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"Heart and Soul" is a popular song, with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Frank Loesser, published in 1938. The original 1938 version was performed by Larry Clinton & his Orchestra featuring Bea Wain.

In 1939, three versions charted: Larry Clinton (reaching #1 on the chart), Eddy Duchin (reaching #12), and Al Donahue (reaching #16). The song later charted as #11 in 1952 by The Four Aces, and as #57 in 1956 by Johnny Maddox. Two separate cover versions charted in 1961, with The Cleftones reaching #18 and Jan and Dean reaching #25. Many other versions have been recorded. The song has been used in many advertisements, such as for an iPad Mini television commercial.

Musical format

The song's A-section is often simplified as a repeating I-vi-IV-V progression and taught to beginning piano students as an easy two-hand duet (Audio file "Heart_And_Soul.MID" not found). Much like the piece "Chopsticks", this (somewhat inaccurate) version became widely known, even to those who have never studied piano. The chord progression, often referred to as the "'50s progression", later became very common in the doo-wop hits of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Cleftones version

The Cleftones had success with a rhythm and blues rearrangement of the song in 1961 . After being released on April 17, 1961, "Heart and Soul" reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 popular chart in July of that year, making the song The Cleftones' most successful work. About ten years later, the Cleftones' 1961 version of Heart and Soul appeared in the 1973 American comedy-drama film, American Graffiti.

The Cleftones were a doo-wop group formed in 1955 as The Silvertones at Jamaica High School in Queens, New York. Four years later in 1959, the group included Herbie Cox (lead singer), Charlie McGhee (James) (first tenor), Warren Corbin (bass guitar), Gene Pearson (baritone), and Pat Spann (vocals), the first and only female to sing with the group. By adding a female voice, the band moved away from conventional group-orientated 1950s doo-wop harmonies towards a sound where lead vocals came to dominate. The groups manager George Goldner additionally convinced the group that their future resided in re-recording existing songs that already had an established popularity. By this time, Charles James had become more proficient on the guitar, and the group and Goldner used that to develop an arrangement for the 1938 romantic-pop music standard "Heart and Soul," which had been a number one hit for trumpeter and American bandleader Larry Clinton and His Orchestra.

At that time, a local prominent disc jockey set up a recording session in Rochester, New York to record "Heart and Soul" and had arranged for singer Pat Spann's boyfriend Panama Francis to play drums and 15-year old/future Grammy Award winner Duane Hitchings to play keyboards on the song. At the recording session, the group was presented with a rearrangement of Heart and Soul song that was somewhat more formal than they had practiced. From that, the group imparted a variety of unexpected rhythms to give the song a syncopated feel. At some point during the recording session, the drummer caught singer Pat in the closet with base guitar player Warren, which abruptly ended the recording session. As a result, the last track recorded at the session was used as the "Heart and Soul" record.

"Heart and Soul" sat undistributed until 1961. In early April of that year, Roulette Records president Morris Levy reactivated New York-based American record label Gee Records as a division of Roulette Records and made "Heart and Soul" the reactivated label's first release. That same month, American news magazine Bilboard Music Week review panel listed "The Cleftones; Heart and Soul (Famous, ASCAP) (1:52) Gee" as one of seventeen "Pick Hits" from all songs released in the week of April 17, 1961. Under its "Spotlight Winners of the Week" column, Billboard identified the song as having the strongest sales potential of all records reviewed for the week, commenting about The Cleftones and "Heart and Soul,"

This was a hit group a few seasons back and this rendition could bring them back into the action. It's the standard tune and it's done in rocking, teen-slanted fashion with a swinging beat. This could happen. Flip is "How Do You Feel" (Tyrol, BMI) (2:00) Gee 1064."

Approximately two months later on July 3, 1961, "Heart and Soul" reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 popular chart, and No. 10 on the more specific, Billboard Hot 100 rhythm and blues chart. The song eventually sold approximately 350,000 copies for Gee/Roulette. However, the British Invasion of the mid-1960s began to dominate popular music in the United States and the doo-wop Cleftones broke up in 1964, with "Heart and Soul" being their greatest success. Almost a decade later, the Cleftones' 1961 version of Heart and Soul appeared in the 1973 American comedy-drama film, American Graffiti.

Music critic Terry Atkinson of the Palm Beach Post observed in 1990 that "Heart and Soul" is the song for which the Cleftones are best remembered. In 1999, American music critic Dave Marsh listed The Cleftones' "Heart and Soul" as No. 913 in his book, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. About thirteen years later in 2012, American author and essayist Ray Schuck noted that the lyrics -- "Well, I know that you're in love with him, 'cause I saw you dancing in the gym/You both kicked off your shoes - man, I dig those rhythm and blues."—from the 1972 song "American Pie by American folk rock singer-songwriter Don McLean could be a vaguely disguised reference to the Cleftones' 1961 rhythm and blues song, "Heart and Soul." In his essay, Schuck argued that such as reference would "segue nicely into the verses comprising the remainder of this stanza, albeit with a disappointing outcome."

Jan and Dean version

Jan and Dean released a version of the song at the same time as the version by the Cleftones was on the chart. They intended for it to be released on Liberty Records, who balked, and it was released on Gene Autry's Challenge Records instead. They achieved lesser chart success than the Cleftones, only reaching #25 on the charts. Liberty, noting the success, signed them, but none of Jan and Dean's follow on releases were as successful.

Other notable recorded versions

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See also

• Chopsticks (music)
• Der Flohwalzer
• '50s progression
• List of 1930s jazz standards
• List of songs containing the '50s progression

Further reading

• Jim Hazard (February 10, 1999), "And Now, Ladies And Gentlemen, The National Anthem. . .For Kids. . . Heart And Soul For Better Or Worse, A Lovely Tune Became A Mainstay For Budding Pianists", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sec. E Cue, p. 1, retrieved February 2, 2013

External links

• Radio Show "The Fishko Files" on Heart and Soul, New York Public Radio - contains audio of jazz versions
• The Bouncy Joy of 'Heart and Soul' from All Things Considered, December 31, 2006.

References

1. "Heart and Soul". (Sheet music) Cy Walter official site. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
2. ^ "Golden Oldies Take Stage At Chasco Fiesta", Tampa Tribune, sec. Pasco, p. 3, April 4, 2008, retrieved February 2, 2013
3. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2003), Vladimir Bogdanov (ed.), All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul, Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 141, ISBN 0879307447, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
4. ^ Jay Warner (2006), American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today, Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 119, ISBN 0634099787, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
5. Anthony M. Musso (2008), Setting the Record Straight: The Music and Careers of Recording Artists from the 1950s and Early 1960s ... In Their Own Words, vol. 2, AuthorHouse, p. 71, ISBN 1438952929, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
6. Anthony DeCurtis, James Henke, Holly George-Warren (1992), The Rolling stone album guide: completely new reviews : every essential album, every essential artist (3 ed.), Random House, p. 139, ISBN 0679737294, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. ^ Urban "Wally" Wallstrom (March 23, 2007), "Duane Hitchings, The Man Behind the Hits", RockUnited.com, retrieved January 18, 2013
8. ^ Terry Atkinson (August 3, 1990), "'50s Doo-Wop Collection Offers Alternative To Rap", Palm Beach Post, sec. TGIF, p. 15 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
9. John Laycock (February 2, 2002), "Playbill", Windsor Star, sec. Entertainment, p. B4 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
10. ^ "Glover Named A.&R. Chief for Gee Label", Billboard Music Week, vol. 73, no. 15, p. 3, April 17, 1961, ISSN 0006-2510, retrieved January 30, 2013, Henry Glover was named artist and repertoire {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
11. "Pick Hits", Bilboard Music Week, vol. 73, no. 15, p. 38, April 17, 1961, ISSN 0006-2510, retrieved January 30, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
12. "How do you feel?", by members of the Cleftones, w & m Herbert Cox, Gene Pearson, pseud. of Joshua Leviston & James Kendis a.k.a. Charles James, Copyright Registration Number EU0000664598, Date: 1961-03-31, where Adolph Tiedmann, through the estate of James Kendis a.k.a. Charles James is the copyright holder of "How do you feel?"
13. "Spotlight Winners of the Week", Bilboard Music Week, vol. 73, no. 15, p. 30, April 17, 1961, ISSN 0006-2510, retrieved January 30, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
14. "The Nation's Top Tunes Honor Roll of Hits for the Week Ending July 9, 1961", Bilboard Music Week, vol. 73, no. 26, p. 18, July 3, 1961, ISSN 0006-2510, retrieved January 30, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
15. Barbara L. Fredricksen (September 28, 2001), "Doo-wop tour to rock New Port Richey", St Petersburg Times, sec. Pasco Times, p. 5, retrieved February 2, 2013
16. "Heart And Soul - The Story of The Cleftones", New York City's C & C: The Cadillacs and The Cleftones, no. 19, DooWop Nation, 2013, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |part= ignored (help)
17. Tom Shea (March 25, 2004), "Duo wants folks in WMass to bop to doo wop", The Republican, sec. News, p. B1 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
18. Dave Marsh (1999), The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, Da Capo Press, p. 579, ISBN 030680901X, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
19. ^ Raymond I. Schuck (2012), Do You Believe in Rock and Roll?: Essays on Don Mclean's American Pie, McFarland, p. 56, ISBN 1476600368, retrieved February 2, 2013 {{citation}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
20. "Jan & Dean - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Rovi.

• Songs with music by Hoagy Carmichael
• Number-one singles in the United States
• Songs written by Frank Loesser
• 1938 songs
• 1930s jazz standards
• 1961 singles
• American rhythm and blues songs
• Doo-wop songs