Cullum was born in Romford, East London. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire, and educated at the independent fee-paying Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School. He then went on to study English Literature, and minored in Film Studies, at Reading University where he graduated with First Class Honours.
His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family settled in Wales after Burma's independence; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who sang in Berlin nightclubs.
Cullum married British model Sophie Dahl at a country hotel in the New Forest National Park in England on 9 January 2010.
Cullum released his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All, in 1999, of which 500 copies were made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of Heard It All Before resulted in Cullum being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.
After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released a best-selling album, Pointless Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson[2] and Melvyn Bragg.
Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract[3] for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's third album, Twentysomething, released in October 2003, went platinum and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.[3]
Although primarily a jazz musician, he performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music from Miles Davis[4] to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.
Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his unique entertainment style and charisma. One of the many things that features in Jamie's concerts is the "stompbox" (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Jamie found this in Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as Seven Nation Army originally by the White Stripes and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a heavy part in Cullum's versions of Seven Nation Army and Teardrop by Massive Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing at most gigs.
As well as the White Stripes and Kanye West, Cullum has performed work by Massive Attack, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Joy Division, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also performed with Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Will.i.am and Burt Bacharach.
Cullum rarely works to a set list and on average his gigs last just over two hours. The gigs are largely improvised, rooted in jazz but not solely consisting of jazz music.
Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (in 2004 & 2009), Coachella 2005, 2006 South by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl (performing with the Count Basie Orchestra) and the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On the April 29th 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in The Netherlands.
Discography:
1999 - Heard It All Before
2001 - Pointless Nostalgic
2003 - Twentysomething
2005 - Catching Tales
2009 - The Pursuit
2010 - Devil May Care
2013 - Momentum
2014 - Interlude
2018 - The song society playlist
2019 - Taller
2020 - The pianoman at christmas
2021 - The pianoman at christmas (The complete edition)
07. I COUL HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I'd never ever done before
I'll never know what made it so exciting
But all at once my heart took flight
I could have danced, danced, danced, danced, danced, danced
Bed? I couldn't go to bed
My head's too light to try to settle down
Sleep? I couldn't sleep tonight
Not for all the jewels in the crown!
I'll never know what made it so exciting
But all at once my heart took flight
I only know when she began to dance with me
I could have danced, danced, danced, danced all night
The song I Could Have Danced All Night by Jamie Cullum is an upbeat, jazz-inspired song that discusses the exhilarating feeling that the singer experienced while dancing with his partner. The first verse establishes this feeling, with the singer expressing that he could have danced all night and still begged for more. He goes on to describe how he felt like he had spread his wings and done a thousand things he had never done before. The chorus reinforces this feeling, with the singer saying that he could have danced, danced, danced all night.
In the second verse, the singer discusses how he is unable to go to bed or sleep because he is so energized by the experience of dancing with his partner. He describes his head as being too light to settle down and says that he couldn't sleep tonight, not even for all the jewels in the crown. The chorus is repeated, with the singer expressing that he doesn't know what made dancing so exciting, but that all he knows is that when his partner began to dance with him, he could have danced all night.
Overall, the song is about the feeling of being so energized by a particular experience, in this case dancing with someone, that you never want it to end. The lyrics paint a picture of a joyful, carefree evening where the singer is lost in the moment and unable to contain his excitement.
Line by Line Meaning
I could have danced all night
I could have continued dancing all throughout the night
I could have spread my wings
I could have felt liberated and adventurous in my dance moves
And done a thousand things
I could have explored various dance styles and techniques
I'd never ever done before
I could have experienced new and exciting dance moves that I've never tried before
And still have begged for more
I would still crave for more dance and music
Bed? I couldn't go to bed
I was too energized to go to sleep
My head's too light to try to settle down
My thoughts are too active and jumpy to calm down and sleep
Sleep? I couldn't sleep tonight
I was too excited and full of life to even consider sleeping
Not for all the jewels in the crown!
I wouldn't trade this moment for anything, not even the most precious jewels
I only know when she began to dance with me
The moment I started dancing with someone special, I felt overwhelmed with joy and emotions
I could have danced, danced, danced, danced, danced, danced
I wanted to keep dancing forever, without any limit or interruption
I'll never know what made it so exciting
I cannot explain the exact reasons for the excitement I felt while dancing
But all at once my heart took flight
My heart felt lifted and soared with happiness and adrenaline
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind