"My Old Flame" is a 1934 song composed byArthur Johnston with lyrics bySam Coslow for the filmBelle of the Nineties. It has since become a jazz standard.
"My Old Flame" first appeared in the 1934 filmBelle of the Nineties when it was sung byMae West, backed by theDuke Ellington Orchestra.[1] Six weeks after filming wrapped with West, Ellington recorded the tune with singerIvie Anderson,[2] released on Commodore 585.[3] It became a No. 7 hit forGuy Lombardo later that year but it was not until the early 1940s that the tune re-emerged, entering the repertoire of the orchestras ofBenny Goodman andCount Basie.[2]
"My Old Flame" has become ajazz standard and has been sung by the likes ofBillie Holiday,Peggy Lee,Dinah Washington,Helen Humes andMarlena Shaw, with instrumental interpretations byCharlie Parker for the Dial label in 1947,Gerry Mulligan withChet Baker in 1953, trombonistJ.J. Johnson on his 1957 albumTrombone Master,Sonny Rollins on his 1993 albumOld Flames, and many others.[1] The tune was also recorded by theStan Kenton orchestra[2] andZoot Sims in a "sensitive rendition" according toJazz Improv magazine.[4]Spike Jones and his City Slickers recorded a spoof version in 1947 featuring vocals byPaul Frees (imitatingPeter Lorre).[5]John Scofield included the song in his2022 solo album.[6]
The music has anAABA structure.[7] It is written in the key of G major, and features a change to B♭ in the 'B' section.[7][8]
As a vehicle for West, while the lyric contains "characteristically flippant lines – 'My old flame/ I can't even remember his name' – it suggests that her brazen sexuality is the carapace for a lost youthful love": 'But their attempts at love/ Were only imitations of/ My old flame'.[9]
