Cole Porter You were The TOP !

You're The Top !   So goes a famous line from Cole Porter's song of the same name. Cole Porter, unlike many of his contemporaries and competitors, came from a highly privileged background, educated at private schools and Yale . Courtesy of a wealthy family, he was able to travel widely in Europe as a young man. Despite his travels in high society, he was a serious craftsman who, like Irving Berlin, wrote both words and music. He mastered the art of " list songs" in which he would compare many apparently unrelated matters. In "Your The Top"  he compares the person being lionized in the song by rhyming " " You're a Shakespeare sonnet, You're a Bendel Bonnet, You're Mickey Mouse "  Other comparisons include " You're The National Gallery, You're Garbo's salary,
You're cellophane !"  Many of  Porter's songs, to quote one of his own lyrics float " On gossamer wings"  conveying a breezy elegance and self-mocking character.
The clip from the 1956 movie version of his musical " Anything Goes " features Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O'Coonor and Zizi Jeanmaire romping through the lengthy list telling each other how great they are.
PRFORMANCE LINK:  http://youtu.be/WLY2BylN6oA


But there was also a more reflective side in his more tender love songs. " After You Who " laments how empty life would be without one's loved one. It features a lengthy introductory verse that sets the stage for a  description  of how the singer  feels at the loss of that special someone. It is sung tenderly by John Barrowman in the style of a Broadway leading man . The performance suits the reflective nature of the piece.

PERFORMANCE LINK:   http://youtu.be/bo_vDfI1Px8

An even more famous impassioned love song is " I've Got You Under My Skin"   It pulls no punches in telling of the depth of emotional feeling and how the singer has been transfixed by the overwhelming appeal of the love object. Frank Sinatra's version is made even more engrossing bythe driving, incessant rhythm of Nelson Riddle's masterful arrangement, the searing trombone solo by Milt Bernhart and the consummate phrasing and articulation of Sinatra himself. This is a classic Capitol Records performance from the 1950's. This was the era when Sinatra gained full command of his voice and was supported by the finest musicians, arrangers and recording personnel on the West Coast.

PERFORMANCE LINK:  http://youtu.be/tJ6z3h6domU