Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
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"Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" (1955) is a popular song with lyrics by Fran Landesman, set to music by Tommy Wolf. The title is a jazz rendition of the opening line of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, "April is the cruellest month".[1] The song describes how somebody feels sad and depressed despite all the good things associated with spring.[2]
Collaboration
[edit]Tommy Wolf was a pianist, composer, arranger, and musical director who met Fran Landesman while she was sitting in the bar of the Crystal Palace, a night club in St. Louis. Wolf was on the bandstand playing. This experience inspired her to begin writing song lyrics and in 1952 Wolf began setting her lyrics to music. More Landesman–Wolf collaborations followed, including the melodies for the songs for the 1959 Broadway musical The Nervous Set.
Notable recordings
[edit]- Jackie Cain and Roy Kral – Storyville Presents Jackie & Roy (1955)[3]
- Ella Fitzgerald – Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! (1961)[3]
- Mark Murphy – Rah! (1961)[3]
- Stan Getz – Reflections (1963)[3]
- Julie London - Sophisticated Lady (1962)
- Carmen McRae – Bittersweet (1964)[3]
- Hampton Hawes and Martial Solal – Key for Two (1968)[3]
- Phil Woods - Phil Woods & The Japanese Rhythm Machine (1975)
- Blossom Dearie – Winchester in Apple Blossom Time (1977)
- Betty Carter – The Audience with Betty Carter (1979)[3]
- Ian Shaw - A Ghost in Every Bar: The Lyrics of Fran Landesman (Splash Point, 2012)
- Bette Midler - Some People's Lives (1990)
- Norah Jones - Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most / Come Away With (2022)
- Radka Toneff - Live in Hamburg (1992,recorded in 1981)
- Zoot Sims - Zoot Sims in Paris (1962)
- Stanley Turrentine - A Chip off the Old Block (1964)
- Bill Charlap Trio - Uptown/Downtown (2017)
- Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop (1991)
- Irene Kral - Where Is Love? (1975)
- Cassandra Wilson - Loverly (2008) [4]
- Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller - The Art of Piano Duo - Live (2019) [5]
- June Christy - The Best of June Christy The Jazz Sessions (1996) [6]
- Sarah Vaughan - The Roulette Years (1991) [7]
- Norah Jones and Marian McPartland - Full Tanglewood Jazz Festival, 2003 (2003)
- Beegie Adair - By Myself - Songs of Lost Love (2020) [8]
- Anthony Wilson - Seasons (Live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) (2011) [9]
- Chaka Khan - Echoes of an Era (1982) [10]
- Kat Edmonson - Take to the Sky (2009) [11]
- Barbra Streisand - Just for the Record (1991) [12]
- Sinne Eeg - Remembering You (2009) [13]
- The Pete Jolly Trio and Friends - Little Bird (1963) [14]
- Patti Austin - The Real Me (1988) [15]
- Bobby Timmons - Sweet and Soulful Sounds (1962) [16]
- Spike Robinson - Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most (1986) [17]
- Houston Person and Ron Carter - Now's the Time/Something in Common (1990) [18]
References
[edit]- ^ Martin, Douglas (August 1, 2011). "Fran Landesman, Lyricist With a Bittersweet Edge, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
- ^ "Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most Lyrics". Lyrics.com. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- ^ "Cassandra Wilson - Loverly". March 11, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ "The Art of the Piano Duo - Live". Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "June Christy - The Best Of June Christy The Jazz Sessions". March 11, 1996. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ "The Roulette Years - Sarah Vaughan | Album | AllMusic". Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ "By Myself". beegieadair.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "Seasons (Live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), by Anthony Wilson (featuring Steve Cardenas, Chico Pinheiro, & Julian Lage)". Anthony Wilson. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ https://chakakhan.com/album-echoes-of-an-era/
- ^ "TAKE TO THE SKY (CD)". THE KAT EDMONSON GIFT SHOP. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "Streisand Albums | Just For The Record 1991 Box Set". www.barbra-archives.info. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "Remembering You". Sinne Eeg. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "The Pete Jolly Trio And Friends - Little Bird". March 11, 1963. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ "Patti Austin - The Real Me". March 11, 1988. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ "Bobby Timmons - Sweet And Soulful Sounds". March 11, 1962. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ "Spike Robinson - Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most". March 11, 1986. Retrieved March 11, 2025 – via www.discogs.com.
- ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/nows-the-time-mw0000101236
