If I Give My Heart To You - Brewster-Crane-Jacobs

[pdxdjazz]

"If I Give My Heart to You"
Composed by Jimmy Brewster / Jimmie Crane / Al Jacobs


Nat King Cole
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsmGlUL5qs

Kitty Kallen
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLF8B9394295742346&v=rERrLmR1FsU

 

[Keith88]

Bob, thanks for reminding me of this fine song from the 1950s. I plan to add this to the list of tunes I play at my gigs. I have a lead sheet for this tune and I'll whip up a chord chart and post it.

As an aside, I met Kitty Kallen about thirty years ago, long after she retired from singing. She was using her married name, and as we were chatting about music, she mentioned that she had sung professionally. She named a hit of hers, "Little Things Mean A Lot." When I said that the song had been a hit for Kitty Kallen, she replied "I am Kitty Kallen!" We then had a talk about how songs had changed, and I contrasted the mood of "Little Things…" with "Material Girl." She was a fine lady who died earlier this year. She was only a fleeting acquaintance, but I'm very glad I met her.

 

[pdxdjazz]

Great story Keith.
I just heard Gene Gimble sing it late one night under the stars in our small jam-circle at Weiser.
https://forums.irealpro.com/threads/WEISER-Idaho-US-2016.15768/
Gene is in his 90's and the brother of Johnny
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Gimble
I also got to jam informally with Paul Anastasio
http://worldjazzscene.com/wordpress/paul-anastasio-country-swing-violin/
and Tony Marcus.
http://www.tonymarcus.net

I posted the song request to remind myself to work-up a chart.
(Yours will probably be better....I'll wait)
)BOB

 

[engelbach]

Sorry to butt in. I have a chart for this tune, from the old Fake Book of 1000 Songs, Volume Two, with some reharms.

If I Give My Heart to You-Rev JE - Crane and Jacobs

Cheers,
Jer

 

[pdxdjazz]

Thanks Jer, you're always welcome to jump in anytime.
Is the second 2nd-ending just an "oops"?
)BOB

 

[Keith88]

You're not butting in, Jer. I always find your musical ideas to be interesting and instructive.

"If I Give My Heart To You" is a straightforward 32-bar AABA tune written in 1953. One issue with it is its diatonic, scalar melody which doesn't lend itself to interesting harmonic motion. Because of this, I kept the harmony quite simple. Nonetheless, our charts are quite similar, including the use of the NC (which I learned from Jer's charts).

I think I learned this tune as a child from Denise Lor's somewhat hysterical 1954 performance. There is another early performance by Doris Day which is marred by an annoying male chorus singing "Bub bub bub bub bub" behind her. For sentimental reasons perhaps, I prefer Kitty Kallen's rendition.

If I Give My Heart To You - Crane Jacobs Brewster

I've still got my copy of Volume 2. It's got wonderful old tunes in it. The book takes me back to my high school days in the early 1960s…

 

[engelbach]

Thanks Jer, you're always welcome to jump in anytime.
Is the second 2nd-ending just an "oops"?
)BOB

Oops again.

I added a bar at the front of each of the first and second endings and forgot to delete the old second ending.

Thanks, Bob.

Cheers,
Jer

 

[engelbach]

You're not butting in, Jer. I always find your musical ideas to be interesting and instructive.

"If I Give My Heart To You" is a straightforward 32-bar AABA tune written in 1953. One issue with it is its diatonic, scalar melody which doesn't lend itself to interesting harmonic motion. Because of this, I kept the harmony quite simple. Nonetheless, our charts are quite similar, including the use of the NC (which I learned from Jer's charts).

Thanks Keith.

I agree in principle. I'm just promiscuous with harmony ...

I especially like what you did with the inner voices on Dm>G7 and A13>A7.

Cheers,
Jer