Overview
As we saw in earlier lessons, solo singers became increasingly important during the 1930s. Singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby built long, successful careers with their interpretations of jazz and Broadway standards. More and more singers followed in this mold in the 1940s and early 1950s, including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Patti Page, and Doris Day. Singing groups were common as well, such as the Ink Spots and the Boswell Sisters. Although many singers began in the Broadway or big band mold, many branched out into covers of all types of tunes from a variety of genres.
Objectives
- Examine a number of popular singers and singing groups from the 1940s and 1950s
- Examine how each singer or group offered a unique perspective for the interpretation of standard tunes
- Recognize the different interpretations of the same standard
- Examine how each artist was able to create an identity while performing much of the same repertory
Perry Como
Pierino Como was born in 1913 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He worked as a barber after he graduated from high school, then he auditioned for Freddie Carlone’s band. He stayed with the band for three years, but then he joined the Ted Weems Orchestra in 1937. When Ted Weems was drafted into World War II, Como went back to Pennsylvania to resume his career as a barber, but not for long. Victor Records offered him a demo record, and "Goodbye Sue ♫" (1943) became the first in a long line of hits. Especially memorable were his treatments of songs such as "Prisoner of Love ♫," "Long Ago and Far Away ♫," and "I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now ♫." From 1944 to 1958, Perry Como had 42 songs in the Top Ten. He had his own television show for eight years, and he enjoyed a reputation as one of the most highly respected singers in pop music history.
Como’s recording of "Some Enchanted Evening ♫" is a quintessential example of the type of pop song that ruled the charts in the 1940s and 1950s. "Some Enchanted Evening ♫" is a standard, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for their 1949 musical South Pacific. Como’s was the first commercial recording of "Some Enchanted Evening ♫" to appear (after the original Broadway cast recording), and it was then covered by Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Barbra Streisand, The Temptations, Art Garfunkel, and Harry Connick, Jr., to name a few.
A lush, romantic string opening, complete with harp, sets the stage for Como’s wistful, yearning interpretation of the song. Like many tunes from Broadway musicals, "Some Enchanted Evening ♫" is in 32-bar song form. Although the A section is heard three times during the song, Como never performs an A section the same way twice. Each repetition has a different inflection and a new perspective.
