 | |||
| Recorded | October 17, 1937[3][4] | |||
| Studio | Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Brunswick 7983[5] | |||
| Composer(s) | George Gershwin | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Ira Gershwin | |||
| Fred Astaire singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Nice Work If You Can Get It" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
Background
[edit]It began life in 1930 as a nine-bar phrase with the working title "There's No Stopping Me Now". Its title phrase "Nice work if you can get it" came from an English magazine.[6][7] It was one of nine songs the Gershwin brothers wrote for the movie A Damsel in Distress in which it was performed by Fred Astaire with backing vocals by The Stafford Sisters. The song was published in 1937.
First recordings
[edit]The first jazz recording of the work was by Tommy Dorsey three weeks after the release of the film.[7] Early chart versions were by Shep Fields, Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday,[7] Fred Astaire, Maxine Sullivan, and The Andrews Sisters.[8] The song was recorded by many jazz singers and adopted by bebop instrumentalists; Jerry Newman recorded pianist Thelonious Monk performing the tune in 1941 at Minton's Playhouse, a nightclub closely connected with early bebop, and he subsequently recorded it several times.[7]
Other recordings
[edit]- Tommy Dorsey – 1937[7]
- Ella Fitzgerald with Andre Previn – Nice Work If You Can Get It, 1983[7]
- Erroll Garner – Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin and Kern, 1968[7]
- Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson – 1937[7]
- Thelonious Monk – 1941, 1947[7]
- Frank Sinatra – A Swingin' Affair! (1957)[9] and Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First (1962)[7]
- Art Tatum – 1949[7]
- Mel Tormé – Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire (1956)[7]
- Sarah Vaughan with Jimmy Jones music director; and Percy Faith arranger and conductor – Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi (1955)[6]
Popular culture
[edit]- In the 1951 film An American in Paris, the song is performed by Georges Guétary.
- A version of this song was used during the opening credits of the 1995 to 1998 CBS sitcom Cybill,[7] starring Cybill Shepherd, who performed the song.[10]
- The song was included in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Crazy for You and lent its name to the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ ""Nice Work If You Can Get It": Song history, Commentary, Discography, Performances on Video". greatamericansongbook.net. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1937). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1937 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 32 Pt 3 For the Year 1937. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
- ^ "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7500 - 8000". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Cover versions of Nice Work if You Can Get It by Fred Astaire with Ray Noble and His Orchestra | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ Fred Astaire With Ray Noble And His Orchestra – Things Are Looking Up / Nice Work If You Can Get It (1937, Shellac), retrieved 2021-08-04
- ^ a b "Nice Work If You Can Get It". Jazz Standards. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 295–297. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 558. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ "A Swingin' Affair!". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ Everett, Todd (July 26, 1995). "Cybill Shepherd". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
