He emerged in the 1970s and at the time he was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins as well as Zoot Sims and Don Byas forward. He began playing in various rhythm & blues outfits in Providence (Rhode Island), but subsequently shifted to jazz and the tenor saxophone. In 1976 he moved to New York City at, in part the recommendation of Roy Eldridge. He there joined Benny Goodman for a period of time. During this time, he also developed an alcohol problem.,[1] In the early 1980's he had formed his own quintet and toured all over the world. By then free from his drinking habit, in 1982 he had matured sufficiently to be able to break away from the spell of mainly Ben Webster and Zoot Sims, of whom he had been criticized of imitating. From this point on both his playing and his tone was very much his own.
Living in New York City, he toured all around the world during the 1980's, playing Japan and all over Europe. He was in particular a recurrent visitor to the UK, Sweden and the Grand Parade du Jazz, held in Nice, France. By the early 1990's he was ready for a next step and by 1994 when he released Organic Duke, he had developed a quite singular style: a large, well rounded but still focused tone and improvising, ostensibly still based on the swing idiom (especially Ellington), but incorporating more modern elements. During this period, he relocated to London, and formed his current quartet, featuring John Pearce (p), Dave Green (b) and Steve Brown (dr). He is currently active touring all over Europe.
He has had over forty albums as a lead most on the Concord Records label.
It Had To Be You
Scott Hamilton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wandered around and finally found the somebody who
Could make me be true, could make me feel blue,
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you.
Some others I've seen might never be mean
Might never be cross or try to be boss,
But they wouldn't do.
With all your faults, I love you still,
It had to be you, wonderful you,
It had to be you.
It had to be you, it had to be you.
I wandered around and finally found somebody who
Could make me be true, could make me be blue,
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you.
Some others I've seen might never be mean
Might never be cross or try to be boss,
But they wouldn't do.
For nobody else gave me a thrill.
With all your faults, I love you still.
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you.
The lyrics of “It Had To Be You” by Scott Hamilton are a recognition of destiny in love, revealing that the author has finally found his beloved who could make him be true and even feel blue. The song depicts how the singer had been wandering around in search of his soulmate, but finally found them. The lyrics’ repetition of “It had to be you” conveys the idea that it was meant to be, suggesting that fate has played a role in bringing the couple together.
The line "And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you" is an interesting paradoxical phrase that conveys the idea that someone can be happy and sad at the same time, which is a common experience in love. The author acknowledges that the loved one has faults, yet he loves them all the same, because they were meant to be together.
The song's lyrics were composed by Isham Jones, and the melody was created by Gus Kahn. Since its release, “It Had To Be You” has been performed and recorded by various artists and used in numerous films, including "When Harry Met Sally" and "The Godfather Part III". The song has been adapted into different styles such as jazz, swing, and pop, and has become a classic love song.
Line by Line Meaning
It had to be you, it had to be you.
Out of all the people in the world, it had to be you who captured my heart.
I wandered around and finally found the somebody who
I searched high and low until I finally found the special person I was looking for.
Could make me be true, could make me feel blue,
You have the ability to make me show my real self and even feel sad when I think about you.
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you.
Although it may sound strange, I find joy in feeling sad when I think about you.
Some others I've seen might never be mean
I've come across other potential partners who would never intentionally hurt me.
Might never be cross or try to be boss,
These other potential partners may not be aggressive or try to control me.
But they wouldn't do.
Despite their positive qualities, they are not the one for me.
For nobody else gave me a thrill.
No one else has ever given me the excitement and joy that you have.
With all your faults, I love you still,
Even with your imperfections, I still love you deeply.
It had to be you, wonderful you,
You are the one who had to come into my life, wonderful and unique in your own way.
It had to be you.
My heart knew from the start that it had to be you.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Isham Jones, Gus Kahn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Saxo Fonista
Scott Hamilton doesn´t even get half the recognition he deserves.
William Jackson
Had no idea these two giants had recorded together. And they sound great as a duo. Thank you so very much.
Ronald Unkel
Two of the mellowest tenorists. Perfect team-up playing like feeling warm honey trickling down your throat. With a pulsating rhythm section you can’t go wrong. Like this live crowd is diggin’ the Jammin’ session so let yourself be taken for a swingin ride of strait-ahead Jazz, folks. Enjoy this ‘ripper’ upload & Cheers!
György Kovács
🎯🥇🏆👑🇭🇺👍
Ronald Unkel
@アスパラトマト Just for your info; i was in Tokyo about 4 years ago and went to the Blue Note Jazz Club. They had two (show) sittings with dining facilities. I know that the Japanese like Jazz very much, as do the Europeans. If my memory serves me i believe that Scott Hamilton had a Japanese wife or girlfriend. Please correct me (please in English) if i’m wrong. Stay safe during Covid & Cheers!
Amitav Sanyal
Zoot Sims! Love you man!
Emil JAI
Thx Mister - As I am a noob in personnal research in Jazz, Zoot Sims will be one of my favorite i think, with great swing and flow line..
As I see in his Biography - he died in 1985 so this must be on the latest performance he must have done.
Other sad thing is many records of Zoot Sims have been destroyed in the Universal Studio Fire of 2008 ...
desertsidewinder
Imagine the shear number of jazz concerts played in auditoriums like this over the years, not really suited for jazz, often with a smaller audience than these players deserved.
Here it was recorded with decent sound. And besides Zoot and Scott, we have a competent backup with the eminenlty swinging Claes Crona.
bob blues
Beautiful!
Obudai Stricy
Excellent share. Thanks and a HUGE thumb up :-}}