Jerome Kern, Songwriter Supreme – Popular Music of the Twentieth Century

Jerome Kern wrote the music to some of the most beautiful music of the twenties and thirties. It’s hard to believe that songs of his that were popularized by Chet Baker in the 1950s, such as “Look for the Silver Lining” were actually written back in 1919.

Chet Baker’s version

Wonderful songs of Jerome Kern that come to mind (there are so many) include “The Way You Look Tonight”, “All the Things You Are”,  and  “A Fine Romance”.

Kern made history in 1927 with the Musical Showboat, which was unlike any musical before it.  The original performances were melodramatic, but full of romance and authenticity. One of my favorites is “Dat Man of Mine” (although others might choose “Old Man River”). Here it is from the movie with Ava Gardner.

Ava Gardner

Shirley Bassey in 1959 with verse

Billie Holiday

Although Jerome Kern was not the first to use the AABA conventional 32 bar structure to write a popular song, he turned it into a convention. One of my own Kern favorites in this structure, from 1932.

It’s from “Music In The Air” and is called, I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star.

A later pop version of “I’ve Told Every Little Star” is by Linda Scott

Much of early Jazz was in 2/4 oom-pah time in 1927, which suited the dances of the era. The move to the 4/4 feel of swing was around the corner. And which popular tune writer helped bring it on? None other than Jerome Kern.

from the 2/4 oom-pah oom-pah to the 4/4 dah-dat da-da-dat da da – dat da da groove that accompanied changes in dancing styles…

(e.g., from Charleston dance to lindy hop and other swing dances, for example).

This paved the way for swing, big bands and the songs that make up the spine of the “Great American Songbook.” No wonder that some of the best tunes are by Jerome Kern.

I was once told that he resented it when jazz musicians would improvise on his tunes. How ironic that is if it is true – jazz improvisers  have kept his music alive! And furthermore, he used jazz lines and harmonies to create his wonderful songs.

*From Wikipedia: Stepping Stones (1923, with Caldwell) was a success, and in 1924 the Princess Theatre team of Bolton, Wodehouse and Kern reunited to write Sitting Pretty, but it did not recapture the popularity of the earlier collaborations.^[24] Its relative failure may have been partly due to Kern’s growing aversion to having individual songs from his shows performed out of context on radio, in cabaret, or on record, although his chief objection was to jazz interpretations of his songs.^{[citation needed]} He called himself a “musical clothier – nothing more or less,” and said, “I write music to both the situations and the lyrics in plays.”^[1] When Sitting Pretty was produced, he forbade any broadcasting or recording of individual numbers from the show, which limited their chance to gain popularity.^[2]

Kern was nominated eight times (!) for the Academy Awards for his music, winning twice:

Academy Award for Best Original Song[edit]

• 1935 – Nominated for “Lovely to Look At” (lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh) from Roberta
• 1936 – Won for “The Way You Look Tonight” (lyrics by Dorothy Fields) from Swing Time
• 1941 – Won for “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from Lady Be Good
• 1942 – Nominated for “Dearly Beloved” (lyrics by Johnny Mercer) from You Were Never Lovelier.
• 1944 – Nominated for “Long Ago (and Far Away)” (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) from Cover Girl
• 1945 – Posthumously nominated for “More and More” (lyrics by E. Y. Harburg) from Can’t Help Singing
• 1946 – Posthumously nominated for “All Through the Day” (lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from Centennial Summer.

Kern’s tunes for the 1936 movie enabled Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to do their best ever tap dance moves.

And of course his song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”.  Do you remember the Platters’ cover?  I do. Here is their performance on the Ed Sullivan show on July 12^th, 1956 in New York (where else?).  Can you believe it was written in 1933? Can you believe that Kern’s widow hated the rendition so much she considered legal action (from WKP)?

If you like Jerome Kern, you’re going to love the Gershwins. Probably you do already!

my notes below:

Look for the silver lining – 1920, Kern

move from 2/4 to 4/4 had to do with changing dance fads.

Gene Lees wrote intro!!

he disses “Can’t help lovin’ dat man of mine”

showboat:  we can make believe – wow!

talking about AABA in old man river

There were few instances of it in any type of popular music until the late teens. And it didn’t become the principal form until 1925-1926. Connecting section of a song between the principal sections, or strains. Thus, in the most familiar song structure-A-A-B-A-the B section. 01′ Man River is

Alec Wilder. American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 (Kindle Locations 1327-1329). Kindle Edition.

The next year, for “Music In The Air” (‘932), Kern wrote a very dear song, I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star. It’s in the conventional A-A-B-A, B-A, thirty-two measure form, very simply designed, but containing, in the release, an unexpected interval, e flat, held for a full measure, as well as a startling drop of a seventh from the e flat to an f natural.

Alec Wilder. American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 (Kindle Locations 1405-1407). Kindle Edition.

Time” and in it a marvelous score for Fred Astaire which is clearly unmarked by any backward glance. A Fine Romance certainly sounds as if it had been written for only one person. But this may be hindsight, since once you’ve heard Astaire sing a song you can’t associate it with any other sing

There is a story to the effect that Kern was convinced that a song so complex could never be a hit, but that a moment after voicing this fear to a friend he heard a passing pedestrian whistling it (referring to “All the Things you are”. Well, it’s not a simple song. It starts simply enough, to be sure, but it soon becomes tricky.

Possibly the most well-known version of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” was recorded in 1958 by The Platters, for their album Remember When?. The group’s cover became a number one hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. In 1959 the version went on to peak at number three on the Rhythm and Blues chart.^[19] The song spent 20 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at Number 1 for one week on 20 March of that same year.^[20] The Platters’ producer, Buck Ram, reported that Harbach “congratulated Buck Ram and the Platters for reviving his song with taste.”^[18] Jerome Kern’s widow, on the other hand, disliked the recording so much she considered taking legal action to prevent its distribution.^[21]

Alec Wilder. American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 (Kindle Locations 1562-1563). Kindle Edition.