April in Paris

Thanks Steve. Fun article.

Yep, enjoyed it. But I would still choose to go to Paris in any weather.

Yes, fun. The greatest version of the song belongs to Count Basie; there are several versions on YouTube. The original recording is there, minus film, and it has the most fake endings. No lyrics, of course, but you can hear Yip Harburg's words in your mind. He did not need to go to Paris to portray it; after all, his poetry also took us Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It's also not the first time, nor the last, that artistic Americans asserted ownership of Paris. Yet those mid-20th-century portrayals still sit comfortably on the city today, at least for us outsiders.

I hope I'm not about to start a brawl , but my absolute favorite rendition of this is by the classical singer Dawn Upshaw . Usually , when classically trained singers attempt to sing repertoire from what is termed The American Songbook ( Rodgers and Hart , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern et al ) they butcher it for lack of understanding the stylistic elements the way popular singers do . This is a rare exception . Taken from a 1998 album ( Dawn Upshaw sings Vernon Duke ) , this version is pure heaven ! With these unforgettable lyrics by Harburg and a brilliant orchestration by Danny Troob . Please , since several of you have bitten on this , listen to this . On Youtube , as Southam points out , here is the link .............http://youtu.be/zEbr9UAZNv0 ..... The song starts at 5:05 but watch the whole clip ( It was taken from the original recording session ) . Lastly , while having nothing to do with Paris , also on Youtube you can find Ms. Upshaw singing " Autumn in New York " and " Remember or Forget " ( lyrics are a poem by the Victorian poet , Hamilton Aide ) .Enjoy ! P S here are the other two links ...........http://youtu.be/qRBllJt7rNQ .............http://youtu.be/qcoGq7Lc5r8