The Way You Look Tonight
Encyclopedia
"The Way You Look Tonight" is a song featured in the film Swing Time, originally performed by Fred Astaire
. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
in 1936. The song was sung to Ginger Rogers
as Penelope "Penny" Carroll by Astaire's character of John "Lucky" Garnett while Penny was busy washing her hair in an adjacent room, and feeling anything but beautiful at the time. The song was written by Jerome Kern
with lyrics by Dorothy Fields
, and has become a standard
. Fields later remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful."
recorded this song in the same year as the film; her version can be found on several collections including her Columbia box set
from 2001. It was also a big R&B hit for the Jaguars in 1956. It has also been recorded by Peggy Lee
in 1941, Frank Sinatra
in 1964, Doris Day
, Johnny Pace
, Tony Bennett
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Andy Williams
, Chad & Jeremy, Bryan Ferry
, Olivia Newton-John
, Johnny Maestro of The Crests
, Phil Collins
, Harry Connick, Jr.
, Rod Stewart
, Dexys Midnight Runners
, James Darren
, Michael Bublé
, Sal Viviano, Steve Tyrell
, Joey McIntyre, Adam Levine
, Ray Quinn
, Kris Allen
, Chris Botti
, Elena Bennett and in the 1930s
as a duet between Bing Crosby
and his then-wife Dixie Lee
. The song also gave The Lettermen
their first hit in 1961, hitting #13 on the Billboard Hot 100
singles chart and #36 in the UK Singles Chart
.
Jazz pianist Art Tatum
has an instrumental recording which appears on the 1990 collection The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces. Oscar Peterson
has also recorded a version on his 1959 LP Oscar Peterson Plays the Jerome Kern Songbook
. Saxophonist Johnny Griffin
covered this song in the hard bop jazz style on his 1957 A Blowing Session
album. Pianist Bradley Joseph
performs his arrangement of "The Way You Look Tonight" on his 2006 album, Piano Love Songs
.
In the 1942 film Once Upon a Honeymoon
, Cary Grant
says to Ginger Rogers
he always wants to "remember you just the way you look tonight — er, today", a reference to Rogers' appearance in the film in which the song was first heard. "The Way You Look Tonight" is referenced in Harold Pinter
's 1971 play Old Times
, in which two characters recite some of the lines. Greater use of "The Way You Look Tonight" is made in Brian Friel's 1979 play Faith Healer, which quotes and makes repeated references to the song. The playing of the Fred Astaire original is the beginning of Teddy's monologue in act two. The song itself is featured in films including Chinatown, Hannah and Her Sisters
, Father of the Bride
(1991), My Best Friend's Wedding
, The Family Man
, and the Kenneth Branagh
films Peter's Friends
and Love's Labour's Lost
(2000). The James Darren cover forms the background music for the "Seven-year Montage" in the final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, "What You Leave Behind
". It is also sung by Allison Munn
in the series finale of the WB
sitcom What I Like About You
and was used in the Friends
episode "The One With Unagi". The song was also performed by the band MouseRat on the "Parks and Recreation
" episode "Galentine's Day
", wherein Andy Dwyer
dedicated it to April Ludgate
.
In 2004, the song was recorded by Westlife
in two versions on their album, Allow Us to Be Frank
.
In 2008, contemporary jazz guitarist, Thom Rotella, covered the song on his album, Out of the Blues.
According to Bob Caldwell, "The Way You Look Tonight" is sometimes jokingly retitled "The Night You Looked Away".
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
in 1936. The song was sung to Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
as Penelope "Penny" Carroll by Astaire's character of John "Lucky" Garnett while Penny was busy washing her hair in an adjacent room, and feeling anything but beautiful at the time. The song was written by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
with lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
, and has become a standard
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
. Fields later remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful."
Cover versions
Billie HolidayBillie 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...
recorded this song in the same year as the film; her version can be found on several collections including her Columbia box set
Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944
Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 is a box set ten-disc compilation of the complete known studio master recordings, plus alternate takes, of Billie Holiday during the time period indicated, released in 2001 on Columbia/Legacy, CXK 85470...
from 2001. It was also a big R&B hit for the Jaguars in 1956. It has also been recorded by Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
in 1941, 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...
in 1964, Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Johnny Pace
Johnny Pace
Johnny Pace was a jazz vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s.Pace was born in Paterson New Jersey and served in the Army USO in Germany where he met his wife Anneliese Glaser, they traveled back to the states in 1954. Johnny and Anneliese had three children Monica, Suzanne and John...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, 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...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, Chad & Jeremy, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, Johnny Maestro of The Crests
The Crests
The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
, James Darren
James Darren
James William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
, Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
, Sal Viviano, Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell is an American jazz musician.-Early career:Upon moving to New York City at the age of 18, he was made head of A&R and promotion at Scepter Records...
, Joey McIntyre, Adam Levine
Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.-Early life:...
, Ray Quinn
Ray Quinn
Raymond Arthur "Ray" Quinn is an English actor, singer, and dancer. He finished second in talent show The X Factor in 2006, and won the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. He also appeared as victimised teenager Anthony Murray in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside...
, Kris Allen
Kris Allen
Kristopher Neil "Kris" Allen is an American musician and singer-songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol...
, Chris Botti
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
, Elena Bennett and in the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
as a duet between Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and his then-wife Dixie Lee
Dixie Lee
Dixie Lee was an American actress, dancer, and singer.Born Wilma Wyatt, she adopted the professional name "Dixie Carroll" as a singer and showgirl. Winfield Sheehan of the Fox film studio changed the name to Dixie Lee, to avoid confusion with actresses Nancy Carroll and Sue Carol...
. The song also gave The Lettermen
The Lettermen
The Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
their first hit in 1961, hitting #13 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart and #36 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Jazz pianist Art Tatum
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
has an instrumental recording which appears on the 1990 collection The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces. Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
has also recorded a version on his 1959 LP Oscar Peterson Plays the Jerome Kern Songbook
Oscar Peterson Plays the Jerome Kern Songbook
Oscar Peterson Plays the Jerome Kern Songbook is a 1959 album by Oscar Peterson, of compositions by Jerome Kern. -Track listing:# "I Won't Dance" – 2:32# "Bill" – 2:58...
. Saxophonist Johnny Griffin
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
covered this song in the hard bop jazz style on his 1957 A Blowing Session
A Blowing Session
A Blowin' Session is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, recorded and released in 1957 on Blue Note Records. The album is one of the earliest examples of John Coltrane as a sideman...
album. Pianist Bradley Joseph
Bradley Joseph
Bradley Joseph is an American composer, arranger, and producer of contemporary instrumental music. His compositions include works for orchestra, quartet, and solo piano, while his musical style ranges from "quietly pensive mood music to a rich orchestration of classical depth and breadth".Active...
performs his arrangement of "The Way You Look Tonight" on his 2006 album, Piano Love Songs
Piano Love Songs
Piano Love Songs is the 13th studio album released by Bradley Joseph on the Robbins Island Music label ."Soft Classic Love Songs Performed on the Piano".-Track listing:...
.
In the 1942 film Once Upon a Honeymoon
Once Upon a Honeymoon
Once Upon a Honeymoon is a 1956 musical sponsored film about a couple wishing for a new home. It starts off with a group of angels who decide to help a couple have a honeymoon. The husband tries to write a song, while the wife daydreams about a new home, and imagines what it would be like to have...
, Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
says to Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
he always wants to "remember you just the way you look tonight — er, today", a reference to Rogers' appearance in the film in which the song was first heard. "The Way You Look Tonight" is referenced in Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's 1971 play Old Times
Old Times
Old Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
, in which two characters recite some of the lines. Greater use of "The Way You Look Tonight" is made in Brian Friel's 1979 play Faith Healer, which quotes and makes repeated references to the song. The playing of the Fred Astaire original is the beginning of Teddy's monologue in act two. The song itself is featured in films including Chinatown, Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
, Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride (1991 film)
Father of the Bride is a 1991 American comedy film starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, George Newbern, Martin Short, B.D. Wong and Kieran Culkin. It is a remake of the 1950 movie of the same name...
(1991), My Best Friend's Wedding
My Best Friend's Wedding
My Best Friend's Wedding is a 1997 romantic comedy film directed by P. J. Hogan. It stars Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett, and Philip Bosco.The film received mostly positive reviews from critics...
, The Family Man
The Family Man
The Family Man is a 2000 drama film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film....
, and the Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
films Peter's Friends
Peter's Friends
Peter's Friends is a 1992 British comedy-drama film written by Rita Rudner and her husband Martin Bergman, and directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh....
and Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost (2000 film)
Love's Labour's Lost is a 2000 adaptation of the comic play of the same name by William Shakespeare, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. It was the first feature film to be made of this lesser-known comedy...
(2000). The James Darren cover forms the background music for the "Seven-year Montage" in the final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, "What You Leave Behind
What You Leave Behind (DS9 Episode)
"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and is the twenty-fifth episode of the seventh season. Much of the episode is set on Cardassia Prime, the home world of the Cardassians and the headquarters of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant...
". It is also sung by Allison Munn
Allison Munn
Allison Munn is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Caroline from That '70s Show and as Tina Haven in The WB sitcom What I Like About You and Lauren in One Tree Hill.-Early life:...
in the series finale of the WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
sitcom What I Like About You
What I Like About You (TV series)
What I Like About You is an American television sitcom set mainly in New York City, following the lives of two sisters, Valerie Tyler and Holly Tyler . The series ran on The WB Television Network from September 20, 2002, to March 24, 2006, with a total of 86 episodes produced...
and was used in the Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
episode "The One With Unagi". The song was also performed by the band MouseRat on the "Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
" episode "Galentine's Day
Galentine's Day
"Galentine's Day" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 22nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 11, 2010. In the episode, Leslie and her boyfriend Justin seek to...
", wherein Andy Dwyer
Andy Dwyer
Andrew Maxwell "Andy" Dwyer is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is Ann Perkins' ex-boyfriend, a talented-if-yet-unsuccessful musician, a shoe-shiner at Pawnee City Hall, and April Ludgate's husband. He is portrayed by Chris Pratt.-Background:At the start of the...
dedicated it to April Ludgate
April Ludgate
April Roberta Ludgate is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is an apathetic college student employed by the Pawnee Department of Parks and Recreation as Ron Swanson's assistant. She is married to Andy Dwyer. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza...
.
In 2004, the song was recorded by Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
in two versions on their album, Allow Us to Be Frank
Allow Us to Be Frank
-Singles:"Smile" was released as the album's first single on 4 November 2004. The physical single features the video, and B-sides "White Christmas" and "When I Fall In Love". "Fly Me To The Moon" was released as the album's second single on 20 December 2004...
.
In 2008, contemporary jazz guitarist, Thom Rotella, covered the song on his album, Out of the Blues.
According to Bob Caldwell, "The Way You Look Tonight" is sometimes jokingly retitled "The Night You Looked Away".