He was born in New York City (but grew up in New Haven, Connecticut) and began learning the saxophone when he was 15 and by age 16, had begun to tour with a band. He reached Hollywood the first time, as a sideman with Irving Aaronson's band in 1931, performing at the famous Orange Blossom Room (site of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929). Returning to New York City in1932, he became a highly in-demand session musician, working for example as one of just a handful of accompanists to Bing Crosby's first signature radio show for William S. Paley's already powerful and influential CBS radio network. Ultimately, Artie (who was known strictly as "Art" Shaw until his fortuitous Summer, 1938 contract with RCA Victor records' Bluebird label commenced) organized and led five, full-time touring orchestras that were all extremely popular -save the last, from 1949, with its be-bop oriented book. Ironically, that final Shaw-led big band (populated with players like Al Cohn), is considered by most jazz critics to have been Artie's best. With time out to lead a Navy service band (in the Pacific combat theater) during WWII, Shaw's actual big band- leading career lasted less than a decade overall -yet, it was a remarkably productive one, populated with some fourteen "Gold" records. These included such mega-hits as "Begin the Beguine", "Stardust", "Frenesi", "Moonglow", "Temptation", "Dancing In The Dark" and "Summit Ridge Drive" -the latter by his famous quintet billed as the Gramercy 5.
Shaw was known for being an innovator in the big band idiom, pioneering strings with jazz and using unusual instrumentations. His Summer, 1935 piece "Interlude in B-flat" was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed "third stream". In 1938 he convinced Billie Holiday to be his band's vocalist, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. This 1938-1939 orchestra became phenomenonally successful and appeared in the movie "Dancing Co-ed" which also featured one of his future wives, Lana Turner, in the cast. Artie's clarinet playing, had by now reached a level that was arguably the greatest in jazz, easily rivaling that of Benny Goodman. Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard, himself a highly talented musician -cited Shaw (in 1940) as his "favorite" clarinet player. Literally abandoning his famous 1938-1939 band at the absolute peak of its' fame and earning power (Artie, just himself alone pulling down more than $10K per week) in late November, 1939, Shaw "abdicated" to Acapulco, Mexico. Returning to the U.S. he organized an entirely new orchestra, with full string section in the Summer of 1940. A truly stellar aggregation, it lasted until mid-1941, featuring stars Billy Butterfield, Johnny Guarneiri, Nick Fatool and Ray Conniff as principal arranger. This outfit can be prominently seen in the RKO film "Second Chorus" starring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard. The final pre-war Shaw band, started in late, 1941, had Davey Tough and Hot Lips Page and big hits on St. James Infirmary Blues and Blues In The NIght. Artie broke this outstanding unit up shortly after Pearl Harbor so he could "enlist" in the Navy -refusing an offered commission. Back from the Navy, Shaw put together a new band that featured Roy Eldridge and an ambitious library stocked with arrangements by Eddie Sauter, Buster Harding, Ray Conniff and others. Hit records for this band included "Little Jazz" and "S'Wonderful" and by now Artie was married to Ava Gardner. His final public performances (as a clarinetist) took place in 1954, including with a sublime quartet in an extended Las Vegas booking. Apparently, he last picked up and played his fabled clarinet in about 1960 at his beach house in Spain (as recounted in final wife actress Evelyn Keyes' autobiography) and resisted all lucrative offers to return to the stage until finally fielding a "ghost" band under the highly capable aegis of outstanding clarinetist Dick Johnson in 1985. For about the first year, Artie often appeared on stage with this very fine orchestra at certain, prestigious bookings, but soon tired of the "grind" -and not to Dick Johnson's dismay. This now true "ghost" band is still appearing during Summer seasons (with much of the original Shaw "books"), principally in the New England area (Johnson lives in Boston) and is well worth seeing. Although he had more wives (8) than bands, Artie fell one wife short of Charlie Barnet's record (for a famous bandleadrer) of nine.
Am I In Love
Artie Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when you smiled at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
That it was love at sight and
I was right to love you as I do.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
When you are not around.
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
For I'm so proud of you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I never knew what they could do.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
The song "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" is a classic jazz and swing standard that was originally recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra in 1938. The lyrics describe a feeling of disbelief and surprise that the singer's love interest feels the same way about them. The song is a celebration of the joy that love can bring, and a reflection on how unexpected it can be when it happens.
The first verse sets the scene, describing the moment when the two lovers first met and the feeling of excitement and thrill that it evoked. The second verse describes how the singer's friends and acquaintances are surprised to hear that their love interest is interested in them. The chorus repeats the idea that the singer can't believe that they are in love because it seems too good to be true.
The third verse describes the singer's feelings of loneliness and sadness when their love interest is not around, but how everything feels right when they are together. The chorus repeats again, emphasizing that the singer is incredulous that their love is reciprocated, but also feeling lucky and grateful for it.
Overall, "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" is a feel-good, upbeat song that celebrates the joy of unexpected love.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday you came my way,
I saw you yesterday and that was the start of things between us.
And when you smiled at me,
Your smile made me feel something in my heart, something like an excitement of sorts.
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
I felt a thrill run through my heart that I had never felt before.
That it was love at sight and
I knew immediately that I had fallen in love with you at first sight.
I was right to love you as I do.
My love for you is true and I believe it's justified.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
Despite my love for you, I never imagined that you could feel the same way about me.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
Your blue eyes and gentle kisses have an effect on me that I never understood before.
I never knew what they could do.
I never understood the power of your eyes and kisses until I experienced them myself.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
You tell everyone about me and make it known that I'm on your mind.
I'm on your mind each place we go
No matter where we go, you always have thoughts of me in your mind.
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
Others are surprised that you have fallen in love with me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
It's hard for me to comprehend that you have feelings of love for me.
And after all is said and done,
Despite everything that has happened between us,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I feel incredibly lucky to be loved by someone like you.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
When you're not around, life seems less colorful and I feel down.
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
When you're with me, I feel proud and complete.
For I'm so proud of you
I feel proud of you and all that you are.
It all seems too good to me to be all true
I'm so happy that it all seems too good to be true.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Word Collections Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Capitol CMG Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLARENCE GASKILL, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Wortmann
Recording date: 08 - 04 -1937. (Brunswick 7942). Peg La Centra also sang the titel "Please Pardon Us, We`re In Love" on this day. DerKlariNette