50 years ago: “Cheek to Cheek” hit #1 for first of 11 weeks

Cheek to Cheek Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 3, 1935 Peak: 111 US, 15 HP, 14 GA, 18 SM, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.81 video, 10.93 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

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Awards (Ella & Louis version): Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Many of the era’s top songwriters worked with Astaire, smitten by “his debonair touch with a song” TM and dance numbers, usually with Ginger Rogers, which rank “among the most powerful expressions of courtship, love and loss in screen history.” TM Over the years, composer Irving Berlin crafted thirteen songs which landed in Astaire movies – all of which peaked at #15 or higher. “Cheek to Cheek,” which Berlin wrote in a day, was one of three to hit #1. TM It wasn’t just any #1, though; it “became one of Berlin’s greatest commercial successes,” TY1 spending more weeks atop the pop charts than any other song from 1935. CPM Berlin used Astaire’s “frail-but-convincing tenor” TM to his advantage writing lines like “And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak” to accompany a melody which jumped up to a note Astaire could barely sing. TM The dance sequence for the song became he and Ginger Rogers’ “most famous romantic duet,” but it was not without problems. SB When Astaire sang and danced to it in the 1935 film Top Hat, Rogers wore a gown covered with ostrich feathers which, to Astaire’s horror, shed with every dance movement.” SB He later said, “It was like a chicken attacked by a coyote, I never saw so many feathers in my life.” SB Despite Astaire’s reaction, Rogers was determined to wear the dress. Seamstresses were able to largely resolve the problem in time for another shoot the next day, but some hard feelings lingered. Astaire and Hermes Pan, the film’s choreographer, “serenaded Rogers with a parody of the song: ‘Feathers – I hate feathers/ And I hate them so that I can hardly speak/ And I never find the happiness I seek/ With those chicken feathers dancing/ Cheek to Cheek.’” SB Astaire later gave Rogers a small gold feather for her charm bracelet as well as a note saying, “Dear Feathers, I love ya! Fred.” SB “Cheek to Cheek” garnered an Academy Award nomination for best song. Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, and Doris Day recorded the song as well. MM It also became a jazz standard being recorded by notables such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Resources: MM Max Morath (2002). The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards. New York, NY; Penguin Putnam Inc. Page 154. SB Songbook blog TM Time magazine (10/24/2011). “All Time 100 Songs” CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 52. Related Links: First posted 7/30/2014; last updated 3/20/2023.

50 years ago: Fred Astaire hit #1 with Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” for first of 10 weeks

Night and Day Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra

Writer(s): Cole Porter (see lyrics here) First Charted: December 17, 1932 Peak: 110 US, 11 GA, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.36 video, -- streaming

Awards (Fred Astaire): Click on award for more details. Awards (Ella Fitzgerald): Awards (U2):

About the Song: When it comes to standards, “Night and Day” stands second only to “Star Dust”. MM Cole Porter, whose name is “almost a generic term for witty show songs,” LW wrote what has been called “one of the greatest love ballads ever written” NPR for the Broadway musical Gay Divorce. The song builds the melody by repeating the first note 32 times, followed by another 16 notes repeated at a half tone higher, followed by a return to the original note for another 16 beats. LW Porter has claimed the song was inspired by Moroccan Muslim calls to prayer; TY supposedly while visiting North Africa, he heard a priest wailing to his followers from the local mosque. LW Fred Astaire and Claire Luce sang it in the show and then for the 1934 film version Astaire reprised the number, singing and dancing with Ginger Rogers. JA Astaire’s recording of the song with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra was the first and most successful of seven charting versions between 1932 and 1946. PM It was the biggest hit of 1932. WHC Astaire was a popular choice for Tin Pan Alley songs, not just because he could deliver the box office goods, but because he sang songs as they were written. LW The song has also “held a strong position across the board in jazz” MM with wildly versatile versions by Benny Goodman (big band), Dave Brubeck (piano), Stan Getz (saxophone), and Django Reinhardt (guitar). MM Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and Sammy Davis, Jr. have also recorded vocal versions. MM One of the most interesting covers, though, was the version U2 did for the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue. Nearly sixty years after the song first charted, this Irish rock band took the Tin Pan Alley classic to #2 on the modern rock tracks chart and #34 on the album rock tracks chart. Resources: JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 145. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 68. MM Max Morath (2002). The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards. New York, NY; Penguin Putnam Inc. Page 178. NPR National Public Radio web site (1999). “The Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century” TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 65. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 558. WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 49. Related Links: First posted 12/24/2011; last updated 11/24/2022.