Body and Soul (song)

"Body and Soul" is a popular song written in 1930 with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton; and music by Johnny Green.

History

"Body and Soul" was written in London for Gertrude Lawrence and was first recorded by Jack Hylton and his orchestra.^[1] Rising quickly to popularity, Libby Holman introduced it in the U.S. in the 1930 Broadway revue Three's a Crowd and it was used as the theme to the 1947 film, Body and Soul.^[1] Like many pop songs of the time, it became a jazz standard, with hundreds of versions performed and recorded by dozens of artists. As with many pop standards, there are variations on the lyrics, primarily between renditions by male and female performers. Classic vocal recordings include those of Ella Fitzgerald, Annette Hanshaw, Billie Holiday Billy Eckstine and Frank Sinatra.

Among the most famous of these is the take recorded by Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra on October 11, 1939, at their only recording session for Bluebird, a subsidiary of RCA Victor. The recording is unusual in that the song's melody is never directly stated in the recording; Hawkins' two-choruses of improvisation on the tune's chord progression constitute almost the entire take.^[2] In 2004, the Library of Congress entered it into the National Recording Registry.^[3][4]

The tune remained popular with jazz musicians throughout the twentieth century, with arrangements recorded by John Coltrane on Coltrane's Sound (1964) and Charles Mingus on Mingus Plays Piano (1963), to name a few.

Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse duet

"Body and Soul" was recorded as a duet by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011.^[5] It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. The single was released worldwide on September 14, 2011 on iTunes, MTV and VH1.

To commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday, her father, Mitch Winehouse launched the Amy Winehouse Foundation. The foundation's goal is to raise awareness and support for organizations that help vulnerable, young adults with problems such as addiction. Proceeds from "Body and Soul" will go to benefit The Amy Winehouse Foundation. The song received a Nomination in 54th Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, during the Grammy announcements on November 30, 2011.

Music video

A music video was uploaded to Tony Bennett's YouTube channel on September 14, 2011. The video shows Winehouse and Bennett in the studio performing the song. It had over 2 million views in its first 4 days on YouTube.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards