Tea for Two (song)
| "Tea for Two" | |
|---|---|
 Record label for a 1924 recording by Helen Clark and Lewis James | |
| Song | |
| Written | 1924 |
| Composer(s) | Vincent Youmans |
| Lyricist(s) | Irving Caesar |
"Tea for Two" is a song composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Irving Caesar and written in 1924.[1][2] It was introduced by Louise Groody and John Barker in the Broadway musical No, No, Nanette.[1] "Tea for Two" was Youmans' biggest hit.[3]
Background
Youmans had written the basic melody idea of "Tea for Two" while he was in the navy during World War I, and he used it later on as an introductory passage for a song called "Who's Who With You?" While in Chicago, Youmans developed the idea into "a song that the hero could sing to the heroine" for the musical No, No, Nanette. He soon after played his composition for Irving Caesar and insisted he write the lyrics then and there. Caesar quickly jotted down a mock-up lyric, fully intending to revise it later on. Youmans, though, loved the mock-up and convinced Caesar it was just right for the melody.[4][1]
The phrase 'Tea for Two' was originally shouted by hawkers on the streets of 18th century England who wanted to attract business by lowering the price of a pot of tea from thruppence to tuppence.[5][6]
Musical characteristics
"Tea for Two" has an A1-A2-A3-B form, a range of just over an octave, and a major tonality throughout.[7][8] The song's original key was A♭ major with a false key change to C major during the second "A" section.[7] It is melodically repetitive (as the entire song consists of eighth and quarter notes, except for a pattern of eighth, quarter, and eight notes which briefly emerge in the second section) and has a relatively simple harmonic progression.[7][8]
Notable recordings
- January 1925: The Benson Orchestra of Chicago's instrumental rendition reaches number five on the US Billboard chart and stays there for five weeks[9][5]
- January 1925: Marion Harris's rendition reaches number one on the US Billboard chart and stays there for 11 weeks[9][5]
- 1939: Art Tatum's rendition hits number eighteen on the US Billboard chart and stays there for a week[9][5]
- September 1958: Tommy Dorsey's rendition reaches number seven on the US Billboard chart and stays there for twenty weeks and number five on the weekly top 50 chart from the Toronto radio station 'CHUM' and stays there for thirteen weeks[9][5]
- October 1958: Tommy Dorsey's rendition reaches number three on the UK Singles chart and stays there nineteen weeks[9][5]
- 1986: Art Tatum posthumously receives a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for his 1939 piano solo rendition[9][5]
- The Offspring included the song on their 1997 album Ixnay on the Hombre. It includes spoken word dialogue by John Mayer, and the track was titled "Intermission."
- Nick DeCaro solo album recorded in 1974 and produced by Tommy Lipuma with engineer Al Schmitt. Featured at Rock Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives Nick DeCaro tribute event September 2018.
Adaptations
- In 1926, Boris Fomin arranged it for inclusion in his operetta "The Career of Pierpont Blake" (Карьера Пирпойнта Блэка), with Russian lyrics by Konstantin Podrevsky, under the title "Tahiti Trot".[10]
- In 1927, Dmitri Shostakovich re-orchestrated Tahiti Trot from memory after conductor Nikolai Malko bet him 100 roubles that he could not do it in under an hour. He won after completing the orchestration in around 45 minutes. It became his Op. 16.
In popular culture
- Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck soft-shoe to “Tea for Two” in the Looney Tunes short Show Biz Bugs.
- The song features prominently in the 1940 novel La invención de Morel by Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares.
- In the French-British WWII comedy film La Grande Vadrouille the humming of the “Tea for Two” melody is the secret code for the British bomber crew members to recognising each other in the Turkish baths at the Grand Mosque of Paris.
- Occasionally on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, if a joke bombed during his monologue, the band would play "Tea For Two" and Johnny Carson would do a short soft shoe dance, which always got a laugh from the studio audience.
References
- ^ a b c Lewens, Alan (2001). Popular Song: Soundtrack of the Century. New York: Billboard Books. p. 50. ISBN 0823084361. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ Grossiels, Dirk. "Tea for Two". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ Zinsser, William Knowlton (2001). Easy To Remember: The Great American Songwriters And Their Songs (1st ed.). Jaffrey, N.H.: David R. Godine. p. 52. ISBN 1567921477. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ Ewen, David (1970). Great Men Of American Popular Song. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. p. 152. ISBN 0133641740. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wilson, Jeremy. "Tea for Two (1924)". Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ Furia, Philip (1990). The poets of Tin Pan Alley: A history of America's great lyricists. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195064089.
- ^ a b c McElrath, K.J. "Musical analysis of "Tea for Two"". JazzStandards. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b Wilder, Alec (1972). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators (1900-1950). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 295-296. ISBN 0195014456. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Hawtin, Steve. "Song title 697 - Tea For Two". tsort - The World's Music Charts. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ "Б. Фомин, К. Подревский - Таити-трот (к оперетте "Карьера Пирпойнта Блэка", с нотами)". a-pesni.org. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
