Autumn Leaves is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song Les feuilles mortes (literally The Dead Leaves) with music by Hungarian-French composer Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, and the Hungarian title is Hulló levelek (Falling Leaves). Yves Montand (with Irène Joachim) introduced Les feuilles mortes in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la nuit. Recordings and covers 1940s The American songwriter Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics in 1947 and Jo Stafford was among the first to perform this version. Autumn Leaves became a pop standard and a jazz standard in both languages, both as an instrumental and with a singer. There is also a Japanese version called Kareha (枯葉) sung by Nat King Cole in his Japanese album version and 高英男 (Hideo Kou). 1950s On December 24, 1950, French singer Edith Piaf sang both French and English versions of this song on the radio programme The Big Show, hosted by Tallulah Bankhead.The Melachrino Strings recorded an instrumental version of the song in London on August 18, 1950. It was released by EMI on the His Masters Voice label as catalogue number B 9952. The film Autumn Leaves (1956) starring Joan Crawford featured the song, as sung by Nat King Cole, over the title sequence. Frank Sinatra included a popular version of the song on his 1956 album Where Are You?. On the 1950s US television series Your Hit Parade, in which the Top 7 songs of the week were performed, the song was performed in several episodes during 1955. In one episode, Thelma Tad Tadlock danced to an instrumental version of the song, while in another episode, Gisele MacKenzie sang the French version (though with the final line in English). Andy Williams released a version of the song on his 1959 album, Lonely Street. The Coasters released a version of the song on their 1960 album One by One.The same year Patti Page also sang the song in the album indiscretion. 1960s Al Hirt released a version on his 1965 album, Theyre Playing Our Song. Italian-American tenor Sergio Franchi recorded his version on the 1968 RCA Victor album Im a Fool to Want You. The British Invasion band Manfred Mann released a rock version on their 1966 album As Is. 1970s Ben Webster and the Georges Arvanitas Trio released a version in 1972 on their Autumn Leaves album.Raquel Bitton recorded a version in 2000 that appears on her album Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that can be found on the 2000 album The Jerry Lee Lewis Show. Patricia Routledge sings it on her 1975 album Presenting Patricia Routledge Singing the Classics. 1980s Autumn Leaves is the corps song of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. 1990s The Electronic duo Coldcut recorded a cover of the song for their 1993 album Philosophy, featuring guest vocalist Janis Alexander on vocals. Greek-Cypriot recording artist Alexia Vassiliou recorded the song for her first 1996 album, In a Jazz Mood. A version by Eva Cassidy is one of the highlights of her seminal live album Live at Blues Alley (1996). 2000s Raquel Bitton recorded a version in 2000 that appears on her album Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf. The French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg paid tribute to this song in his own song La chanson de Prévert. Progressive house duo Way Out West used the main chord progression and final line of the second verse for their single The Fall; it reached #61 on the UK Singles chart in 2000. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that can be found on the 2000 album The Jerry Lee Lewis Show. The song also appears on Iggy Pops 2009 album Préliminaires as the opening track and Jason Kouchaks 2010 album Comme dHabitude. 2010s British blues/rock guitarist Eric Clapton recorded a cover of Autumn Leaves for his 2010 album, Clapton. In 2013, Emmy Rossum released a cover of the song on her album,Sentimental Journey. Mark Lanegan recorded a version of the song in his 2013 album Imitations. Passenger recorded an altered version of this song, entitled Golden Leaves, in his 2014 album Whispers. Chart appearances In 1955 Roger Williams made the song a number-one hit in the United States, the only piano instrumental to reach number one. Structure and chord progression Autumn Leaves Sample of a recording of Autumn Leaves by Eva Cassidy from the album Live at Blues Alley (1996) The song is in AABC form. Autumn Leaves offers a popular way for beginning jazz musicians to become acquainted with jazz harmony as the chord progression consists almost solely of ii-V-I and ii-V sequences which are typical of jazz. It was originally, and is most commonly, performed in the key of E minor, but is also played in G minor and other keys. Eva Cassidys version (clip on the right) is played in B-flat minor with a capo on the first fret. Its iv7-VII7-III-VIM7-ii(half-diminished)7-V7-i chord progression is an example of the circle-of-fifths progression.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 19:22:07 +0000
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