I COVER THE WATERFRONT

Music: Johnny Green- Lyrics: Edward Heyman

Year: 1933

I Cover the waterfront-standards jazz-clasicos del jazz

Origin of the song

During the 30s of the 20th century, the sentence ‘I Cover the Waterfront’ became very popular among the American public. It was the title of a Max Miller’s novel (1932), of a song composed by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman (1933), and of a film, I Cover the Waterfront (1933) directed by James Cruze and starring Ben Lyon, Claudette Colbert, and Ernest Torrence. The song as well as the film were inspired by Miller’s book.

The film’s producers, when it was still being edited, took advantage of the song’s popularity and included it in the soundtrack. For its part, the publisher Harms Incorporated brought the score to light with a note on its cover that said: ‘based on the film of the same title’. A sign of this song’s popularity is that only in 1933, Eddy Duchin, Joe Haymes, Annette Hanshaw, Abe Lyman, Connie Boswell, and Louis Armstrong, among others, recorded it.

Apart from ‘I Cover the Waterfront’, Green and Heyman wrote together songs as notable as ‘Body and Soul’ (1930), ‘Out of Nowhere’ (1931), and ‘You're Mine You’ (1933).

Versions in the top charts

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	DAY OF ENTRANCE	PERMANENCE WEEKS	HIGH POSITION REACHED
Eddy Duchin Orchestra	1933.05.19	1933.07.01	6	3	Lew Sherwood (voc)
Joe Haymes Orchestra	1933.06.01	1933.06.24	1	17	Cliff Weston (voc)
Cats 'n' Jammers Three	1945.09.15	1946.04.06	1	3	Bill Samuels (p, voc) Rhythm & Blues charts
Erroll Garner Trio	1949.03.29	1949.10.08	1	8	Instrumental Rhythm & Blues charts

Jazz. Outstanding performances

Instrumental

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
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), Bus Bassey, Jerry Jerome (ts), Johnny Guarnieri (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Jud DeNaut (b), Nick Fatool (d)
Lester Young- Buddy Rich Trio	1946.04.01	Lester Young (ts), Nat Cole (p), Buddy Rich (d)
Erroll Garner Trio	1949.03.29	Erroll Garner (p), John Simmons (b), Alvin Stoller (d)
Art Tatum	1949.07.25	Art Tatum (p)
Don Byas Quartet	1952.04.10	Don Byas (ts), Art Simmons (p), Joe Benjamin (b), Bill Clarke (d)
Django Reinhardt	1953.04.08	Django Reinhardt (g), 'Fats' Sadi Lallemand (vib), Martial Solal (p), Pierre Michelot (b), Pierre Lemarchand (d)
Art Tatum	1955.07.03	Art Tatum (p)
Shelly Manne & His Friends	1956.02.11	Shelly Manne (d), André Previn (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b)
Jimmy Smith Trio	1956.06.18	Jimmy Smith (org), Thornel Schwartz (g), Donald Bailey (d)
Jackie McLean Quartet	1957.02.15	Jackie McLean (as), Mal Waldron (p), Arthur Phipps (b), Art Taylor (d)
Henry 'Red' Allen Orchestra	1957.03.27	Henry 'Red' Allen (tp), J.C. Higginbotham (tb), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Buster Bailey (cl), Marty Napoleon (p), Everett Barksdale (g), Lloyd Trotman (b), Cozy Cole (d)
Paul Gonsalves Quartet	1960.12.20	Paul Gonsalves (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Sam Jones (b), Jimmy Cobb (d)
Hank Jones	1991.11.11	Hank Jones (p)
Terence Blanchard Quartet	1994.10.29	Terence Blanchard (tp), Bruce Barth (p), Chris Thomas (b), Troy Davis (d), string section
Adam Makowicz	1997.??.??	Adam Makowicz (p)

Vocal

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
Connee Boswell	1933.06.10	Connee Boswell (voc), Victor Young Orchestra
Joe Sullivan´s Cafe Society Orchestra	1940.04.29	Joe Sullivan (p, dir), Ed Anderson (tp), Benny Morton (tb), Edmond Hall (cl), Danny Polo (cl, ts), Freddie Green (g), Henry Turner (b), Johnny Wells (d), Helen Ward (voc)
Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson Orchestra	1941.08.07	Billie Holiday (voc), Teddy Wilson (p, dir), Emmett Berry (tp), Hymie Schertzer (as), Jimmy Hamilton, Babe Russin (ts), Jimmy Hamilton (cl), Albert Casey (g), John Williams (b), J.C. Heard (d)
Billie Holiday with Eddie Heywood Orchestra	1944.03.25	Billie Holiday (voc), Eddie Heywood (p, dir), Doc Cheatham (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Lem Davis (as), Teddy Walters (g), John Simmons (b), Sid Catlett (d)
The Ink Spots	1946.03.18	Bill Kenny, Billy Bowen, Herb Kenny (voc), Charlie Fuqua (voc, g), Ray Tunia (p)
Frank Sinatra	1957.04.29	Frank Sinatra (voc), Gordon Jenkins Orchestra
Sarah Vaughan	1957.08.06	Sarah Vaughan (voc), Jimmy Jones (p), Richard Davis (b), Roy Haynes (d)
Rosemary Clooney	1978.09.??	Rosemary Clooney (voc), Warren Vaché (cnt), Scott Hamilton (ts), Nat Pierce (p), Cal Collins (g), Monty Budwig (b), Jake Hanna (d)

On cinemas

The song 'I Cover The Waterfront' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:

ORIGINAL TITLE	TITLE IN SPAIN	YEAR OF PRODUCTION	PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM
I Cover The Waterfront	A la sombra de los muelles	1933	Gracie Fields
Tomorrow Is Another Day	Unidos por el crimen	1951	Background music
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?	Danzad, danzad, malditos	1969	Lynn Willis (piano)
Autour de minuit	Alrededor de la medianoche	1986	Guy Marchand
Joe Versus The Volcano	Joe contra el volcán	1990	The Ink Spots
Malcolm X	Malcolm X	1992	Miki Howard
Seven	Seven	1995	Billie Holiday