[Shaughnessy]

The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film Swing Time that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936.
Fields remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me.
I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful."
In the movie, Astaire sang "The Way You Look To-night" to Ginger Rogers while she was washing her hair in an adjacent room.
Astaire's recording was a top seller in 1936.

Note: This is Part One of a two part contest

Fred Astaire

Doris Day

Eddie Fisher

Frank Sinatra​

 

[Shaughnessy]

Kiri Te Kanawa

Mel Tormé

Andy Williams​

 

[SanAntone]

My votes went to Fred Astaire and Doris Day. Their's were the two which I thought captured the romance of the song but without either dipping into sentimentality (Andy Williams, Eddie Fisher) or emotional distancing because of a jazzy interpretation (Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé). Kiri Te Kanawa just didn't bring the song to life.

 

[jegreenwood]

I have the Astaire recording and the Sinatra recording. I also have the movie on DVD (part of a set of all the Astaire/Rogers movies). I'm glad to be able to cast a vote for Sinatra/Riddle. His lightly swung version has always been a favorite of mine. My second was close between Astaire and Doris Day, but I went for Fred. There's no "Other" (and apparently no Group Two), or my second vote would have gone to Fitzgerald/Riddle on the Jerome Kern Songbook. A lovely, warm ballad arrangement combined with a gorgeous vocal. I guess Nelson just has a way with this song.

I recall a music teacher mentioning that the only songs he could think of that began with a descending fifth were this and "Feelings."

Also, I always felt that Eric Clapton ripped this song off with his "Wonderful Tonight."

 

[Tsaraslondon]

My first vote goes to Fred Astaire, whose movies with Ginger Rogers, I used to be glued to as a child every time they were shown on TV. I started taking tap dancing lessons when I was five, and my parents and grandparents kept telling me I'd be the next Fred Astaire. It never quite happened, but he was no doubt one of the reasons I got into the theatre. I still love all those Astaire/Rogers movies. We all know Hollywood's first reaction to Astaire's first audition, "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little," but I thought his light voice just perfect here and he made every word tell. Like his dancing, everything is just so stylish.

I then eliminated Te Kanawa, Williams, Tormé, none of whose versions did much for me. Fisher went next. He sings beautifully, but he reminded me of one of those singers they would bring in in to start off a big Busby Berkely dance routine; the voice and style absolutely perfect, but lacking a little in personality.

I have a soft spot for Sinatra, always have, and he was my mother's favourite singer, but here I rather preferred Doris Day's arrangement, and it was nice to be reminded just what a great singer she was, so she gets my second vote.

 

[Simplicissimus]

My votes went to Fred Astaire and Doris Day. There's were the two which I thought captured the romance of the song but without either dipping into sentimentality (Andy Williams, Eddie Fisher) or emotional distancing because of a jazzy interpretation (Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé). Kiri Te Kanawa just didn't bring the song to life.

I really like your take on the interpretations. I voted for Frank despite the emotional distancing because I feel like that's just natural for Frank. Astaire and Doris Day present a very sincere kind of romance, while romance for Frank is more light-hearted, yet it's still a kind of (maybe Playboy era) romance. If I could sing, I'd interpret the song like Astaire.

 

[jegreenwood]

I really like your take on the interpretations. I voted for Frank despite the emotional distancing because I feel like that's just natural for Frank. Astaire and Doris Day present a very sincere kind of romance, while romance for Frank is more light-hearted, yet it's still a kind of (maybe Playboy era) romance. If I could sing, I'd interpret the song like Astaire.

Perhaps I'm influenced by the film, but I always thought this song works with a more casual interpretation. After all Fred is sort of making fun of Ginger as she covers her face with cold cream.

 

[Shaughnessy]

I have the Astaire recording and the Sinatra recording. I also have the movie on DVD (part of a set of all the Astaire/Rogers movies). I'm glad to be able to cast a vote for Sinatra/Riddle. His lightly swung version has always been a favorite of mine. My second was close between Astaire and Doris Day, but I went for Fred. There's no "Other" (and apparently no Group Two), or my second vote would have gone to Fitzgerald/Riddle on the Jerome Kern Songbook. A lovely, warm ballad arrangement combined with a gorgeous vocal. I guess Nelson just has a way with this song.

I recall a music teacher mentioning that the only songs he could think of that began with a descending fifth were this and "Feelings."

Also, I always felt that Eric Clapton ripped this song off with his "Wonderful Tonight."

My mistake - There should be a "Part One of Two" - I was creating two contests in two separate sections of the forum - I'll make the change and you can change your vote accordingly - Thanks for the head's up on this one - Mea culpa... And you can rest assured that some artists are always going to be represented -

Made the changes - Added a notice that this is Part One of Two - The thread heading did indeed have "Part One" so I wasn't as off the mark as I feared.

I'm not certain if "Other" in needed in the first contest as I have seven (possibly eight) more selections already curated for Part Two - I probably should have decided to save "Other" for Part Two rather than having people waste an "Other" vote on a selection which will appear in Part Two... but it's too late to edit it now - Once a poll is set, an entry can't be edited.

 

[Belowpar]

So on holiday with Mrs Par and explain the rules of this game. Psychologists might make much of this: I promise I'll go with her vote.

She correctly identifies ('blind') all but Eddie and Kiri and comments "It's mmm got to be Fred"

As usual with precision and conciseness she's correct and that explains its now 33 years and growing.

As usual I can't help adding that although Doris, Frank and 'the velvet Fog ' are excellent, there's good reason for the fact that the film's I've watched the most often star F.&G.I
Still can't remember how each plot differs, but...what a confluence of talents.

 

[MAS]

Fred Astaire is inimitable with great style and rhythm.
I don’t like the put-on style of Sinatra’s arrangement.
Andy Williams and Eddie Fisher; also Kiri, are too “easy listening” for me, superficial.
Don’t like the Mel Torme rush along. Ugh!
Doris Day was never a favorite singer and this rendition hasn’t changed my mind.
Astaire stands supreme and alone at the top!

 

[starthrower]

Doris Day is my no.1 among this group. Her voice is beautiful and her phrasing superb!

I didn't care for most of the others save Mel Torme. I loved the jazzy arrangement and solo breaks.

Although I'm a Sinatra fan, this song just doesn't seem to gel with his style. All of the others were far too square sounding or sentimental for my taste.

 

[Shaughnessy]

Astaire - Day - Fisher - Sinatra - Te Kanawa - Tormé - Williams

I knew that Fred Astaire was going to get one of my votes even when I was only at the point of the contest in which I was trying to narrow down 24 initial selections down to two sets of 7 - So simple yet so elegant - Does so much more expressively with his voice than those who have been gifted with far greater skills - His rendition is endearing - as if he's somehow singing with the voice that we ourselves would have in a moment such as this in which we attempt to convey a genuine emotion that we're still awkwardly self-conscious about... First vote to Astaire.

Doris Day - Greatly underestimated her - I knew upon first listen that she would definitely make the cut down to the final 14 but I didn't anticipate just how well she would more than hold her own when squaring off against the competition. When I listened to this tune right after Fred Astaire, I had her marked down almost immediately for the second vote despite there being five more versions to work through - Strong vocal technique combined with superb phrasing... Doris Day's version then became the one that the other's needed to either equal or beat.

Eddie Fisher - Amazing set of pipes - Strongest "pure" singer of a traditional-sounding pop standard in regards to this group of seven - but he lost enough points in "musical phrasing" to knock him out of contention - Nowhere near having the depth and breadth of emotion displayed by the others - Lacked that sense of "vulnerability" expressed by Astaire and the saucy playfulness of Doris Day.

Frank Sinatra - He's a long-time favorite and - to me - when he's entered in these contests, he's the one that sets the standard that all others are measured against - This is a classic Sinatra tune and suddenly, Doris Day is faced with real competition.

Kiri Te Kanawa - Has significantly stronger vocal technique than any of the others but I don't think anyone in this competition does less with more than she does - Her phrasing can be disconcertingly awkward - Odd choices of emphasis - Despite her prodigious gifts, she just cannot swing a tune - As an operatic singer trying to make the transition to pop standards, she has a clear edge on someone like Renée Fleming which, while sounding like damning with faint praise, is really not my intent. Te Kanawa is clearly out of the running and has joined Eddie Fisher on the sidelines.

Mel Tormé - unique arrangement - Gets points for pure inventiveness - but what he gained in creativity, he lost in "musical phrasing" - The lyrics became little more than syllabic vocalizations devoid of any meaning whatsoever - Kudos for breaking the tune apart and re-building it from the ground up. Tormé joins Fisher and Te Kanawa on the bench.

Andy Williams - this arrangement moves as slowly as an Irish handy-man being paid by the hour but I just absolutely love this version of the tune - 99% of that affection is due to a personal memory of dancing with my wife that is one of those classic "stay with you forever" memories that never fades despite however much time may pass.

And so Andy Williams is suddenly tied with Doris Day and Frank Sinatra for that second vote - And even though 99% of the reason why he's tied with them is due solely to a memory, that memory is of such profound significance that Andy Williams gets my second vote.

 

[Woodduck]

Astaire is perfect, and my sole choice. Day is stylish but shallow vocally and interpretively. Williams is soupy and sentimental, though very good at being that (so good, actually, that if I made a second choice it would be him). Fisher is pleasant but underinflected. Te Kanawa is straightlaced and dull. Torme is contrived. Sinatra sounds the way fifties Sinatra always sounds, with that glib, superficial fifties thing going in the accompaniment. I detest music like that.

 

[AClockworkOrange]

I first heard this song sung by Peggy Lee and it is a version I really enjoy. She was one of the first singers I heard who drew me to listen more to this style of music.

It is the version found on a collection called “The Capitol Transcriptions 1946-1949”. I found it via streaming. I gave it another listen to confirm one of my votes for Peggy Lee.

Thankfully we have two votes so I can also cast a vote for Fred Astaire. I tend to prefer female singers but I do like Fred Astaire. Listening to his version as I type, straight after Peggy Lee’s is equally as satisfying.

 

[Shaughnessy]

I first heard this song sung by Peggy Lee and it is a version I really enjoy. She was one of the first singers I heard who drew me to listen more to this style of music.

It is the version found on a collection called “The Capitol Transcriptions 1946-1949”. I found it via streaming. I gave it another listen to confirm one of my votes for Peggy Lee.

Thankfully we have two votes so I can also cast a vote for Fred Astaire. I tend to prefer female singers but I do like Fred Astaire. Listening to his version as I type, straight after Peggy Lee’s is equally as satisfying.

The Peggy Lee “The Capitol Transcriptions 1946-1949”.version is in Part Two of this contest - If you would like to do so, you can change your vote by clicking on "Change vote" which is just slightly under the poll itself and then re-vote - You would need to choose Fred Astaire (as the "Change vote" deletes the first vote) and then you can vote for a second selection from those listed above. As mentioned, you will have the chance to vote for Peggy Lee in Part Two.

I'm going to stop listing "Other" on all future Part One contests to prevent anyone from using it to vote for a candidate who will appear in Part Two of the contest - I'll save the "Other" option for Part Two to give everyone a chance to vote for whomever didn't make the cut on the first two (or three) competitions.

 

[AClockworkOrange]

The Peggy Lee “The Capitol Transcriptions 1946-1949”.version is in Part Two of this contest - If you would like to do so, you can change your vote by clicking on "Change vote" which is just slightly under the poll itself and then re-vote - You would need to choose Fred Astaire (as the "Change vote" deletes the first vote) and then you can vote for a second selection from those listed above. As mentioned, you will have the chance to vote for Peggy Lee in Part Two.

I'm going to stop listing "Other" on all future Part One contests to prevent anyone from using it to vote for a candidate who will appear in Part Two of the contest - I'll save the "Other" option for Part Two to give everyone a chance to vote for whomever didn't make the cut on the first two (or three) competitions.

I didn’t realise, thanks for letting me know. I’ve altered my vote to a single vote for Fred Astaire.

 

[AClockworkOrange]

double post - sorry.

 

[pianozach]

The Way You Look To-night​

The Way You Look To-night

How quaint. Not even a hundred years ago they were putting a hyphen in "To-night".

 

[Shaughnessy]

The Way You Look To-night

How quaint. Not even a hundred years ago they were putting a hyphen in "To-night".

Even if I wanted to use "to-night" (which I didn't) I couldn't because of the number of names that I had to fit in the title of the thread

The wiki title page is "The Way You Look Tonight" but the first sentence leads off with "The Way You Look To-night" - Apparently, much as you stated, it began to die off in the early 20th century -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_You_Look_Tonight

tonight | Etymology, origin and meaning of tonight by etymonline

TONIGHT Meaning: "in the coming night," from to "at, on" (see to) + niht (see night). As a noun, "in the night after the… See origin and meaning of tonight.

www.etymonline.com

"Written as two words until 18c., after which it was to-night until early 20th c.

 

[Buoso Donati]