Thou Swell

"Thou Swell"
"Thou Swell"
Song
Published	1927
Composer	Richard Rodgers
Lyricist	Lorenz Hart

"Thou Swell" is a 1927 show tune in popular-song style that became a jazz standard.

History

The music was written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart, for the 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee. As indicated by its title, it mixes archaic English and modern slang as the story takes place in both contemporary times and in King Arthur's court.

Recordings

An early recorded version conducted by Ben Selvin (Columbia 1928) featured The Broadway Nitelites with Franklyn Baur on vocals.
Blossom Dearie – Blossom Dearie (1957)
The Supremes – The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart (1967)
There are many other popular and jazz vocal renditions including those by Nat King Cole (and later Natalie Cole), Bing Crosby for his 1976 album At My Time of Life, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Eydie Gormé, Ella Fitzgerald, Rita Reys, and Joe Williams.
Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Harry James, J.J.Johnson and Billy May all recorded instrumental versions.
In Words and Music (1948), an MGM Technicolor biopic about Rodgers and Hart, June Allyson sings and dances to Thou Swell with twin "knights" in a medieval-style setting.
An instrumental version was recorded April 29, 1954 in Oslo on the 78 rpm record Musica RA-9005 with "Perdido" on the B side. The record featured "Verden Rundt's" All Star Band with Rowland Greenberg, trumpet; A. Skjold, trombone; K. Stokke, alto sax; K. Bergheim, tenor sax; Knut Hyrum, baritone sax; I. Børsum, bass; Scott Lunde, piano; and K. O. Hoff, drums. Music was arranged and conducted by Egil Monn-Iversen.

Popular culture

A piano instrumental is featured in All About Eve (1950) at the party when Margo tells her friends to "fasten their seat belts."

References

↑ "Thou Swell (1927)". jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
↑ "www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
↑ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

External links

Lyrics at LorenzHart.org

This pop standards-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] "Thou Swell (1927)". jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 4 December 2017.

[2] "www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

[3] "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

v t e Rodgers and Hart
Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart
Stage musicals	Fly with Me (1920) Poor Little Ritz Girl (1920) The Garrick Gaieties (1925) Dearest Enemy (1925) The Girl Friend (1926) Peggy-Ann (1926) A Connecticut Yankee Present Arms (1927) Chee-Chee (1928) Ever Green (1930) Simple Simon (1930) America's Sweetheart (1931) Jumbo (1935) On Your Toes (1936) Babes in Arms (1937) I'd Rather Be Right (1937) The Boys from Syracuse (1938) I Married an Angel (1938) Too Many Girls (1939) Higher and Higher (1940) Pal Joey (1940) By Jupiter (1942)
Musical films	Evergreen (1934) Babes in Arms (1939) The Boys from Syracuse (1940) Too Many Girls (1940) Higher and Higher (1944) Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)
Songs	"Manhattan" "Mountain Greenery" "Here in My Arms" "Blue Room" "My Heart Stood Still" "Thou Swell" "To Keep My Love Alive" "You Took Advantage of Me" "With a Song in My Heart" "A Ship Without a Sail" "Dancing on the Ceiling" "Ten Cents a Dance" "He Was Too Good to Me" "I've Got Five Dollars" "Isn't It Romantic?" "Lover" "Mimi" "You Are Too Beautiful" "Blue Moon" "It's Easy to Remember (And So Hard to Forget)" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" "My Romance" "Little Girl Blue" "There's a Small Hotel" "Glad to Be Unhappy" "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" "Where or When" "I Wish I Were in Love Again" "My Funny Valentine" "Johnny One Note" "The Lady Is a Tramp" "Have You Met Miss Jones?" "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" "Spring Is Here" "Falling in Love with Love" "This Can't Be Love" "Sing for Your Supper" "I Like to Recognize the Tune" "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" "Give It Back to the Indians" "You're Nearer" "It Never Entered My Mind" "I Could Write a Book" "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" "Ev'rything I've Got" "Wait till You See Her"
Soundtracks	Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

v t e Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Films	A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921 silent) A Connecticut Yankee (1931) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) Knight-mare Hare (1955) Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979) New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1988) A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) A Knight in Camelot (1998)
Musical	A Connecticut Yankee "To Keep My Love Alive" "Thou Swell" "My Heart Stood Still"
Other	"The Once and Future Duck"