JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
Music and lyrics: Cole Porter
Year: 1935
Origin of the song
June Knight and Charles Walters sang ‘Just One Of Those Things’ on 12 October 1935, date of the musical Jubilee’s release in the Imperial Theatre of New York. In the play, which was performed a hundred and seventy nine times, a Royal family from an imaginary European country feels forced to exile due to a revolution threat that is finally a lie.
Jubilee was one of the ten best musicals released in 1935, Porgy and Bess, Jumbo, and May Wine, and none of them were profitable. The Great Depression was in a way responsible for its commercial failure. But in the case of Jubilee the bad reviews and the negative reaction of the audience towards the play’s libretto, full of jokes about famous friends of Porter (an author’s usual practice) must be taken into account. The end of the play’s performances arrived when its star, Mary Boland, went to Hollywood. Other song included in the show were ‘The Kling-Kling Bird on the Divi-Divi Tree’, ‘When Love Comes Your Way’, ‘Me and Marie’, ‘A Picture of Me Without You’, ‘Begin the Beguine’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, and ‘Why Shouldn’t I?’.
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF
ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
1935.10.21 |
1935.11.30 |
5 |
10 |
Stuart Allen (voc) |
|
|
Peggy Lee |
1952.04.28 |
1952.08.02 |
4 |
14 |
Peggy Lee (voc), Gordon Jenkins Orchestra |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1936.09.07 |
Garland Wilson (p) |
|
|
1944.01.31 |
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), John Kirby (b), Sid Catlett (d) |
|
|
1945.05.07 |
Benny Goodman (cl), Red Norvo (vib), Teddy Wilson (p), Mike Bryant (g), Slam Stewart (b), Morey Feld (d) |
|
|
1946.08.19 |
Teddy Wilson (p), Buck Clayton (tp), Scoville Brown (as), Don Byas (ts), George James (bars), Remo Palmieri (g), Billy Taylor (b), J.C. Heard (d) |
|
|
1951.02.?? |
Bud Powell (p) |
|
|
1954.03.31 |
Charlie Parker (as), Walter Bishop Jr. (p), Jerome Darr (g), Teddy Kotick (b), Roy Haynes (d) |
|
|
1954.04.27 |
Randy Weston (p), Sam Gill (b) |
|
|
1956.01.27 |
Art Tatum (p), Red Callender (b), Jo Jones (d) |
|
|
1956.09.17 |
Kenny Dorham (tp), Sonny Rollins (ts), Ray Bryant (p), George Morrow (b), Max Roach (d) |
|
|
1957.10.10 |
Gil Evans (p, dir), Jake Koven, Louis Mucci (tp), Jimmy Cleveland, Bart Varsalona (tb), Willie Ruff (tpa), Dave Kurtzer (fg), Steve Lacy (ss), Lee Konitz (as), Paul Chambers (b), Nick Stabulas (d) |
|
|
1958.10.28 |
Cannonball Adderley (as), Milt Jackson (vib), Wynton Kelly (p), Percy Heath (b), Art Blakey (d) |
|
|
Lee Konitz Duo |
1974.07.30 |
Lee Konitz (as), Red Mitchell (b) |
|
Joanne Brackeen Trio |
1985.06.?? |
Joanne Brackeen (p), Cecil McBee (b), Al Foster (d) |
|
Paul Motian Quintet |
1991.08.?? |
Paul Motian (d), Joe Lovano (ts), Lee Konitz (as), Bill Frisell (g), Charlie Haden (b) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1941.05.14 |
Lena Horne (voc), MGM Studio Orchestra, George Stoll (dir) |
|
|
1952.04.28 |
Peggy Lee (voc), Gordon Jenkins Orchestra |
|
|
1956.02.07 |
Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Buddy Bregman Orchestra |
|
|
1957.01.04 |
Billie Holiday (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Ben Webster (ts), Jimmy Rowles (p), Barney Kessel (g), Red Mitchell (b), Alvin Stoller (d) |
|
|
1957.07.31 |
Nat Cole (voc), Pete Candoli, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Lennie Mach, Vito Mangano (tp), Murray McEachern, Bill Schaefer, Lloyd Ulyate, George Roberts (tb), Red Callender (tu), Wilburn Schwartz, Willie Smith (as), Buddy Collette, Jules Jacob (ts), Fred Fallensby (bars), Helen Hutchinson (arp), Jimmy Rowles (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Frank Flynn (per), Billy May (dir) |
|
|
1957.08.06 |
Sarah Vaughan (voc), Jimmy Jones (p), Richard Davis (b), Roy Haynes (d) |
|
|
1957.10.14 |
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Louis Bellson (d) |
|
|
1959.04.02 |
Anita O'Day (voc), Billy May Orchestra |
|
|
1975.05.21 |
Stan Getz (ts), Joao Gilberto (g, per), Al Dailey (p), Oscar Castro-Neves (g), Clint Houston, Steve Swallow (b), Billy Hart, Grady Tate (d), Ray Armando, Rubens Bassini, Sonny Carr, Airto Moreira (per), Heloisa Buarque De Hollanda (voc) |
|
|
1981.??.?? |
Rosemary Clooney (voc), Warren Vaché (cnt, fis), Scott Hamilton (ts), David Ladd (fl), Cal Tjader (vib), Nat Pierce (p), Cal Collins (g), Bob Maize (b), Jake Hanna (d) |
|
|
Dee Dee Bridgewater |
1992.12.08 |
Dee Dee Bridgewater (voc), Thierry Eliez (p), Hein van de Geyn (b), André Ceccarelli (d) |
|
Susannah McCorkle |
1995.09.06 |
Susannah McCorkle (voc), Randy Sandke (tp, fis), Robert Trowers (tb), Chris Potter (as), Ken Peplowski (ts, cl), Allen Farnham (p), Howard Alden (g), Steve Gilmore (b), Rich De Rosa (d) |
|
2007.12.?? |
Patricia Barber (voc, p), Chris Potter (ts), Neal Alger (g), Michael Arnopol (b), Eric Montzka (per, d) |
On cinemas
The song 'Just One Of Those Things' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL
TITLE |
TITLE IN
SPAIN |
YEAR OF
PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Panama Hattie |
No se estrenó en España |
1942 |
Lena Horne |
|
Night and Day |
Noche y día |
1945 |
Ginny Simms |
|
Lullaby of Broadway |
Nana de Broadway |
1951 |
Doris Day |
|
The Snows of Kilimanjaro |
Las nieves del Kilimanjaro |
1952 |
Hildegarde Kneff |
|
The Jazz Singer |
El cantante de jazz |
1953 |
Peggy Lee |
|
Young at Heart |
Siempre tú y yo |
1955 |
Frank Sinatra |
|
Can-Can |
Can Can |
1960 |
Maurice Chevalier |
|
At Long Last Love |
Un largo y definitivo amor |
1975 |
Burt Reynolds, Cybill Sheperd & Duilio Del Prete |
|
Fatso |
Gordo |
1980 |
|
|
Stardust Memories |
Recuerdos |
1980 |
Dick Hyman |
|
Radio Days |
Días de radio |
1987 |
|
|
Mr. Saturday Night |
El showman de los sábados |
1992 |
Benny Goodman Sextet |
|
Six Degrees of Separation |
Seis grados de separación |
1993 |
|
|
That's Entertainment! III |
That's Entertainment! III |
1994 |
Secuence of 'Panama Hattie' |
|
Forget Paris |
Olvídate de París |
1995 |
|
|
Miami Rhapsody |
Miami |
1995 |
Louis Armstrong |
|
Children of the Revolution |
Hijos de la revolución |
1996 |
Louis Armstrong |
|
De-Lovely |
De-Lovely |
2004 |
Diana Krall |
|
Rumor Has It... |
Dicen por ahí... |
2005 |
Nellie McKay |