In this second article dedicated to jazz standards, I present you the most covered one of all times - “Body and Soul”, a composition written in 1930 by Johnny Green. Unlike some jazz songs that were written as music compositions at first, on which words were added later, the lyrics for “Body and Soul” were made simultaneously with the music, and their impact was as big as that of the score. They were signed by three co-authors: Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton, and are about loving someone unconditionally and not being loved back. According to Sour, Frank Eyton, “didn’t change a comma” of the lyrics, but he influenced British bands to play the song, and that’s how he got his name in the credits. “Body and Soul” was written together with three other songs for the British actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence, and being the most outstanding one of all, it is the only one remembered today. While Lawrence included the song in her live performances and even invested a small amount towards its publication, she never recorded “Body & Soul”, even after it became a hit. The song caught the attention of British bandleader Bert Ambrose when he heard Lawrence perform it on the radio. Ambrose was fascinated by the song, so he commissioned an arrangement in order to play it with his band the following night. However, it was Ambrose’s main rival, Jack Hylton, whose band made the first recording of “Body & Soul” on February 7, 1930. Ambrose followed with his own recording on February 22. Being highly competitive, Hylton went back into the studio on February 25 to record an entirely new “concert” arrangement. (On how the two bandleaders kept such close tabs on each other, one could only speculate, but the answer may have been with saxophonist Joe Crossman, who discographies say might have appeared on all three recordings.)
It was first performed in the U.S.A. by Libby Holman in the 1930 Broadway revue “Three's a Crowd”. Louis Armstrong was the first jazz musician to record "Body and Soul", in October 1930 but it was Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, with Jack Fulton as a vocalist, who popularized it in the U.S.A. Their recording hit the charts on October 11, 1930, and held the number one spot for six weeks. In the U.S.A., the tune grew quickly in popularity, and by the end of 1930, at least, eleven American bands had recorded it.
The composer, Johnny Green was not a jazz musician, but he knew and understood jazz, and he included several elements in "Body & Soul" which would appeal to jazz musicians throughout the years. "Body and Soul" remains a jazz standard, with hundreds of versions performed and recorded by dozens of artists. Classic vocal recordings include those of Ella Fitzgerald, Annette Hanshaw, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstine, Etta James, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra among others. Musicians such as Benny Goodman, Lee Konitz, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Stan Kenton, and Lester Young contributed notable instrumental recordings. To this day, "Body and Soul" is the most recorded jazz standard and one of the most beautiful and touching songs ever written.
Perhaps the most famous and influential version was Coleman Hawkins’, recorded with his orchestra on October 11, 1939. This take was unusual at the time because the melody is only hinted at in the recording; Hawkins' improvisation over the tune's chord progression constitute almost the entire take. Because of the imaginative use of harmony and break from traditional swing cliches, prominent in those times, the recording is regarded as part of the "early tremors of bebop".
Most recently, it was a huge hit and a Grammy Award winner for Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse. It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. A video appeared on Bennett's YouTube channel on September 14, 2011, showing Winehouse and Bennett in the studio performing the song. It had over 2 million views in its first four days on YouTube. As of now, the video has nearly 17 million views.
