Body and Soul - Emily Galvin

Body and Soul

“Body and Soul” is a 1930 jazz standard written by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton, with music by Johnny Green. It was originally written for Gertrude Lawrence in London but was first introduced to the U.S. by Libby Holman in the 1930 Broadway revue Three’s a Crowd.¹ The song has been extremely influential in the popular culture world, contributing to the attitude that Fats Waller described as this: “If you have to ask, you’ll never understand it.”² Perhaps accurately described, the number of musicians that rerecorded this tune, among many others, seemed to understand the swing era. As the track became more and more popular among recording artists, eventually becoming the most recorded jazz standard¹, it evolved into a leading track among the post-Depression jazz trends that were commonly associated with political discources. Coleman Hawkins’ interpretation of the piece became one of the most famous recordings, ironically, because he essentially improvised the melody, only sticking to the original chord progression, and merely ‘hinted’ at the original melody.³ Many classic artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, and Coleman Hawkins, recorded “Body and Soul” following its original release.

Above is an audio clip of Coleman Hawkins' only recording session of "Body and Soul" on October 11, 1939.

Above is an audio clip of Libby Holman's recording of "Body and Soul" from the Broadway revue Three's a Crowd, which brought the song fame in the U.S.

Below is the music video of a duet cover of Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett performing “Body and Soul”. It was recorded in March of 2011 and, tragically, was the last one made by Amy Winehouse before her death a few months later in July. It was released on what would have been her 28^th birthday, on September 14^th, 2011.  For this reason, the song touched people all over the world and really emphasized the desperation in the lyrics, “You know I’m yours / For just the taking / I’d gladly surrender / Myself to you / Body and soul,” and the desperation in Amy’s life before her death.  The proceeds of the song now benefit The Amy Winehouse Foundation, whose aim is to raise awareness for young adults who struggle with addiction.¹

^{"Body and Soul" is a song that holds enough significance in its music and lyrics to carry itself thorughout the decades. Its desperation reflects the feelings of the time during the Great Depression and is strong enough to contain the desperation all the way up to the death of Amy Winehouse.}

^{- Emily Galvin -}

Works cited:

Bakan, Jonathon. "Jazz and the "Popular Front": "Swing" Musicians and the Left-Wing Movement of the 1930s-40s." Jazz Perspectives 3.1 (2009): n. pag. Taylor & Francis Online. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.

"Body and Soul (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., 5 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_and_Soul_(song)Young, William H., and Nancy K. 

Young.Music of the Great Depression. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Print.