50 years ago: Marion Harris hit #1 with “Tea for Two”

Tea for Two Marion Harris

Writer(s):Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 24, 1925 Peak: 13 US, 3 GA, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US (sheet music sales) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.05 video, -- streaming

Awards (Marion Harris) Awards (Art Tatum):

About the Song: This “charming boy/girl duet” LW was introduced by Louise Groody and John Barker in the Broadway musical comedy No, No, Nanette. JA The score was generally regarded as the best of composer Vincent Youman’s short career. He died from tuberculosis at 48. LW Meanwhile, lyricist Irving Caesar “demonstrates all the hallmarks of Tin Pan Alley craftsmanship, artfully simple and pleasingly full of rhymes and alliterations.” LW He was “the archetypical Tin Pan Alley cigar chomping, wisecracking showman” LW with more than a 1000 songs to his name upon his death at age 101 in 1996. The lyrics, which were dashed off in 5 minutes, were intended to be temporary, but were never changed. TY Marion Harris had the first charted version, taking it to #1 in 1925. That same year, the Benson Orchestra of Chicago landed at #5 with their instrumental version while Ben Bernie also had a top ten hit with the song. PM Other charted versions came from the Ipana Troubadours (#15, 1930) and Teddy Wilson (#18, 1937). PM Warren Covington had a million-selling cha-cha version with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (“Tea for Two Cha Cha,” #7, 1958). TY The song “is one of the most recorded standards of Tin Pan Alley,” JA having been covered by musicians as diverse as Russian classical composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who adapted the tune as “Tahiti Trot” in 1928, LW and jazz pianist Art Tatum (#18, 1939) whose instrumental version is “a masterclass in piano virtuosity.” LW Jazz musicians have particularly responded to the song because “the complex harmonic construction of the melody gives great scope for improvisation.” LW Tatum had played the song for years, even predating his initial 1933 recording of it at his debut solo recording session. Fellow musician Fats Waller once stopped in the middle of playing at New York Club when Art Tatum entered and announced, “I play piano, but God is in the house tonight!” SS Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marion Harris DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fats Waller DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Irving Caesar JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 189. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 50. PM Record Research’s Pop Memories 1890-1954 (1986). By Joel Whitburn. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 590. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 598. TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 132. Last updated 11/23/2022.