"Cheek to Cheek"
Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in Swing Time, 1936
Song by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman's Orchestra
B-side"No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)"
PublishedJuly 2, 1935 (1935-07-02) by Irving Berlin, Inc., New York[1]
ReleasedAugust 1935
RecordedJune 26, 1935 (1935-06-26)[2]
StudioARC Recording Studios, 1776 Broadway, New York City
GenreJazz, Pop Vocal
Length3:19
LabelBrunswick 7486
Songwriter(s)Irving Berlin
Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman's Orchestra singles chronology
"Flying Down to Rio"
(1934)		 "Cheek to Cheek"
(1935)		 "Isn't This a Lovely Day?"
(1935)

"Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35,[3] specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was Top Hat, co-starring Ginger Rogers.[4] In the movie, Astaire sings the song to Rogers as they dance. The song was nominated for the Best Song Oscar for 1936, which it lost to "Lullaby of Broadway".[5] The song spent five weeks at #1 on Your Hit Parade and was named the #1 song of 1935.[4] Astaire's 1935 recording with the Leo Reisman Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.[6] In 2004, Astaire's version finished at No. 15 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Release

On June 26, 1935, Fred and Leo Reisman, along with his Orchestra, got to work at ARC (parent company of Brunswick Records at the time) Studios in New York City. They recorded two Irving Berlin compositions, "Cheek To Cheek" and "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)". The next day, with Johnny Greene's Orchestra, "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" were completed. Both singles were released in August, and then at the end of the month, "Top Hat" premiered. The timing must have been perfect, because "Cheek to Cheek" headed straight to #1, where it stayed for eleven weeks, and finished the #1 hit of 1935. Fred topped his career high of ten weeks for "Night And Day".

Recorded versions

According to the database of secondhandsongs.com, "Cheek to Cheek" has been recorded by 438 different artists as of July 2021.[7]

ReleasePerformerVocalistRecording dateAlbumLabelSource
1935Guy LombardoGuy Lombardo
1935The Boswell SistersThe Boswell Sisters
1956Ella Fitzgerald & Louis ArmstrongElla & LouisAugust 16, 1956Ella and LouisVerve
1957Lou Donaldson feat. Horace Silver QuartetinstrumentalJune 20, 1952Quartet/Quintet/SextetBlue Note[8]
1957Marcy Lutes (arr. Gil Evans)Marcy Lutes1956 or 1957DebutDecca[9]
1958Peggy LeePeggy LeeJanuary 3, 1958Jump for JoyCapitol
1958Doris DayDoris DayFebruary 24, 1958Hooray for HollywoodColumbia
1958Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldMarch 1958Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song BookVerve
1958Billie HolidayBillie HolidayAugust 1956All or Nothing at AllVerve
1959Frank SinatraFrank SinatraDecember 1958Come Dance with Me!Capitol
1976Alex HarveyAlex HarveyChristmas 1975The Penthouse TapesVertigo
1982TacoTaco1981After EightRCA Victor
2014Tony Bennett & Lady GagaTony Bennett & Lady GagaJune 2013Cheek to CheekColumbia

References

  1. ↑ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1935). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1935 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 30 Pt 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ↑ "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7300 - 7500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  3. ↑ Irving Berlin Collection description from the Library of Congress's online Performing Arts Encyclopedia; retrieved 2012-03-07.
  4. 1 2 "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire, 1935 Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine; from the University of Virginia's American Studies website, subsection "Manufacturing Memory Archived 2014-10-14 at the Wayback Machine: 1935-1939"; retrieved 2012-03-07.
  5. ↑ The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners, from the website of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science (www.oscar.org); retrieved 2012-03-07.
  6. ↑ Grammy Hall of Fame page Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine from www.grammy.org; retrieved 2012-04-07.
  7. ↑ "Cover versions of Cheek to Cheek by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  8. ↑ Cheek to Cheek by Lou Donaldson, secondhandsongs.com.
  9. ↑ "'Debut', Marcy Lutes: Overview", Allmusic.
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