Born in Montreal, Canada, Peterson began learning trumpet and piano from his father at the age of five, but by the age of seven, after a bout of tuberculosis, he concentrated on the piano. Some of the artists who influenced Peterson during the early years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson, and the legendary Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years. In fact, one of his first exposures to the musical talents of Art Tatum came early in his teen years when his father played an Art Tatum record to him and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he didn't touch the piano for over a week.
He soon developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive jazz pianist, and became a regular on Canadian radio. His United States introduction was at Carnegie Hall, New York City in 1949 by Norman Granz; owing to union restrictions his appearance could not be billed.
Some of his musical associates have included Lester Young, Ray Brown, Ben Webster, Herb Ellis, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Armstrong, Stéphane Grappelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Count Basie, and Stan Getz. An important step in his career was joining impresario Norman Granz's labels (especially Verve records) and Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package, with which he was able to play with the major jazz artists of the time. Granz was also his manager for most of Peterson's career. Some cognoscenti assert that Peterson's best recordings were made for the MPS label in the late 'sixties and early 'seventies. For some years subsequently he recorded for Granz's Pablo Records after the label was founded in 1973 and in more recent years for the Telarc label.
In 1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. However he overcame this setback and went back to touring, recording, and composing on a limited basis. In 1997 he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. He died on December 24th, 2007 of kidney failure.
Change Partners
Oscar Peterson Lyrics
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You have danced with him since the music began.
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Must you dance quite so close with your lips touching his face?
Can't you see
I'm longing to be in his place?
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
While you're alone,
I'll tell the waiter to tell
Him he's wanted on the telephone.
You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven knows when.
Won't you change partners and then,
You may never want to change partners again.
The song "Change Partners" by Oscar Peterson is a classic example of a song about unrequited love. The song is sung in the perspective of a man who wants to dance with a woman that he has been longing for, but she has been dancing with another man since the music began. The man is envious of the other man that the woman is dancing with and wonders if she can see that he longs to be in the other man's place. He begs her to change partners and dance with him.
The man goes further to ask the woman to ask her partner to sit out a dance so that they can have a chance to dance together. He even tells the waiter to make a fake call to the other man so that he leaves the dance floor. The man is desperate to dance with the woman that he has been admiring.
The last line of the song, "You may never want to change partners again", shows the man’s hope that once he gets the chance to dance with the woman, they will have such a great time that she will not want to go back to her former partner. However, the song also leaves a sense of ambiguity as to whether the woman will actually change partners or continue dancing with the same man.
Line by Line Meaning
Must you dance every dance with the same fortunate man?
Are you obligated to dance with the same guy every time?
You have danced with him since the music began.
You have been dancing with him from the very beginning of the music.
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Would you like to switch the dance partner and join me instead?
Must you dance quite so close with your lips touching his face?
Is it necessary to dance so intimately that your lips are touching his face?
Can't you see I'm longing to be in his place?
Don't you realize that I also wish to be in his position?
Won't you change partners and dance with me?
Would you like to have a new partner and dance with me instead?
Ask him to sit this one out.
Request him to sit down and not dance for this one.
While you're alone, I'll tell the waiter to tell him he's wanted on the telephone.
While you're free, I'll ask the waiter to call him on the phone and request his presence.
You've been locked in his arms ever since heaven knows when.
You've been holding onto him since inception, even before we can remember.
Won't you change partners and then, you may never want to change partners again.
Why not try dancing with someone else and you might end up liking it so much that you will stick with them?!
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind