Some of These Days
Encyclopedia
"Some of These Days" is a popular
song
published in 1910
associated with Sophie Tucker
.
for the “Last of the Red-Hot Mamas”, "Some of These Days" became a signature song for Sophie Tucker
, who made the first of her several recordings of it in 1911. Ted Lewis
and his band backed Sophie Tucker
on her classic, million-selling 1926 recording that stayed in the #1 position on the charts for five weeks beginning November 23, 1926, and re-affirmed her lasting association with the song.
The song has been recorded many other artists, including Louis Armstrong
, Elkie Brooks
, Cab Calloway
, Bobby Darin
, Andrew Bird
, Judy Garland
, Susan Maughan
, the McGuire Sisters
, the Original Dixieland Jass Band
, Sue Raney
and Serena Ryder
.
Ella Fitzgerald
recorded this song on the CBS release "Ella Fitzgerald at the Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall
".
(1928), the first "all talking" motion picture, being one of several songs played by the house band of the nightclub where the film is set. Sophie Tucker herself sang "Some of These Days" in character as a nightclub singer in the 1929 film Honky Tonk
with reprise performances (as herself) in Broadway Melody of 1938
and Follow the Boys
(1944).
Other films to feature the song include Scarface
and Three on a Match
both 1932 releases and both featuring actress Ann Dvorak
dancing to the song: in Scarface the song is played in a nightclub by Gus Arnheim
's band while in Three on a Match Dvorak dances while actor Harry Seymour plays "Some of These Days" on a piano.
In the 1936 version of Rose-Marie
Jeanette MacDonald
as the title character attempts a lyric soprano rendition of "Some of These Days" in a Klondike
café whose regular vocalist (Gilda Gray
) upstages McDonald with an earthy performance of the song. "Some of These Days" was also featured in the 1939 release Only Angels Have Wings in which Jean Arthur
plays the song on the piano in a cantina
.
Other soundtrack appearances of the song include:
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
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
published in 1910
1910 in music
-Events:*March 19 - Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 1 is premiered in Budapest*June 25 - Igor Stravinsky's ballet, The Firebird, is premiered in Paris*September 12 - Gustav Mahler's Symphony No...
associated with Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
.
Background
Originally written and composed by Shelton BrooksShelton Brooks
Shelton Brooks was a popular music and jazz composer who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century.Brooks was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada...
for the “Last of the Red-Hot Mamas”, "Some of These Days" became a signature song for Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
, who made the first of her several recordings of it in 1911. Ted Lewis
Ted Lewis (musician)
Theodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis , was an American entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr...
and his band backed Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
on her classic, million-selling 1926 recording that stayed in the #1 position on the charts for five weeks beginning November 23, 1926, and re-affirmed her lasting association with the song.
The song has been recorded many other artists, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Susan Maughan
Susan Maughan
Susan Maughan is an English singer who released successful singles in the 1960s.-Career:...
, the McGuire Sisters
The McGuire Sisters
The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters: Christine McGuire , Dorothy McGuire , and Phyllis McGuire...
, the Original Dixieland Jass Band
Original Dixieland Jass Band
The Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
, Sue Raney
Sue Raney
Sue Raney is an American jazz singer. Signed by Capitol Records at the age of seventeen, her debut album, the Nelson Riddle-produced When Your Lover Has Gone, was released in 1958. Raney begin singing at only four years of age, and encouraged by her mother, began working as a professional before...
and Serena Ryder
Serena Ryder
Serena Ryder is a Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter raised in Millbrook, Ontario.Ranging musically between folk, roots, country, and adult contemporary music, Ryder possesses a five-octave range...
.
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...
recorded this song on the CBS release "Ella Fitzgerald at the Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall
Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall
Ella Fitzgerald at the Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall is a 1973 live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a reconstructed Chick Webb Band, the pianist Ellis Larkins, and for the second half of the album, the Tommy Flanagan Quartet .This was a historic...
".
Appearances in film
"Some of These Days" made the first of many movie soundtrack appearances in Lights of New YorkLights of New York (1928 film)
Lights of New York was the first all-talking feature film, released by Warner Brothers and directed by Bryan Foy. The film, which cost only $23,000 to produce, grossed over $1,000,000. It was also the first film to define the crime genre...
(1928), the first "all talking" motion picture, being one of several songs played by the house band of the nightclub where the film is set. Sophie Tucker herself sang "Some of These Days" in character as a nightclub singer in the 1929 film Honky Tonk
Honky Tonk (1929 film)
Honky Tonk is a 1929 American musical film starring Sophie Tucker in her film debut. The film was a flop when released and is now lost, although the soundtrack for the trailer still exists...
with reprise performances (as herself) in Broadway Melody of 1938
Broadway Melody of 1938
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 musical film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition...
and Follow the Boys
Follow the Boys
Follow the Boys , also known as Three Cheers for the Boys, is a musical film made by Universal Pictures as an all-star cast morale booster to entertain the troops abroad and the civilians at home. The film was directed by A. Edward "Eddie" Sutherland and produced by Charles K. Feldman...
(1944).
Other films to feature the song include Scarface
Scarface (1932 film)
Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
and Three on a Match
Three on a Match
Three on a Match is a Warner Bros. drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. The film also features Warren William, Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart , Allen Jenkins and Edward Arnold.-Plot:Three friends from childhood, Mary , Ruth , and Vivian , meet...
both 1932 releases and both featuring actress Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak was an American film actress.Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent...
dancing to the song: in Scarface the song is played in a nightclub by Gus Arnheim
Gus Arnheim
Gus Arnheim was an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s...
's band while in Three on a Match Dvorak dances while actor Harry Seymour plays "Some of These Days" on a piano.
In the 1936 version of Rose-Marie
Rose Marie (films)
The 1924 Broadway musical Rose-Marie has been the basis of three MGM films of the same title. The best-known film adaptation was released in 1936; however, a silent version was released in 1928 and another film was released in 1954. All three versions are set in the Canadian wilderness...
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
as the title character attempts a lyric soprano rendition of "Some of These Days" in a Klondike
Klondike
-Canada:* Klondike, Yukon, a region in the Yukon** Klondike River, in the Yukon** Klondike Gold Rush, in the Yukon-United States:* Klondike, Maryland* Klondike, Texas* Klondike, Louisville, Kentucky* Klondike, Kenosha County, Wisconsin...
café whose regular vocalist (Gilda Gray
Gilda Gray
Gilda Gray was a Polish born American actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "shimmy" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions....
) upstages McDonald with an earthy performance of the song. "Some of These Days" was also featured in the 1939 release Only Angels Have Wings in which Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
plays the song on the piano in a cantina
Cantina
Cantina is a word that can refer to various places and establishments. It is similar in etymology to "canteen", and is derived from the Italian word for a cellar, winery, or vault.Cantinas are found in many towns of Italy...
.
Other soundtrack appearances of the song include:
- Leland PalmerLeland PalmerLeland Palmer is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He also appears in the prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me....
, Ann ReinkingAnn ReinkingAnn Reinking is an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.-Biography:...
and Erzsebet FoldiErzsebet FoldiErzsebet Foldi is an American dancer and actress, best known for her role as Michelle Gideon in All That Jazz . In the 1980s, Foldi became a member of the Twyla Tharp Dance company, and was in the 1986 premiere of the piece "In the Upper Room", which is still being performed.According to the...
perform the song in the film All That JazzAll That JazzAll That Jazz is a 1979 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur and Fosse is a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of Fosse's life and career as dancer, choreographer and director. The film was inspired by Bob Fosse's manic effort to edit his...
(1979).
- Cab Calloway's recording appears on the soundtrack of Forbidden ZoneForbidden ZoneForbidden Zone is a 1982 musical comedy film based upon the stage performances of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The film stars Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell and members of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, and features appearances by Warhol Superstar Viva, Joe Spinell and The...
(1980), with Oingo BoingoOingo BoingoOingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
member Gene Cunningham in the role of Papa Hercules lip synching Calloway's vocals.
- Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, playing Bobby DarinBobby DarinBobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, performs the song over the closing credits of the film Beyond the SeaBeyond the Sea (film)Beyond the Sea is a 2004 biographical film based on the life of singer/actor Bobby Darin. Kevin Spacey, who stars in the lead role and used his own singing voice for the musical numbers, co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from the Darin song of the same name...
(2004).
- The HBO original series Boardwalk Empire used this song in its first episode as well as the episode "Belle Femme", Season 1, Episode 9.
Appearances in fiction
- The song, or a particular recording of it, is a recurrent theme in Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's 1938 novel Nausea. - In the 1920-set HBO drama, Boardwalk Empire, the 1911 version of the song by Sophie TuckerSophie TuckerSophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
is played in the pilot episodeBoardwalk Empire (episode)"Boardwalk Empire" is the first episode and the series premiere of the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire. Based upon Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson, the episode was written by creator Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese, both of...
. In the ninth episode, Sophie Tucker appears as a character (played by Kathy BrierKathy BrierKathy Brier is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Brier grew up on Staten Island, where she attended Moore Catholic High School before studying theatre and business at Wagner College, qualifying for a Bachelor of Science in arts administration.-Career:Brier played the role of Marcie Walsh...
) in a Cabaret show and sings the song.