ALONE TOGETHER

Music: Arthur Schwartz- Lyrics: Howard Dietz

Year: 1932

Origin of the song

The musical Flying Colors premiered in the Imperial Theatre of New York on 15 September 1932. That night, Jean Sargent sang ‘Alone Together’ while Clifton Webb danced with Tamara Geva. The show, that was performed a hundred and eighty eight times, had unalike reviews.

‘Alone Together’ entered the top charts at the end of 1932 and reached the 9th position with the Leo Reisman’s orchestra version, a group that Jerome Kern used to call ‘The String Quartet of Dance Bands’. Other songs included in the show were ‘A Shine on Your Shoes’ and ‘Louisiana Hayride’. Both entered the top charts with the Roger Wolfe Kahn’s and Leo Reisman’s orchestra versions respectively.

Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz were two very prolific authors as they wrote more than two hundred songs each. Among their collaborations (apart from ‘Alone Together’), ‘You and the Night and the Music’ (1934), ‘By Myself’ (1937), ‘I See Your Face Before Me’ (1937), and ‘Haunted Heart’ (1948) stand out.

Versions in the top of charts

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	DAY OF ENTRANCE	PERMANENCE WEEKS	HIGH POSITION REACHED
Leo Reisman Orchestra	1932.09.06	1932.11.05	5	9	Frank Luther (voc)

Jazz. Outstanding performances

Instrumental

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
Artie Shaw Orchestra	1939.01.31	Artie Shaw (cl, dir), Bernie Privin, Chuck Peterson, Johnny Best (tp), George Arus, Harry Rodgers, Les Jenkins (tb), Hank Freeman, Les Robinson (as), Georgie Auld, Tony Pastor (ts), Bob Kitsis (p), Al Avola (g), Sid Weiss (b), Buddy Rich (d)
Artie Shaw Orchestra	1941.01.23	Artie Shaw (cl, dir), Billy Butterfield, George Wendt, Jack Cathcart (tp), Jack Jenney, Ray Conniff, Vernon Brown (tb), Les Robinson), Neely Plumb (as), C. Bassey, Jerry Jerome (ts), Johnny Guarnieri (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Jud DeNaut (b), Nick Fatool (d)
Miles Davis Quintet	1955.07.09	Miles Davis (tp), Britt Woodman (tb), Teddy Charles (vib), Charles Mingus (b), Elvin Jones (d)
The Jazz Messengers	1955.11.23	Kenny Dorham (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Horace Silver (p), Doug Watkins (b), Art Blakey (d)
Chet Baker Quartet	1955.11.28	Chet Baker (tp), Raymond Fol (p), Benoit Quersin (b), Jean-Louis Viale (d)
Steve Lacy Quartet	1957.11.01	Steve Lacy (ss), Wynton Kelly (p), Buell Neidlinger (b), Dennis Charles (d)
Chet Baker Septet	1958.12.30	Chet Baker (tp), Herbie Mann (fl), Pepper Adams (bars), Bill Evans (p), Kenny Burrell (g), Paul Chambers (b), Connie Kay (d)
Stanley Turrentine & The Three Sounds	1960.06.29	Stanley Turrentine (ts), Gene Harris (p), Andrew Simpkins (b), Bill Dowdy (d)
Lee Konitz Quartet	1967.09.25	Lee Konitz (as, ts), Karl Berger (vib), Eddie Gómez (b), Elvin Jones (d)
Jim Hall- Ron Carter Duo	1972.08.04	Jim Hall (g), Ron Carter (b)
Pepper Adams Quintet	1983.08.19	Kenny Wheeler (tp, fis), Pepper Adams (bars), Hank Jones (p), Clint Houston (b), Louis Hayes (d)
Kirk Lightsey Quartet	1986.06.05	Kirk Lightsey (p), Jerry Gonzalez (tp), Santi Debriano (b), Eddie Gladden (d)
Jessica Williams Trio	2003.07.09	Jessica Williams (p), Ray Drummond (b), Victor Lewis (d)
McCoy Tyner Quintet	2003.11.19	McCoy Tyner (p), Terence Blanchard (tp), Gary Bartz (as), Christian McBride (b), Lewis Nash (d)

Vocal

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
Dizzy Gillespie with Johnny Richards Orchestra	1950.11.01	Dizzy Gillespie (tp, voc) Henry Coker, Dick Kenny, Harold Smith (tb), John Graas (tpa), Philip Shuken, Askell Issenbuth (fl), Harry Steinfeld (ob), Shirley Thompson (fg), Paul Smith (p), Jack Cascales (b), Charles 'Specs' Wright (d), Carlos Vidal Bolado (cng), string section, Johnny Richards (dir)
Woody Herman with Ben Webster Sextet	1957.01.11	Woody Herman (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Ben Webster (ts), Jimmy Rowles (p), Barney Kessel (g), Joe Mondragon (b), Larry Bunker (d)
Ray Charles & Betty Carter	1960.08.24	Ray Charles (p, voc), Betty Carter (voc), Jack Halloran Singers, Marty Paich Orchestra
Joe Williams with Harry Edison Sextet	1961.02.02	Joe Williams (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Jimmy Forrest (ts), unidentified (g), Sir Charles Thompson (p), Tommy Potter (b), Clarence Johnston (d)
Patricia Barber	1989.05.08	Patricia Barber (p, voc), Michael Arnopol (b), Mark Walker (d)

On cinemas

The song 'Alone Together' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:

ORIGINAL TITLE	TITLE IN SPAIN	YEAR OF PRODUCTION	PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM
Hotel	Intriga en el Gran Hotel	1967	Carmen McRae