"My One and Only Love" is a

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

popular song with music written by

Guy Wood Guy B. Wood (24 July 1911 – 23 February 2001) was a musician and songwriter born in Manchester, England. Wood started his career in music playing saxophone in dance bands in England. He moved to the United States in the 1930s, where he worked f ...

and lyrics by

Robert Mellin Israel Melnikoff (September 22, 1902 – July 10, 1994), known professionally as Robert Mellin, was a Russian Empire-born American composer and lyricist and music publisher. Born in Kyiv and raised in Chicago, where his first job was music pl ...

.Gioia, T. (2012). ''The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire''. Oxford University Press. . pp. 284-285. Notable renditions by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

(1953), and later by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

and

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...

(1963), have made the song part of the

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...

musical repertoire.

Structure

Published in

, it is a conventional 32-bar song with four 8-bar sections, including a bridge ("Type A" or "AABA" song structure).Meeder, C. (2012). ''Jazz: The Basics''. Taylor & Francis. . Chapter 1, Fundamentals, "Form". Typically performed as a ballad, it has an aria-like melody that is a challenge to many vocalists;Sinatra, N. (1986). ''Frank Sinatra, My Father''. Pocket Books. . p. 102. Quote: "This song is perhaps ''the'' most difficult popular song to sing. The intervals are extremely tricky…" in the key of C, the song's melody extends from G below middle C to the second D above middle C.

History

The song originated in 1947 under the title "Music from Beyond the Moon", with music by Guy B. Wood and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Vocalist Vic Damone recorded this version in the same year and released it as a B-side to "I'll Always Be In Love With You" (Mercury 5072),Ruppli, M. Novitsky, E. (1993). ''The Mercury Labels: A Discography''. Volume 1: The 1945-1956 Era. The Greenwood Publishing Group. . p. 51. but it was unsuccessful. In 1952, Robert Mellin wrote a new title and lyrics for the song, and it was republished the next year as “My One and Only Love”.Friedwald, W. (2017). ''The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums''. Pantheon Books. . p. 167.

Jazz standard

When

recorded it in 1953 with

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Recor ...

, first released as B-side to his hit single "

I've Got the World on a String "I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular jazz song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the twenty-first edition of the Cotton Club series which opened on October 23, 1932, the first of th ...

" (Capitol 2505),Silva, L. (2000). ''Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography''. Greenwood Press. . p. 207. it became known as a jazz standard. Then popular saxophonist

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands o ...

saw the song's "jazz potential" and recorded the first instrumental version in the very same year. As an instrumental jazz standard, it remained predominantly a song for tenor saxophonists.

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

recorded the tune with

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

in autumn 1956.

recorded his version with vocalist

ten years after Ventura in 1963 ('' John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman''). This was followed by Sonny Rollins in 1964. He re-recorded it in 1977, this time on soprano saxophone. Later interpretations came from

Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Award ...

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

, and

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

. Vocal renditions of "My One and Only Love" were recorded by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

(Decca 29746), Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Mark Murphy, Chet Baker and

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

turned the song into an up-tempo swing number.

Cover versions

References

External links

"My One and Only Love" at jazzstandards.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:My One and Only Love 1952 songs Songs written by Robert Mellin Songs written by Guy Wood Johnny Mathis songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Andy Williams songs 1950s jazz standards