Lush Life (song)
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"Lush Life" is a jazz standard with lyrics and music written by Billy Strayhorn from 1933 to 1938. However, the song was only performed privately by Strayhorn until he and vocalist Kay Davis performed it on November 13, 1948 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
The song's lyrics describe the author's weariness of the night life after a failed romance, wasting time with "jazz and cocktails" at "come-what-may places" and in the company of girls with "sad and sullen gray faces/with distingué traces". Strayhorn was only 16 when he wrote the majority of the song, which was to become his signature composition (along with "Take the "A" Train").
One of the most notable recordings of "Lush Life" was by Nat King Cole. John Coltrane also recorded it at least twice, once in 1958 as the title track of an album for Prestige Records, and again in 1963 with his "classic quartet" and Johnny Hartman singing. The Johnny Hartman version is considered definitive. The earlier version was 14 minutes long. But the author once said that the best version was of Billy Eckstine (1960: No Cover No Minimum)
Jack Jones recorded "Lush Life" for his album, Where Love Has Gone, in 1964. Donna Summer recorded the song with Quincy Jones for her self titled 1982 album. In 1985 it was the title track of Lush Life, the second of Linda Ronstadt's three albums of American standards. Natalie Cole recorded a version of the song for 1991 album, Unforgettable... with Love. Queen Latifah recorded a Mervyn Warren arrangement of the song for inclusion in the soundtrack to the 1998 film Living Out Loud, a recording that was subsequently included on The Dana Owens Album in 2004.
Tito Puente, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Julie London, Johnny Mathis, Chet Baker, Natalie Cole, Kate Ceberano & Mark Isham, and Sammy Davis Jr. have all recorded versions of "Lush Life" as well.
