| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | |
|---|---|
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| Single byGertrude Niesen withRay Sinatra and his Orchestra | |
| B-side | "Jealousy" |
| Released | 1933 |
| Recorded | October 13, 1933 |
| Label | Victor |
| Composer | Jerome Kern |
| Lyricist | Otto Harbach |
| Producer | Ray Sinatra |
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is ashow tune written by American composerJerome Kern and lyricistOtto Harbach for the 1933musical comedyRoberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show byTamara Drasin. It was first recorded byGertrude Niesen, with orchestral direction fromRay Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin,[1] on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released byRCA Victor, with theB-side "Jealousy", a song featuringIsham Jones and his Orchestra.[2] The line "When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes" apparently comes from aRussian proverb.[3]
By the time ofRoberta in 1933, the tune had been composed for atap dance in the 1927 musicalShow Boat, but was not adopted; in 1932 it was retried as a march for a radio series theme tune.[3]
The song was also included in the 1952 remake ofRoberta,Lovely to Look At, in which it was performed byKathryn Grayson. It also was a no. 1 chart hit in 1959 forThe Platters.
Paul Whiteman had the first hit recording of the song on the record charts in 1934.[4] Whiteman and his Orchestra performed the song with vocals by Bob Lawrence, and this version topped the charts in the same year.[5] The song was reprised byIrene Dunne, who performed it in the 1935film adaptation of the musical co-starringFred Astaire,Ginger Rogers, andRandolph Scott. TheTommy Dorsey Orchestra released their version in 1938, with the B-side "Night and Day".
During the mid-to-late 1930s,Larry Adler andHenry Hall recorded live radio performances of the song onBBC Radio: Adler's rendition was a syncopated,harmonica arrangement, while Hall's was with the BBC Orchestra with vocals by Dan Donovan; Hall's version was released as a 10" single.[6]Jazz pianistArt Tatum said in an introduction in 1955 that he also performed "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in the 1930s.
| Andre Kostelanetz's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" | |
|---|---|
| 1941 cover version of the original 1933 song | |
 You may hear "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" performed byAndre Kostelanetz in 1941Here on Archive.org |
Andre Kostelanetz recorded aneasy listening arrangement of the song forColumbia Masterworks Records (4265-M) in 1941.[7]
In the same year, theBenny Goodman Orchestra played the song on the radio withHelen Forrest, but she left the ensemble during the early part of 1941,[8] so Goodman replaced her withPeggy Lee.[9] Lee's recording for aMutual broadcast was released on the collaborative albumRoll 'Em by Goodman and jazz drummerSid Catlett.
Glenn Miller conducted his own rendition of the song atAbbey Road Studios in 1944, but due to his death later that year in theSecond World War, his version was unreleased until 1995.[10] On October 30, 1946,Nat "King" Cole recorded the song with his trio, consisting in himself,Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on double bass, during a live broadcast fromNew York City.[11] Cole performed it on television in 1957 forThe Nat King Cole Show.
Harry Belafonte covered the song in 1949 with jazz saxophonistZoot Sims, and it was one of Belafonte's first recordings. Sims' performance was parodied on December 10, 1977, onThe Muppet Show by Zoot fromDr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the character he inspired.
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In 1950, bothCharlie Parker andJo Stafford released their versions of the song on their own respective albums,Bird at St. Nick's andAutumn in New York.Eartha Kitt recorded the song in 1952 with theHenri René Orchestra for her 1954 albumThat Bad Eartha, in the same sessions which yielded her 1953 hit single "Santa Baby".
Dinah Washington released the song in 1956 on her albumDinah!,Vic Damone on his 1956 albumThat Towering Feeling! (1956), andJeri Southern named her 1957 albumWhen Your Heart's on Fire after a lyric from the song; the album also features her version of the song.Polly Bergen performed the song during the series premiere of her variety showThe Polly Bergen Show, originally airing September 21, 1957, in the same year of Nat King Cole's televised performance of the song, inThe Nat King Cole Show.[12] In 1958,Sarah Vaughan released her rendition on her album,No Count Sarah.
Coleman Hawkins played the song on hisGood Old Broadway 1962 album.[citation needed]
Bryan Ferry recorded a version of the song which reached number 17 on theUK singles chart in 1974.[13]
JD Souther covered the song for the soundtrack to directorSteven Spielberg's 1989 filmAlways, and has a cameo appearance performing it at a dance with the main characters, played byRichard Dreyfuss andHolly Hunter.[citation needed]
| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Platters | ||||
| from the album Remember When? | ||||
| B-side | "No Matter What You Are" | |||
| Released | November 1958 (1958) | |||
| Genre | Doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Composer | Jerome Kern | |||
| Lyricist | Otto Harbach | |||
| Producer | Buck Ram[14] | |||
| The Platters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was recorded in 1958 bythe Platters for their albumRemember When? The group's version became a number 1 hit in the U.S. on theBillboard Hot 100 music chart, and was their highest hit on that chart. In 1959 it peaked at number 3 on theRhythm and Blues chart.[15] The song spent 20 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number 1 for one week on March 20 of that same year.[16]Buck Ram, the producer, said that Harbach praised them "for reviving his song with taste."[14] The widow of composer Jerome Kern disliked the recording so much, she began legal action to prevent its distribution.[17] However, after she was informed that the record was a huge seller and she was going to receive large royalties from its sales, she dropped her lawsuit.[3][18]
In 2019, the song byThe Platters was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[19]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byBlue Haze | ||||
| from the album Blue Haze | ||||
| B-side | "Anna Rosanna" | |||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Doo-wop | |||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Composer | Jerome Kern | |||
| Lyricist | Otto Harbach | |||
| Producers | Johnny Arthey &Phil Swern | |||
| Blue Haze singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Johnny Arthey's studio group Blue Haze released a version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" as a single in 1972, and on the albumBlue Haze the following year. Their version was an international hit, reaching the top 10 in Belgium, the Netherlands, and onBillboard'sEasy Listening chart.
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[31] | 30 |
| Canada (RPM 100)[32] | 13 |
| Flanders[33] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Hilversum 3 Top 30)[34] | 4 |
| Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[35] | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart[36] | 32 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[36] | 27 |
| USBillboard Easy Listening[37] | 5 |
| USCash Box Top 100[38] | 21 |
| USRecord World The Singles Chart[39] | 14 |
| Wallonia[40] | 9 |
| West Germany[41] | 42 |
