Songs from the Pen of Jerome Kern[Note 1] is an album by Irene Dunne, released by Decca Records, which contained covers of six show tunes composed by Jerome Kern. It was re-released in 2011 with other songs that Dunne had sung in movies.
Songs from the Pen of Jerome Kern | |
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Studio album by | |
Released |
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Recorded | July 16 – August 24, 1941 (1941-07-16 – 1941-08-24) |
Length | 18:00 |
Label | Decca Records |
Irene Dunne began her career performing in musical theater before being invited to Hollywood to star in the musical Leathernecking.[6] Despite many genres in her filmography, she also sang in movies that were not musicals.[1] She often became associated with Jerome Kern's career, starring in Hollywood, musical adaptations that included songs he composed (Sweet Adeline,[7] Roberta,[8] Show Boat,[9] High, Wide, and Handsome,[10] and Joy of Living)[11] and had starred in The City Chap on Broadway years before in 1925.[12]
Between July 16 and August 24, 1941, Dunne recorded a compilation album performing six Kern-composed songs with Victor Young's orchestra.[13] The official release date is unknown but the album appeared in newspaper ads in 1946[2] and 1947;[3] it was also included among other Jerome Kern cover albums with popular singers and singing movie stars.[14]
In 2011, it was released in CD format (now named Sings Kern and Other Rarities) by audio remasters Sepia Records and included previously-unissued tracks recorded during the original release, as well as alternate takes and other songs (some not created by Kern) Dunne had performed in her movies.[15]
Although eight songs were recorded between July and August 1941,[13] only six were published.[16]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Serial number | Length |
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1. | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | Otto Harbach | DLA 2553[17] | 3:09 |
2. | "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" | Oscar Hammerstein II | DLA 2552[18] | 2:53 |
3. | "All The Things You Are" | Hammerstein II | DLA 2554[19] | 2:44 |
4. | "Why Was I Born?" | Hammerstein II | DLA 2605[20] | 3:02 |
5. | "Babes in the Wood" | DLA 2626[21] | 3:09 | |
6. | "They Didn't Believe Me" | Herbert Reynolds | DLA 2679[22] | 3:01 |
Total length: | 18:00 |
The six tracks were also released as three 10-inch records: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"/"I've Told Ev'ry Little Star",[23][24] "All the Things You Are"/"Why Was I Born?",[25] and "Babes in the Wood"/"They Didn't Believe Me".[26]
"All the Things You Are" was an originally-rejected track.[27] The other two tracks recorded but not included were "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" and "Make Believe".[28][29] They would later be included in the CD re-release.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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7. | "Lovely to Look At" (recording used in Roberta) | 3:35 | |
8. | "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" | Oscar Hammerstein II | 3:29 |
9. | "Show Boat Exploitation Disc 1" ("Why Do I Love You?" from Show Boat) | 3:22 | |
10. | "Show Boat Exploitation Disc 2" (megamix) | 3:24 | |
11. | "I Have the Room Above Her" (from Show Boat, with Allan Jones) | 3:46 | |
12. | "Make Believe" (from Show Boat) | 3:13 | |
13. | "They Don't Believe Me" (alternate take) | 2:42 | |
14. | "Why Was I Born?" (alternate take) | 2:57 | |
15. | "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" (from High, Wide and Handsome) | Hammerstein II | 3:01 |
16. | "All the Things You Are" (alternate take) | 2:39 | |
17. | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (alternate take) | Otto Harbach | 3:00 |
18. | "Babes in the Wood" (alternate take) | 3:03 | |
19. | "If Love Were All" | Noël Coward | 1:51 |
20. | "Sing My Heart" (from Love Affair) | Ted Koehler | 3:30 |
21. | "You Couldn't Be Cuter" | Dorothy Fields | 1:05 |
Total length: | 01:02:49 |
No sales data has been released, but it was included in the Popular Albums section in a Paris Downstairs newspaper advert,[30] and Appeal-Democrat claimed that "the record shops are doing a landoffice [sic] business with her album".[31] However, critical reception was negative, with comparisons to Bing Crosby's Kern album that had a similar release time: "Crosby handles the Jerome Kern tunes with considerable more facility than Miss Dunne," wrote the Latrobe Bulletin,[32] and Betty Mead wrote, "Both Crosby and Irene Dunne present albums of Jerome Kern. Miss Dunne, unfortunately for her record, sounds better when you can see her [perform]."[16] Meanwhile, Michael Levin wrote, "Recalling Miss Dunne's charm was more pleasant to me than listening to her singing."[33]
INTERSTATE stands ready with the musical highlights on record, offering both albums and records. The albums include the following : BING CROSBY'S JEROME KERN SONGS, JEROME KERN SONGS [by] (FRED WARING), JEROME KERN SONGS (IRENE DUNNE), JEROME KERN (AL GOODMAN), JEROME KERN'S SHOW TUNES (AL GOODMAN), JEROME KERN'S MUSIC (CAPITOL ARTISTS)