As a youth, he was recognized as an extraordinary talent and formed a traveling duo with Danny Polo, a musical prodigy on the clarinet and trumpet from nearby Clinton, Indiana. As a student at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, he played with several theater bands.
Thornhill entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at age 16. That same year he and clarinetist Artie Shaw started their careers at the Golden Pheasant in Cleveland, Ohio with the Austin Wiley Orchestra. Thornhill and Shaw went to New York together in 1931.
Claude went to the West Coast in the late 1930s with the Bob Hope Radio Show, and arranged for Judy Garland in Babes in Arms.
In 1935, he played on sessions for Glenn Miller's first recordings under his own name, as Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. He played on Glenn Miller's composition "Solo Hop," which was released on Columbia Records.
After playing for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Ray Noble, Glenn Miller, and Billie Holiday, and arranging "Loch Lomond" and "Annie Laurie" for Maxine Sullivan, in 1939 he founded his Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Danny Polo was his lead clarinet player. Although the Thornhill band was originally a sophisticated dance band, it became known for its many superior jazz musicians and for Thornhill's and Gil Evans' innovative arrangements; its "Portrait of a Guinea Farm" has become a classic jazz recording.
The band played without vibrato so that the timbres of the instruments could be better appreciated, and Thornhill encouraged the musicians to develop cool-sounding tones. The band was popular with both musicians and the public; the Miles Davis Nonet was modeled in part on Thornhill's cool sound and use of unconventional instrumentation. The band's most successful records were "Snowfall," "A Sunday Kind of Love" and "Love for Love."
His most famous recording, "Snowfall," was released in 1941 as Columbia 36268. He released the song also as a V-Disc recording, as V-Disc 271A1.
Playing at the Paramount Theater in New York for $10,000 a week in 1942, Thornhill dropped everything to enlist in the US Navy to support the war effort. As chief musician, he played shows across the Pacific Theater with Jackie Cooper as his drummer and Dennis Day as his vocalist.
In 1946, he was discharged from the Navy. Then in April, he reformed his ensemble. He kept his same stylistic lines, but added some Bop lines to it. He got his old members of Danny Polo, Gerry Mulligan, and Barry Galbraith back together, but also added new members like Red Rodney, Lee Konitz, Joe Shulman and Bill Barber. Barber was a tuba player, who was considered as a "soft brass" player rather than a bass as to not interfere with (Joe) Shulman on the bass. Their creative and immaculately clean and delicate interpretation of Evans’s arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s fast bop theme "Anthropology" (1947) provides a particularly noteworthy example of Thornhill’s style, which influenced Miles Davis’s recordings in 1949 for Capitol and many musicians who followed .
In the mid 1950s, Thornhill was briefly Tony Bennett's musical director.
He offered his big band library to Gerry Mulligan when Gerry formed the Concert Jazz Band, but Gerry regretfully declined the gift, since his instrumentation was different. A large portion of his extensive library of music is currently held by Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
After his discharge from the Navy he continued to perform with his orchestra until his death of a heart attack at 1:30 a.m., July 2, 1965, at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. Claude was booked at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the time, the engagement was kept in his honor with his music director in his place. He was survived by his wife, actress Ruth Thornhill, and his mother, Maude Thornhill (81 at the time), of Terre Haute, Indiana, still active at the time conducting choirs.
Claude Thornhill's compositions included the standard "Snowfall", "I Wish I Had You", recorded by Billie Holiday and Fats Waller, "Let's Go", "Shore Road", "Portrait Of A Guinea Farm", "Lodge Podge", "Rustle Of Spring", "It's Time For Us To Part", "It Was A Lover And His Lass", "The Little Red Man", "Memory Of An Island", and "Where Has My Little Dog Gone?"
In 1984, Claude Thornhill was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
A Sunday Kind Of Love
Claude Thornhill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A love to last past Saturday night
And I?d like to know it?s more than love at first sight
And I want a Sunday kind of love
I want a a love that?s on the square
Can?t seem to find somebody
And I?m on a lonely road that leads to no where
I need a Sunday kind of love
I do my Sunday dreaming,
And all my Sunday scheming
Every minute, every hour, every day
Oh I?m hoping to discover
A certain kind of lover
Who will show me the way
And my arms need someone
Someone to enfold
To keep me warm when Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold
Love for all my life to have and to hold
Oh and I want a Sunday kind of love
I don?t want a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday, Friday or Saturday
Oh nothing but Sunday oh yea
I want a Sunday Sunday
I want a Sunday kind of love
Oh yea
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday kind of loooove
The song "A Sunday Kind Of Love" is a plea for a love that is not fleeting and temporary, but one that lasts beyond the weekend. The singer wants a love that is more than just physical attraction and wants to know that his partner cares for him deeply. He is on a search for a genuine love that is not based on superficial qualities. The singer does his "Sunday dreaming and scheming" as a way to escape his loneliness and envision a real love that will stand the test of time.
The lyrics of the song express a longing for the kind of love that is not based on a set of circumstances or an idealized vision of romance, but rather a love that is grounded in reality. The singer is looking for someone who will not just be a companion for a night, but who will be with him for the long haul. The song is a reminder that true love takes time and patience, and that the search for it is not always easy, but it is worth it in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
I want a Sunday kind of love
I desire a love that is special and unique, like the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the Sabbath day.
A love to last past Saturday night
A love that will endure beyond the pleasure-seeking rush of a wild weekend.
And I'd like to know it's more than love at first sight
I want to be sure that this love is deeper than just a fleeting attraction that can quickly fade away.
I want a Sunday kind of love
Once again, I emphasis my desire for a special, meaningful, and lifelong love.
I want a love that's on the square
I am looking for an honest and sincere love, with no hidden agenda or ulterior motive.
Can't seem to find somebody
Despite my longing, I haven't been able to meet the right person yet.
Someone to care
I want a partner who truly cares about me, my well-being and happiness.
And I'm on a lonely road that leads to nowhere
My life seems aimless and unfulfilled, without the warmth and companionship of a loving partner.
I need a Sunday kind of love
Once again, I stress my urgent need for a deep, lasting, and meaningful love that can help comfort and guide me through life.
I do my Sunday dreaming,
On Sundays, I daydream and fantasize about finding that perfect person to take care of me and love me.
And all my Sunday scheming
I spend a lot of time strategizing and planning how to meet new people and find the love that I seek.
Every minute, every hour, every day
This is an all-consuming desire that fills my thoughts and consumes my every moment, every hour, and every day.
Oh, I'm hoping to discover
I have faith and hope that somewhere, somehow I can find the love that I seek.
A certain kind of lover
I have a specific criteria and set of attributes that I'm looking for in a partner. They must be right for me.
Who will show me the way
I need someone who I can look up to, who can lead me and teach me what true love really means.
And my arms need someone
I yearn for physical intimacy, someone to hold in my arms and snuggle with.
Someone to enfold
I want to wrap and envelop this person in my loving arms, with tenderness and affection.
To keep me warm when Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold
During the bleak and difficult days of the week, I want to share my warmth, comfort and love with my partner, to make it through together.
Love for all my life to have and to hold
I'm not looking for temporary love or a casual fling. I want a love that will last for my entire life, through good times and bad, till death do us part.
Oh, and I want a Sunday kind of love
Once again, I reiterate that my ideal love is one that is special and unique, as a day of rest and peace, full of happiness and joy.
I don't want a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or Thursday, Friday or Saturday
I don't want a love that is fleeting or temporary, that only lasts through the workweek and doesn't survive the weekend.
Oh nothing but Sunday, oh yeah
I want a love that is constant and consistent, every day of the week.
I want a Sunday, Sunday
Once more, I declare my desire for a unique and unforgettable love that is only matched by the serenity and calm of Sundays.
I want a Sunday kind of love
I conclude by confirming my unwavering and passionate need for this perfect kind of love that will fulfill all of my hopes and dreams.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANITA NYE, BARBARA BELLE, LOUIS PRIMA, STANLEY RHODES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gary K. Nedrow
Fran Warren was very popular in her day and deserves to be rediscovered by a new generations. The best of the big band singers blended with the orchestra, as Fran does here. No phony tremolo, no vocal gymnastics, just a pure interpretation of the song as written. Jo Stafford also sang this number in the same impeccable style, with perfect pitch, superb breath control, and excellent articulation. They set a standard that hasn't been matched since. Singers today are so infatuated with the sound of their own voices it's as though the music and the lyrics are meaningless. It's all about them. Today celebrity trumps competence. What a sad commentary on our times.
JK Merriwether
Glad to hear that someone else appreciates Fran Warren. Claude Thornhill's whole orchestra at this time was so outstanding...it just kind of got lost between the bombast of the swing era and the rock and roll to come. But what great songs!
Julia Pollitt
I’ve never heard of her, but I have no fabulous
Nick Scheuble
I love the timbre of Fran Warren’s voice.
RedJin
Beautiful. Thank you for uploading this.
Bill Herald
This was the original recording of this song. Recorded in late 1946, and released in January 1947.
Julia Pollitt
Just heard this on a 1940s radio station, never heard it before, fabulous
JK Merriwether
Aaah...the wonderful postwar romanticism of America...