East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
Encyclopedia
"East of the Sun" is a popular
song written by Brooks Bowman
, an undergraduate member of Princeton University
's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club
's production of Stags at Bay. It was published in 1934
and soon became a signature song of the Princeton Nassoons, Princeton University's oldest a cappella
group.
"East of the Sun" was first recorded by Hal Kemp for Brunswick Records on Dec. 1, 1934. Soon after their founding in the late 1930s, the Princeton Nassoons adopted an arrangement as one of their signature pieces, and have recorded it on many albums including one as recently as 2010.
Since the 1950s the song has become a popular staple of many jazz musicians.
Lyrics
East of the sun and west of the moon,
We'll build a dream house of love
Near to the sun in a day
near to the moon at night,
We'll live in a lovely way dear
Living our love in memory
Just you and I, forever and a day,
Love will not die, we'll keep it that way,
Up among the stars we'll find
A harmony of life, too lovely tune
East of the sun and west of the moon, dear,
East of the sun and west of the moon.
Just you and I we'll build a dream house so lovely
on September 22, 1935 according to CD jacket of ASV Living Era Hits of '35, CD AJA 5185.
Sarah Vaughan
recorded it in a 1949 Columbia
session for the album Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi
.
Charlie Parker
recorded it as early as 1952
; it is featured on numerous albums, including two renditions on The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Date 1952.
Stan Getz
recorded it in 1955
, and it was featured as the first track on his seminal double album The West Coast Jazz
.
One of the most popular recordings was by Louis Armstrong
, featured in his 1957
double-album I've Got the World on a String
.
Keely Smith
recorded it in 1958 for her Capital album, Politely with Billy May
& His Orchestra.
Lee Wiley
recorded it for "West of the Moon" (1958).
Ella Fitzgerald
included this on her 1959 Verve
release Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
with the Frank DeVol Orchestra and Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet.
Frank Sinatra
recorded it on I Remember Tommy
(1961).
Ellis Marsalis
Recorded the song in the Wynton Marsalis album of 1991, Standard Time Vol. 2.
Tony Bennett
recorded the song on his 1992 tribute to Sinatra Perfectly Frank
.
Betty Carter
recorded the song on her 1996
album I'm Yours, You're Mine
.
Diana Krall
recorded the song on her album When I Look in Your Eyes
(1999) and again on Live in Paris
(2002).
Other versions recorded include: Guy Mitchell
, Billie Holiday
, Tommy Dorsey
, George Shearing
, Dakota Staton
, Lester Young
, Scott Hamilton
(1993), Stacey Kent
(1998), Sonny and Perley (1999), Alexis Cole
(2005), Rebecca Parris
(2007), and Joshua Redman
(2007).
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song written by Brooks Bowman
Brooks Bowman
Brooks Bowman composed the song "East of the Sun " which has become a jazz standard....
, an undergraduate member of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club
Princeton Triangle Club
The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest touring collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the United States, and the only co-ed collegiate troupe that takes an original student-written musical on a national tour every year...
's production of Stags at Bay. It was published in 1934
1934 in music
-Events:*March 12 - the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler given the world premiere of Paul Hindemith's symphony Mathis der Maler in Berlin.*May 28 - The Glyndebourne festival is inaugurated....
and soon became a signature song of the Princeton Nassoons, Princeton University's oldest a cappella
Collegiate a cappella
Collegiate a cappella ensembles are student-run and -directed singing groups that perform entirely without instruments. Such groups can be found at many colleges and universities in the United States, and increasingly worldwide....
group.
"East of the Sun" was first recorded by Hal Kemp for Brunswick Records on Dec. 1, 1934. Soon after their founding in the late 1930s, the Princeton Nassoons adopted an arrangement as one of their signature pieces, and have recorded it on many albums including one as recently as 2010.
Since the 1950s the song has become a popular staple of many jazz musicians.
Lyrics
East of the sun and west of the moon,
We'll build a dream house of love
Near to the sun in a day
near to the moon at night,
We'll live in a lovely way dear
Living our love in memory
Just you and I, forever and a day,
Love will not die, we'll keep it that way,
Up among the stars we'll find
A harmony of life, too lovely tune
East of the sun and west of the moon, dear,
East of the sun and west of the moon.
Just you and I we'll build a dream house so lovely
Recorded Versions
One of the first recordings was by Arthur TracyArthur Tracy
Arthur Tracy was an American vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s...
on September 22, 1935 according to CD jacket of ASV Living Era Hits of '35, CD AJA 5185.
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
recorded it in a 1949 Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
session for the album Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi
Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi
Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi is a compilation album by Sarah Vaughan released in 1950 and recorded from December 21, 1949 through January 5, 1953.-Track listing:#"East of the Sun " – 3:06...
.
Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
recorded it as early as 1952
1952 in music
-Events:*February 26 - Jo Stafford marries bandleader/arranger Paul Weston.*March 21 - First reported Rock and roll riot breaks out at Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio...
; it is featured on numerous albums, including two renditions on The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Date 1952.
Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
recorded it in 1955
1955 in music
-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
, and it was featured as the first track on his seminal double album The West Coast Jazz
West coast jazz
West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...
.
One of the most popular recordings was by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, featured in his 1957
1957 in music
-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....
double-album I've Got the World on a String
I've Got the World on a String
"I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the 1932 Cotton Club Parade....
.
Keely Smith
Keely Smith
Keely Smith is an American jazz and popular music singer who enjoyed popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. She collaborated with, among others, Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
recorded it in 1958 for her Capital album, Politely with Billy May
Billy May
William E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
& His Orchestra.
Lee Wiley
Lee Wiley
Lee Wiley was an American jazz singer popular in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.Wiley was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. While still in her early teens, she left home to pursue a singing career with the Leo Reisman band. Her career was temporarily interrupted by a fall while horseback riding...
recorded it for "West of the Moon" (1958).
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
included this on her 1959 Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
release Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers is a 1959 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, recorded with a studio Orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol....
with the Frank DeVol Orchestra and Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet.
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded it on I Remember Tommy
I Remember Tommy
I Remember Tommy... is an album by Frank Sinatra, released in 1961. It was recorded as a tribute to bandleader Tommy Dorsey, and consists of re-recorded versions of songs that Sinatra had first performed or recorded with Dorsey earlier in his career...
(1961).
Ellis Marsalis
Ellis Marsalis
Ellis Marsalis is the name of two people, father and son:*Ellis Marsalis, Sr., New Orleans, Louisiana businessman*Ellis Marsalis, Jr., jazz pianist...
Recorded the song in the Wynton Marsalis album of 1991, Standard Time Vol. 2.
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
recorded the song on his 1992 tribute to Sinatra Perfectly Frank
Perfectly Frank
Perfectly Frank is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 1992, recorded as a tribute to Frank Sinatra.Part of Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success, it achieved gold record status in the United States and in 1993 won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.In...
.
Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
recorded the song on her 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
album I'm Yours, You're Mine
I'm Yours, You're Mine
I'm Yours, You're Mine is a 1996 album by the American jazz singer Betty Carter.This was the last album that Carter recorded before her death, three years later.-Track listing:For the 1996 Verve CD, 559 623-2.#"This Time" – 7:43...
.
Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
recorded the song on her album When I Look in Your Eyes
When I Look in Your Eyes
When I Look in Your Eyes is the fifth album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1999 . It was nominated for Album of the Year, the first time in 25 years that a jazz album was nominated for the most coveted prize of the night, and won two awards for Best Jazz Vocal and...
(1999) and again on Live in Paris
Live in Paris
Live in Paris is the first DVD and live album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2002 it was filmed during Krall's sold-out concert at Paris's Olympia on November 29 - December 2, 2001 and includes songs from her multi-platinum albums Only Trust Your Heart, All for...
(2002).
Other versions recorded include: Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
, George Shearing
George Shearing
Sir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
, Dakota Staton
Dakota Staton
Dakota Staton , also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period, was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No...
, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton (musician)
Scott Hamilton is a jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1954 and associated with swing and mainstream jazz.-Biography:He emerged in the 1970s and at the time he was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of...
(1993), Stacey Kent
Stacey Kent
Stacey Kent is a Grammy nominated American jazz singer.- Background :Kent attended Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey. Her paternal grandfather was Russian. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and moved to England after her graduation...
(1998), Sonny and Perley (1999), Alexis Cole
Alexis Cole
Alexis Cole is a New York City-based jazz vocalist with five albums to her credit. She has performed at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola , Smoke, The Oak Room, and The Kitano, among others...
(2005), Rebecca Parris
Rebecca Parris
Rebecca Parris is an American jazz singer. Parris has made guest appearances with many top musicians , performed at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in '90 & '95, North Sea Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival and of course the ever-so-hip International...
(2007), and Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who records for Nonesuch Records. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991.-Biography:...
(2007).