You Don't Know What Love Is
Encyclopedia
"You Don't Know What Love Is," a popular
song
of the Great American Songbook
, has one the craziest histories of any song. It was written by Don Raye
(lyrics) and Gene de Paul
(music) for the Abbott and Costello
1941 Universal
picture Keep 'Em Flying, in which it was sung by Carol Bruce
. The number was deleted prior to release.
Universal ended putting the song into the Raye/dePaul score of one of its B musicals, the 60-minute Behind the Eight Ball (1942), starring the Ritz Brothers
and re-teaming Carol Bruce and Dick Foran
from "Keep 'Em Flying." Here, "You Don't Know What Love Is" was again sung by Carol Bruce, in her third and final film until the 1980's. (Like the also talented and beautiful Patricia Morison
, Bruce would find her greatest success on Broadway.)
From such curious beginnings as an outtake in an A picture and an introduction in a B, both by the same singer, no one could have predicted that in later years the song would emerge as a masterpiece--a jazz standard to be recorded several hundreds of times, starting when Miles Davis
and other jazz musicians began recording and playing the song in the 1950s.
The song also appears on the soundtrack to the film The Talented Mr. Ripley
(1999).
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...
of the Great American Songbook
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
, has one the craziest histories of any song. It was written by Don Raye
Don Raye
Don Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
(lyrics) and Gene de Paul
Gene de Paul
Gene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
(music) for the Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
1941 Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
picture Keep 'Em Flying, in which it was sung by Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce was an American band singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress.Bruce was born Shirley Levy in Great Neck, New York, the daughter of Beatrice and Harry Levy. She began her career as a singer in the late 1930s with Larry Clinton and his band...
. The number was deleted prior to release.
Universal ended putting the song into the Raye/dePaul score of one of its B musicals, the 60-minute Behind the Eight Ball (1942), starring the Ritz Brothers
Ritz Brothers
The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s.Although there were four brothers, the sons of Austrian-born haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline, only three of them performed together. There was also a sister,...
and re-teaming Carol Bruce and Dick Foran
Dick Foran
John Nicholas 'Dick' Foran was an American actor, known for his performances in western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures.-Life and career:...
from "Keep 'Em Flying." Here, "You Don't Know What Love Is" was again sung by Carol Bruce, in her third and final film until the 1980's. (Like the also talented and beautiful Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
, Bruce would find her greatest success on Broadway.)
From such curious beginnings as an outtake in an A picture and an introduction in a B, both by the same singer, no one could have predicted that in later years the song would emerge as a masterpiece--a jazz standard to be recorded several hundreds of times, starting when Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and other jazz musicians began recording and playing the song in the 1950s.
The song also appears on the soundtrack to the film The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Talented Mr. Ripley (film)
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith 1955 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed as Plein Soleil .The film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth...
(1999).
Notable recordings
- Chet BakerChet BakerChesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
- Chet Baker Sings and Plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman & Strings (1955) - Billy EckstineBilly EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
- with the Earl Hines Orchestra 1941; with B.E.Orchestra 1945; with MGM Orchestra 1952 - George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
- Tenderly (1989) - Eva CassidyEva CassidyEva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
and Chuck BrownChuck BrownChuck Brown is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s...
- The Other Side (1992) - June TaborJune TaborJune Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
- Some Other Time (1989) - John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- Ballads (1962) - Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
- The Soulful Moods of Marvin GayeThe Soulful Moods of Marvin GayeThe Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye is Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album, and the second long-playing album released by Motown. The first was Hi... We're The Miracles . It's most notable as the album that caused the first known struggle of Gaye's turbulent tenure with the label.-History:Between his...
(1961) - Chris ConnorChris ConnorChris Connor was an American jazz singer.-Biography:She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school...
- Witchcraft (1959) - Dick HaymesDick HaymesRichard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes was an Argentine actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, who was an actor, television host, and songwriter....
- The Complete Capitol Collection (2006) - Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie 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...
- Lady in SatinLady in SatinLady in Satin is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in mono and CS 8048 in stereo. It is the next to final album completed by the singer and released in her lifetime...
(1958) - Miki HowardMiki HowardAlicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B/jazz singer and actress who had a string of Top 10 hit songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Howard's string of hits also included Baby,Be Mine", "Come Share My Love" and "Love Under New Management"...
- Can't Count Me OutCan't Count Me OutCan't Count Me Out is the sixth studio album by American R&B/jazz singer Miki Howard, released in 1997 under Hush Records. Howard's first studio recording in four years, the album contains a mixture of soulful ballads, some groovy R&B and a duet with father Clay Graham of gospel group, The Pilgrim...
(1997) - Teddi KingTeddi KingTeddi King was an American jazz and pop vocalist. Born Theodora King in Boston, Massachusetts on September 18, 1929, she won a singing competition hosted by Dinah Shore at Boston's Tributary Theatre, later beginning work in a touring revue involved with "cheering up the military in the lull...
- In the Beginning, 1949-1954 (2000 compilation) - Anita O'DayAnita O'DayAnita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...
- An Evening With Anita O'Day (1956) - Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
- Saxophone ColossusSaxophone ColossusSaxophone Colossus is one of Sonny Rollins' most acclaimed albums. Recorded and released in 1956, it has been awarded a rare Crown by The Penguin Guide to Jazz, and is widely considered the masterpiece of his mid-1950s series of recordings for Prestige Records and one of the greatest albums ever...
(1956) - Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
- Blue Light 'til DawnBlue Light 'til DawnBlue Light 'til Dawn is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as three original compositions.-Reception:Rolling Stone reviewer...
(1993) - Booker ErvinBooker ErvinBooker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus....
- Heavy!!!Heavy!!!Heavy!!! is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Prestige label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "The set matches Ervin with a remarkable rhythm section.....
(1966) - Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
- Nina Simone - Tribute to Billie Holiday (2008) - Diamanda GalásDiamanda GalásDiamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
- You Don't Know What Love Is (2009)