Melvin Howard Tormé (1925–1999) was born to immigrant Russian Jewish parent… Read Full Bio ↴Melvin Howard Tormé (1925–1999) was born to immigrant Russian Jewish parents whose name had been Torma. A child prodigy, he first sang professionally at 4 with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy," at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. 1933-41, he acted in the network radio serials "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy." He wrote his first song at 13 and three years later, his first published song, "Lament to Love," became a hit recording for Harry James. He played drums in Chicago's Shakespeare Elementary School drum and bugle corps in his early teens. While a teen-ager, he sang, arranged, and played drums in a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers. His formal education ended in 1944, with his graduation from Chicago's Hyde Park High School.

In 1943, Torme made his movie debut in Frank Sinatra's first film, the musical "Higher and Higher." He went on to sing and act in a number of films and television episodes throughout his career, even hosting his own television show in 1951-52. His appearance in the 1947 film musical "Good News" made him a teen idol for a few years. In the last years of his career he toured and sang with the wonderful George Shearing Quartet, often sitting in at drums, for a number or two in a set. To hear two such accomplished jazz artists was an evening not to be forgotten.

In that year he also formed the vocal quintet "Mel Torme and His Mel-Tones," modeled after Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers. The Mel-Tones, which included Les Baxter and Ginny O'Connor, had several hits fronting Artie Shaw's band and on their own, including Cole Porter's "What is This Thing Called Love?" The Mel-Tones were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups, blazing a path later followed by The Hi-Los, The Four Freshmen, and The Manhattan Transfer.

In 1947, Torme went solo. His singing at New York's Copacabana led a local DJ, Fred Robbins, to give him the nickname "The Velvet Fog", thinking to honor his high tenor and smooth vocal style, but Torme detested the nickname. As a solo singer, he recorded a number of romantic hits for Decca (1945), and with the Artie Shaw Orchestra on the Musicraft label (1946-48). In 1949, he moved to Capitol Records, where his first record, "Careless Hands," became his only number one hit. His versions of "Again" and "Blue Moon" became signature tunes. His composition "California Suite," prompted by the Gordon Jenkins's "Manhattan Tower," became Capitol's first 12 inch LP. Around this time, he helped pioneer cool jazz.

From 1955 to 1957, Torme recorded 7 jazz vocal albums with Red Clyde's Bethlehem Records, all with groups led by Marty Paich, most notably "Mel Torme with the Marty Paich Dektette." These recordings proved a creative peak for Torme and for Paich, a leading figure in the West coast jazz of the time.

When rock & roll music (which Torme called "three chord manure") came on the scene in the 1950s, commercial success became elusive. During the next two decades, Torme often recorded mediocre arrangements of the pop tunes of the day, never staying long with any particular label. He was sometimes forced to make his living by singing in obscure clubs. He had two minor hits, his 1956 recording of "Mountain Greenery," and his 1962 R&B song "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by Claus Ogerman. The latter recording led the jazz and gospel singer Ethel Waters to say that "Torme is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man." It was later covered instrumentally by Quincy Jones and Kai Winding.

In 1963–64, Torme wrote songs and musical arrangements for the The Judy Garland Show, and made two guest appearances on the show itself. A few years later, after Garland's death, his time with her show became the subject of his first book, "The Other Side of the Rainbow." Although the book was praised, it led to an unsuccessful lawsuit by Garland's family.

Torme continued to play jazz drums as an adult, and befriended drummer Buddy Rich, who became the subject of his book "Traps-The Drum Wonder-The Life of Buddy Rich." Torme also owned and played a drumset that renowned drummer Gene Krupa had used for many years.

Although a jazz and popular musician, Torme also respected classical music, especially that of Frederick Delius and Percy Grainger.

The resurgence of vocal jazz in the 1970s resulted in another artistically fertile period for Torme, whose live performances during the 1960s and 70s fueled a growing reputation as a jazz singer. He found himself performing as often as 200 times a year around the globe. In 1976, he won an Edison Award (the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy) for best male singer, and a Downbeat award for best male jazz singer. For a number of years around this time, his September appearances at Michael's Pub, on the Upper East Side would unofficially open New York's fall cabaret season.

Tormé viewed his 1977 Carnegie Hall concert with George Shearing and Gerry Mulligan as a turning point. Shearing later said:

"It is impossible to imagine a more compatible musical partner… I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our countless performances. As Mel put it, we were two bodies of one musical mind."

Starting in 1982, Torme recorded a number of albums with Concord Records, including:

* Five albums with pianist George Shearing;
* His big band work with Rob McConnell and his Boss Brass orchestra (see Mel Torme, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass);
* A reunion with Marty Paich, resulting in a live recording in Tokyo (In Concert Tokyo) and a studio album (Reunion).

In the 1980s, he often performed with pianist John Colianni. In the last years of his career he toured and sang with the wonderful George Shearing Quartet, often sitting in at drums, for a number or two in a set. To hear two such accomplished jazz artists was an evening not to be forgotten.

Torme made 9 guest appearances as himself on the 1980s sitcom Night Court whose main character, Judge Harry Stone (played by Harry Anderson), was depicted as an unabashed Tormé fan. In the mid-90s, Torme gained a following among Generation Xers by appearing in a series of Mountain Dew commercials and on an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, in which he dedicates a song to the character Kramer (played by Michael Richards). Torme also recorded a version of Nat King Cole's "Straighten up and Fly Right" with his son, alternative/adult contemporary/jazz singer Steve March Torme.

In February 1999, Tormé was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On August 8, 1996, a stroke abruptly ended his 65-year singing career; another stroke in 1999 ended his life. In his eulogistic essay, John Andrews wrote about Tormé: "Tormé's style shared much with that of his idol, Ella Fitzgerald. Both were firmly rooted in the foundation of the swing era, but both seemed able to incorporate bebop innovations to keep their performances sounding fresh and contemporary. Like Sinatra, they sang with perfect diction and brought out the emotional content of the lyrics through subtle alterations of phrasing and harmony. Ballads were characterized by paraphrasing of the original melody which always seemed tasteful, appropriate and respectful to the vision of the songwriter. Unlike Sinatra, both Fitzgerald and Tormé were likely to cut loose during a swinging up-tempo number with several scat choruses, using their voices without words to improvise a solo like a brass or reed instrument."

Tormé wrote more than 250 songs, a number of which became jazz standards. He also often wrote the arrangements for the songs he sang. He often collaborated with Bob Wells, and the best known Tormé-Wells song is "The Christmas Song", often referred to by its opening line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire." First recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, it has been a holiday favorite ever since. Tormé said that he wrote the music to the song in only 40 minutes, and that it was not one of his personal favorites.

When Sunny Gets Blue
Mel Tormé Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When Sunny gets blue, her eyes get gray and cloudy,
Then the rain begins to fall, pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Love is gone, what can matter,
No sweet lover man comes to call.

When Sunny gets blue, she breaths a sigh of sadness,
Like the wind that stirs the trees,
Wind that sets the leaves to swaying

Like some violin is playing strange and haunting melodies.

People used to love to hear her laugh, see her smile,
That's how she got her name.
Since that sad affair, she lost her smile, changed her style,
Somehow she's not the same.

But memories will fade, and pretty dreams will rise up
Where her other dreams fell through,
Hurry new love, hurry here, to kiss away each lonely tear,
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue.

People used to love to hear her laugh, see her smile,
That's how she got her name.
Since that sad affair, she lost her smile, changed her style,
Somehow she's not the same.

Hurry new love, hurry here, to kiss away each lonely tear
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue.

Overall Meaning

The song "When Sunny Gets Blue" by Mel Tormé is a melancholic tune that talks about how love can affect someone's entire being. The song starts with the line "When Sunny gets blue, her eyes get gray and cloudy," which is a metaphor for how sadness and heartbreak can affect a person's demeanor. The use of weather references like "rain begins to fall, pitter-patter," and "wind that sets the leaves to swaying" also add to the emotional weight of the song.

The second stanza alludes to how Sunny's heartbreak has changed her. She no longer has the same smile or demeanor that she used to have when people loved to hear her laugh. The reference to the violin playing strange and haunting melodies also adds to the overall tone of the song. It's as if Sunny's sadness is so palpable that it's felt even in the music being played.

The last stanza, however, brings in a glimmer of hope. The lyrics talk about how memories will fade and that new love can come to "kiss away each lonely tear" and hold her near. It's a message of hope that even though heartbreak can change a person, they can still find love and happiness again.

Line by Line Meaning

When Sunny gets blue, her eyes get gray and cloudy
When Sunny is sad, her usually bright and cheerful eyes lose their spark and become dull, like a cloudy day.

Then the rain begins to fall, pitter-patter, pitter-patter
Her sadness is like a rain, starting off gently and then gradually becoming heavier, with the sound of pitter-patter raindrops.

Love is gone, what can matter
Sunny's sadness is caused by losing love which makes everything else seem meaningless.

No sweet lover man comes to call
Nobody is there to comfort Sunny and she feels lonely and unsupported.

When Sunny gets blue, she breathes a sigh of sadness
Sunny feels the weight of her sadness and releases it in a deep sigh akin to the wind moving through the trees.

Like the wind that stirs the trees
Her sigh of sadness moves through her like the wind moving through the trees, expressing the deep sorrow she feels.

Wind that sets the leaves to swaying
The wind caused by her sighing moves the leaves of trees as if they are swaying to the rhythm of the sorrowful note.

Like some violin is playing strange and haunting melodies
Her melancholy is so intense that it is as if there is a violin playing in the background, creating eerie and evocative melodies.

People used to love to hear her laugh, see her smile, that's how she got her name
Sunny's name derives from the times when she was happy, and people loved to hear her laugh and see her smile.

Since that sad affair, she lost her smile, changed her style
A past traumatic incident caused Sunny to lose her smile and undergo a significant change in her life.

Somehow she's not the same
Sunny is not the same person as she used to be, and the change in her emotional outlook is evident in her demeanor.

But memories will fade, and pretty dreams will rise up where her other dreams fell through
Sunny hopes that her painful memories will fade away, and her new dreams will come to fruition where her previous dreams did not.

Hurry new love, hurry here, to kiss away each lonely tear
Sunny hopes for a new lover to come soon, to comfort her and kiss away her tears of loneliness.

And hold her near when Sunny gets blue
She wants her lover to hold her close when she's feeling sad, so she doesn't feel alone in her sadness.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARVIN FISHER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Toku

2y↑3

When Sunny gets blue
Her eyes get gray and cloudy
Then the rain begins to fall
Pitter patter, pitter patter
Love is gone so what can matter
Ain't no new lovin' man comes to call
When Sunny gets blue
She breathes a sigh of sadness
Like the wind that stirs the trees
Wind that sets the leaves to swayin'
Like some violins are playin'
Weird and haunting melodies
People used to love to
Hear her laugh, watch her smile
That's just how she got her name
Since that sad affair
She's lost her smile
Changed her style
Somehow she's not the same
But mem'ries will fade
And pretty dreams will rise up
Where her other dreams fell through
Hurry, new love, hurry here
To kiss away each lonely tear
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue
Hurry, new love, hurry here
To kiss away each lonely tear
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue