Song of the Day Nov 10

November 10, 2023

Today our song is: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters

Wikipedia tells us this about the song:

"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical Roberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. Its first recorded performance was by Gertrude Niesen, who recorded the song with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin, on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by Victor, with the B-side, "Jealousy", featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra.

Paul Whiteman had the first hit recording of the song on the record charts in 1934.

"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was recorded in 1958 by The Platters for their album Remember When? The group's version became a number one hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. In 1959 it peaked at No. 3 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. The song spent 20 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at Number 1 for one week on March 20 of that same year. Buck Ram, the producer, said that Harbach praised them "for reviving his song with taste." The widow of composer Jerome Kern disliked the recording so much she considered legal action to prevent its distribution.

 

Enjoy!