The REAL "LUSH LIFE"

[markydefad]

In the "Lush Disco" thread...I mentioned a truly "lush" tune about a life of sadness and drinking to ease the pain.....

"Lush Life" written by a 16 year old (!) who was black and gay, named Billy Strayhorn. I think this song is remarkable. AMG says the lyrics are "somewhat maudlin."!!!! For shame!!!!

Apparently, Strayhorn only performed it privately until 1948 when he and vocalist Kay Davis performed it on November 13, 1948 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Wikipedia:
Strayhorn was only 16 when he wrote the majority of the song, which was to become his signature composition.
The piece became a hit for Nat King Cole, and a wide variety of artists were drawn to it. Harry James, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald, Tete Montoliu, Jimmy Rowles, Stan Getz and even Rashaan Roland Kirk each recorded it one more than one occasion.

Add Nancy Wilson, Linda Ronstadt & most recently, Queen Latifah to that list.

And then, of course, Donna Summer recorded it on her 1982 self-titled Quincy Jones-produced LP on Geffen Records.


Remember, a 16 year old Black kid wrote the lyrics and music....talk about jaded, sophisticated and worldly weary/wise-beyond-your years....


I used to visit all the very gay places
Those come-what-may places
Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
To get the feel of life from jazz and cocktails

The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
With distingue traces that used to be there--
You could see where they'd been washed away
By too many through the day, twelve o'clock tales

Then you came along with your siren song
To tempt me to madness
I thought for awhile that your poignant smile
Was tinged with the sadness of a great love for me
Ah yes, I was wrong
Again, I was wrong

Now life is lonely again
and only last year
Everything seemed so sure
Now life is awful again
A troughful of hearts could only be a bore

A week in Paris could ease the bite of it
But all I care is to smile in spite of it

I'll forget you, I will
While yet you are still
Burning inside my brain

Romance is mush
Stifling those who strive
So I'll live a lush life in some small dive
And there I'll be,
While I rot with the rest of those
Whose lives are lonely too...


IAMG: In 1964, Strayhorn was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, aggravated by years of smoking and drinking, and he submitted his last composition, "Blood Count," to the Ellington band while in the hospital. Shortly after Strayhorn's death in May 1967]

[Oh, and interesting trivia, Billy was best friends with Miss Lena Horne until his death...]


from AMG:
Biography by Richard S. Ginell

An extravagantly gifted composer, arranger and pianist -- some considered him a genius -- Billy Strayhorn toiled throughout most of his maturity in the gaudy shadow of his employer, collaborator and friend, Duke Ellington. Only in the last decade has Strayhorn's profile been lifted to a level approaching that of Ellington, where diligent searching of the Strayhorn archives (mainly by David Hajdu, author of the excellent Strayhorn bio Lush Life) revealed that Strayhorn's contribution to the Ellington legacy was far more extensive and complex than once thought. There are several instances where Strayhorn compositions were registered as Ellington...

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

That made my hair stand up, and sent shivers down my spine.

Remeniscent of the story behind Bassey's "All The Sad Young Men".

[thommy2458]

Marky-Thankyou so much! I have loved that song and now I know why-this puts a bittersweet face on it's meaning.Great story!

Thom

[A2Mark57]

OMG, Marky -- THANK YOU!!!

I have long loved this song, which I first knew by Linda Ronstadt and then by Donna Summer.

In a completely uncharacteristic lapse, I never correctly noted who the composer was. I've always believed it was a Cole Porter song.

As mistakes go, it's easy to see why I thought this would be Cole Porter. The song is so evocative, so extremely well-crafted, so gay-sensibility, so melancholy.

How amazing that it was penned by a 16-year-old. And how very sad.

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[A2Mark57]

And, going off topic...

Donna Summer's brilliant version of this song is reason #1 that I was sad to read on discomusic.com that some demanded her new album *SHOULD* be all 70's-style disco: that disco is, after all, what Donna Summer *DOES*.

"Lush Life," and so many recordings before and after, demonstrate what a remarkable vocalist Donna is in non-disco genres.

It doesn't demean her status as Queen of Disco -- nor threaten the legitimacy of our beloved genre of disco -- to acknowledge that Donna's talent extends well beyond disco.

Go ahead and love "Could It Be Magic." Love "Dim All The Lights." But know that it's also okay to love "Lush Life." And "Dream Catcher." And "Stamp Your Feet."

[markydefad]

Stephen, thommy & Mark,

My pleasure to throw a little light on the origins of "Lush Life." Truth be told, the real thanks should go to the late Pete Denis, for his inability to understand the meaning of the term "lush disco."

That incident led me to suggest he listen to "Lush Life"...well I was being sarcastic, not that he woulda known what that meant either!