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.
Comes Love
Artie Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comes a snow storm you can get a little heat
Comes love nothing can be done
Comes a fire then you know just what to do
Blow a tire, you can buy another shoe
Comes love nothing can be done
Oh, don't try hidin' 'cause there isn't any use
Comes a headache you can lose it in a day
Comes a toothache see the dentist right away
Comes love nothing can be done
In Artie Shaw’s song “Comes Love”, the lyrics suggest that there are certain things in life that one cannot control, and love is one of them. The lyrics are presented in a series of couplets that compare various uncontrollable occurrences in life, such as rainstorms or snowstorms, to the force of love. The first few lines illustrate the idea that we can prepare for certain uncontrollable events, such as putting on rubbers in a rainstorm or getting heat in a snowstorm, but there is no way to prepare or resist love when it arrives. Even in the face of a fire or a blown tire, one can take practical steps to address the problem, but when it comes to love, there is nothing to be done because it is an overpowering force that transcends reason.
The second half of the lyrics further support this idea, stating that “there isn’t any use” in trying to hide from love because once it takes hold, “you’ll start slidin’ when your heart turns on the juice”. The lyrics continue to compare other uncontrollable events such as headaches or toothaches, to the all-consuming power of love. Taken together, the lyrics suggest that love is an unstoppable force that cannot be controlled or resisted, and that once it takes hold, it brings both joy and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Comes a rain storm put your rubbers on your feet
When a rainstorm arrives, you should wear protective footwear.
Comes a snow storm you can get a little heat
When a snowstorm arrives, you can keep warm.
Comes love nothing can be done
When love appears, there is no way to fight it or stop it.
Comes a fire then you know just what to do
When a fire happens, you know how to react and respond.
Blow a tire, you can buy another shoe
If you have a problem, such as a flat tire or a worn-out shoe, you can easily fix it by replacing it.
Comes love nothing can be done
When love appears, there is no way to resist it or prevent it from happening.
Oh, don't try hidin' 'cause there isn't any use
Trying to hide your feelings is futile because they will eventually come out.
You'll start slidin' when your heart turns on the juice
When you fall in love, your emotions will take over and guide you.
Comes a headache you can lose it in a day
If you have a headache, it will likely go away within a day.
Comes a toothache see the dentist right away
If you have a toothache, you should seek professional medical attention.
Comes love nothing can be done
When love appears, it cannot be stopped or prevented.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Charles Tobias, Lew Brown, Sammy H. Stept
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Charles Potter
Nice combination . Artie and Helen do put a smile on your face listening to this .
Carole Carle
Wow Nellie! Helen Forrest! As a young musical theatre performer imagine getting to work with this amazing woman! 1967 Fresno Music Theatre Lewis+Young production of "Oliver". She sang the heck outta "As Long As He Needs Me". And omg the original boy from "Lassie" (tv)-- and much more--Tommy Rettig as The Artful Dodger! Thanks Prof78!!
The78Prof
My pleasure, Carole!
Trombonology Erstwhile
This record was where I first heard the great Helen Forrest. I was very impressed by her interpretive and technical powers, as it seems were most Big Band Era fans. Jerry Gray's arrangement is a knockout, from that arresting intro with the doo-wah trumpets to the conclusion. His writing conveys the mysterious nature of love, which suits the lyric, "Comes love -- nothing can be done." Johnny Best's opening melody statement is beautiful -- what a tone he had. The leader and Georgie Auld's solos, too, are superb.
surferpam1
Beautiful, clean copy.
Definitely Not A Dimension Guide
Found this wonderful tune from a Harvard University video about how the rhythm section swings
Piotr Barcz
Goodness me, Helen really had one of the best voices of the time, only Helen Ward really could match or surpass her!
Michael Plummer
Anita ODay
Piotr Barcz
@Michael Plummer Eh, maybe
Chip Saunders
That’s one hot tune mi amigo.