My Funny Valentine

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"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms. It is now considered a jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed by over 600 artists.

Babes in Arms opened at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway, in New York, New York on April 14, 1937 and ran for 289 performances. In the original play, a character named Billie Smith (played by Mitzi Green) sings the song to Valentine "Val" LaMar (played by Ray Heatherton).[1]

Contents

[edit] Funny again

The first recorded version of the song to make the charts was by Hal McIntyre with vocals by Ruth Gaylor in 1945. It only appeared for one week and hit #16.

The song reemerged in the 1950s and was performed by most of the great jazz musicians and popular vocalists of the time including: Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Tony Bennett, Ben Webster, Buddy Rich, Anita O'Day, Mel Tormé, Sammy Davis, Jr., and many others.

The song made it to the top of the charts when Chet Baker released a very popular and influential version (released on the album My Funny Valentine / Blue Note Records). His soft, delicate and serene delivery introduced the world to Chet Baker's singing skills (he was previously known only for his trumpeting skills, also displayed on this recording). Baker is still associated more with "My Funny Valentine" than with any other of the long list of songs he recorded.

Baker's version of the song leaves out the introductory verse and begins with the chorus ("My funny Valentine, sweet comic valentine"). As a result, many subsequent version also skip the verse. The most notable exception to this rule are songs recorded from the many performances of the musicals Babes in Arms and (in the film version) Pal Joey. (The verse is clearly a female voice speaking about her man, giving male singers an additional reason to omit it.)

The B-section, or bridge, is a good example of the quirky approach of lyricist Hart. It begins with a series of accusatory, even rude questions that one wouldn't necessarily expect in a romantic tune. It quickly apologizes for the odd questions with assurances, and then ends with the romantic sentiments of the last two verses.

[edit] Notable performances

The song is considered part of the Great American Songbook and has had many notable performances, including:

[edit] Movie performances

[edit] Structure

The basic structure of the song is as follows:

  • 8 bars of A
  • 8 bars of A'
  • 8 bars of B
  • 12 bars of A

This simple and classic structure makes it easy to adapt to other genres, and for jazz musicians to improvise over the established chords.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The 30 Rock episode "Black Tie" which aired February 2, 2007 features the song "My Funny Valentine" in a scene where Gerhardt Hapsburg commits suicide.
  • Session 15 of the popular anime series Cowboy Bebop is named after the song, revealing that it also what gave the character Faye Valentine her name.
  • A Full House episode, "Joey's Funny Valentine", is named after this song.
  • A movie was released in 2005 named Funny Valentine
  • The song is featured in the pilot of the television series John Doe, played on piano by the main character.
  • "My Funny Valentine" is featured in an episode of Friends, on a mixtape.
  • Late R&B singer Aaliyah sang the song in the television talent contest Star Search.
  • Terrence 'T.C.' Carson performed his rendition of the song on an episode of Living Single.
  • In a TAI TV episode, William Beckett was heard singing some of this song while in the shower.
  • Bruce Springsteen inverts the chord progression of "My Funny Valentine" on the song "Valentine's Day" off his album Tunnel of Love.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Playbill from 1937 Babes in Arms theatrical performance

[edit] Recommended reading

  • The chapter "My Funny Valentine" in the book Stardust Memories: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs by Will Friedwald (New York: Pantheon Books, 2002).

[edit] External links