I ran across an anomalous Cole Porter song quite awhile ago--Since I Kissed my Baby Goodbye.

Here it is, sung by Fred Astaire.

https://youtu.be/Y4toBAYpGhE

It it completely different from his usual style--more like Hoagy Carmichael. No coruscating wit, no complex harmonic moves.

So--out of the "Great American Songbook" (please, no Bjork or Enya or Skrillix), does anyone know of other such things?

Just curious.

Song for the film : the one who orders melody and harmony pays; the fact that the song was an Oscar nominee. Interestingly, the beginning is reminiscent of Lesser's "If I were a bell".

I you list several songs that you'd characterize as Cole Porter's "usual" style. I'll listen to them on YouTube. A partial cursory listen to Fred Astaire's recording - I liked it. My first thought, was wondering if this song lent itself to a jazz treatment. Bennie Goodman, Charlie Parker, whomever.

Hi Dave-- Porter wrote (words and music both, remember)

What is this thing called Love
Night and Day
Begin The Beguine
Love for Sale
It's All Right with Me
I concentrate on You
I Get a Kick out of You
In the Still of the Night
True Love
You're the Top
Friendship
Just One of those Things

and many many more

and none of them have the folksy bluesy simplicity of Since I Kissed my Baby Goodbye. (Disclaimer--I don't know the vast majority of Porter's songs. I DO know alot of his more famous songs).

Another point--I neglected to mention what I call his "Purple Passion" songs, such as "In the Still of the Night" and "So In Love", where verbal and/or harmonic sophistication do not figure largely.

The most well-known Porter song with a folksy bluesy simplicity would be Don't Fence Me In.

Hi BDB--I left that out on purpose, as Porter bought the lyrics from one Robert Fletcher, though I've also read that he bought the entire song. But you are correct, it's one more of a kind, which kind of makes my point--they are distinct rarities in his better-known output.

This reminds me of a related topic--songs either "stolen" or STOLEN from original writers.

Outright STOLEN--Rum and Coca Cola, Hula Love, I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now.

"stolen"--I Can't Give you Anything but Love, and possibly Don't Fence me In.

and the well-known category of plagiarized music--Beach Boys and George Harrison. ugh.

I had a co-worker who claimed that someone she knew actually wrote God Bless America, and it wasn't Irving Berlin.

Schiller wrote the Ode to Joy, but Beethoven rewrote it enough to change the meaning of it. These things happen.

"and the well-known category of plagiarized music--Beach Boys and George Harrison. ugh."

One case each as far as I know Rogerzell.
Both artists also happen to write some of the greatest melodies in popular music.

Your taste in older songwriters is great, but sweeping inaccurate generalisations about more modern songwriters does you no credit.

Cheers

In the Jazz world a lot of argument about who actually wrote what. So the common way people would judge is to say "when did <fill in the blank> ever write anything else like that?".

SimonB--I should have been specific--Surfin USA/Sweet Little Sixteen, He's So Fine/My Sweet Lord. I'll even accept George's excuse that he didn't realize it.

I'm a big fan of both BBs and George. (Tho not fond of Mike Love). Certainly no disrespect intended.

MrShed--I have no knowledge of the jazz world, but I would find it hard to believe that they would argue about who wrote God Bless America lol. So is it a question of actually not knowing? Or knowing the "little-known truth" (i.e., Berlin didn't write God Bless America, my co-worker's friend did)? or could it involve the plethora of jazz songs that are written by jazz players and mostly only known to same? Or jazz tunes written over other people's changes (like I got rhythm?)

Or could it be that they are kinda average people who don't always know the answer? like me.

I admit that I don't know most of the authors of songs I play--that is, I know their names, but mostly can't connect them to a random song, nor list songs by author--except for a few. Porter, Berlin, Sammy Fain, Warren. And of those, I really only know Berlin to a large extent. cause he's my fave.

If I hear a song I don't know, there may or may not be enough in it for me to name the writer(s). More so, the newer they are. I don't know anybody writing now, or to be honest, since about 1969.

Thanks for clarifying that Rogerzell.

Cheers