Love for Sale (song)
| "Love for Sale" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Peddlers | |
| Released | 1930 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Songwriter(s) | Cole Porter |
"Love for Sale" is a song by Cole Porter introduced by Kathryn Crawford in the musical The New Yorkers which opened on Broadway on December 8, 1930 and closed in May 1931 after 168 performances.[1] The song is written from the viewpoint of a prostitute advertising "love for sale".
Early versions
The song's chorus, like many in the Great American Songbook, is written in the A-A-B-A format. However, instead of 32 bars, it has 64, plus an 8-bar tag. The tag is often dropped when the song is performed. The tune, like many of Porter's, shifts between a major and minor feeling.[citation needed] The A section is in the key of B-flat minor before modulating to B-flat major and back.[2]
Background
When the song came out in 1930, a newspaper labelled it as 'in bad taste'.[3] Radio stations avoided broadcasting it.[4]
Because of the complaints, Porter shifted the setting of the song in the musical to the Cotton Club in Harlem where it was sung by an African-American, Elisabeth Welch, instead of white singer Kathryn Crawford.[5]
Popular recordings in 1931 were made by Libby Holman and by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians.[6]
Notable recordings
- Billie Holiday recorded a version of the song in 1952.[4].[4]
- Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song for her 1956 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
- Tony Bennett recorded a version of this on his 1957 album The Beat of My Heart.
- Elvis Costello released a version of the tune, including the opening verse (prologue), on a Rhino re-lease of his album, Trust.
- Astrud Gilberto - for the album That Girl from Ipanema (1977).[7]
- Seal recorded a version of the song for his 2017 album Standards.
It is also widely recorded as a jazz standard. Notable instrumental versions included those by Sidney Bechet, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, The Three Sounds, Art Tatum, Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, and Cecil Taylor. There is a version of the song by Hal Kemp's Orch. & The Smoothies, 1940
See also
References
- ^ "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb.com. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ "Love For Sale". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ Schwartz, Charles (1979). Cole Porter. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80097-7, pp. 115–116
- ^ a b c Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Yaffe, David (2006). Fascinating Rhythm: Reading Jazz in American Writing. Princeton University Press. Chapter 4. ISBN 978-1-40082-680-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 543. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.