Leo Reisman w/ Fred Astaire (1935) FIRST RECORDING [CHEEK TO CHEEK]

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The first recording of the Irving Berlin standard "Cheek to Cheek", featuring Leo Reisman and his Orchestra with vocal by Fred Astaire. Recorded on June 26, 1935 in New York City.

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Composer: Irving Berlin

Year: 1935

Origin: Introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1935 film Top Hat.

Style: Swing, taken at a wide variety of tempos.

Form: A-A-B-C-A (72 Bars) [16-16-16-8-16]

Key: Most commonly played in C Major.

Harmony/Overview: The harmony of this composition is functional. The A sections are centered mainly around a I - VI - II - V, and oftentimes many variations thereof are used. In the 5th bar the harmony inches upwards through IMaj7 - IImi7 - bIIIdim7 - IIImi7 before arriving at bVII7#11. A II7 - V7 of V then leads to V7 - IImi7 - IIImi7 - IV7 before arriving once again at bVII7#11. A V of II is then used to set-up the final II - V which returns back to the tonic to conclude the section. The B section cycles through a II - V - I - VI in the home key. The C section begins in the parallel minor, and it is very common to precede the bVI7 which follows with a IImi7 as in a II - V of bII. A minor II - V in the home key then concludes the section before setting up the tonic once more for the final A section.

Recordings: This song has been recorded over 445 times to date. It was first recorded by Leo Reisman and his Orchestra with Fred Astaire on vocals in June of 1935, and Astaire would also introduce it later that year in the the Musical Comedy film Top Hat. It would become a popular number amongst jazz musicians, with recordings coming from Teddy Wilson, Red Norvo, Oscar Peterson, and Buddy DeFranco to name a few. It has also become an especially popular number among vocalists.

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Red Mitchell, Presenting Red Mitchell, 1957
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#LeoReisman #FredAstaire #CheekToCheek