Early life
Edward Boatner was born in Boston, Massachusetts[1] and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. He had a musical background; his father, Edward Boatner, was a baritone singer, composer and college music professor, his brother was a classically trained pianist, and his mother was a piano teacher.[1] Boatner was soon adopted by another family, the Stitts, who gave him his new surname. He later began calling himself "Sonny".
In 1943, Stitt first met Charlie Parker, and as he often later recalled, the two men found that their styles had an extraordinary similarity that was partly coincidental and not merely due to Stitt's emulation. Stitt's improvisations were more melodic/less dissonant than those of Parker. Stitt's earliest recordings were made in 1945 with Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. He had also played in some swing bands, though he mainly played in bop bands. Stitt was featured in Tiny Bradshaw's big band in the early forties. Stitt replaced Charlie Parker in Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1945.[2]
Stitt played alto saxophone in Billy Eckstine's big band alongside future bop pioneers Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons from 1945 until 1956, when he started to play tenor saxophone more frequently, in order to avoid being referred to as a Charlie Parker imitator. Later on, he played with Gene Ammons and Bud Powell. Stitt spent time in a Lexington prison between 1948–49 for selling narcotics.
Stitt, when playing tenor saxophone, seemed to break free from some of the criticism that he was imitating Charlie Parker's style, although it appears in the instance with Ammons above that the availability of the larger instrument was a factor. Indeed, Stitt began to develop a far more distinctive sound on tenor.[1] He played with other bop musicians Bud Powell and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, a fellow tenor with a distinctly tough tone in comparison to Stitt, in the 1950s and recorded a number of sides for Prestige Records label as well as albums for Argo, Verve and Roost. Stitt experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late 1950s, and the results can be heard on his recordings for Roost and Verve, on which he teamed up with Thad Jones and Chick Corea for Latin versions of such standards as "Autumn Leaves."
Stitt joined Miles Davis briefly in 1960, and recordings with Davis' quintet can be found only in live settings on the tour of 1960. Concerts in Manchester and Paris are available commercially and also a number of concerts (which include sets by the earlier quintet with John Coltrane) on the record Live at Stockholm (Dragon), all of which featured Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Paul Chambers. However, Miles fired Stitt due to the excessive drinking habit he had developed, and replaced him with fellow tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley. Stitt, later in the 1960s, paid homage to one of his main influences, Charlie Parker, on the album Stitt Plays Bird, which features Jim Hall on guitar and at Newport in 1964 with other bebop players including J.J. Johnson.
He recorded a number of memorable records with his friend and fellow saxophonist Gene Ammons, interrupted by Ammons' own imprisonment for narcotics possession. The records recorded by these two saxophonists are regarded by many as some of both Ammons and Stitt's best work, thus the Ammons/Stitt partnership went down in posterity as one of the best duelling partnerships in jazz, alongside Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, and Johnny Griffin with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Stitt would venture into soul jazz, and he recorded with fellow tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin in 1964 on the Soul People album. Stitt also recorded with Duke Ellington alumnus Paul Gonsalves in 1963 for Impulse! on the Salt And Pepper album in 1963. Around that time he also appeared regularly at Ronnie Scott's in London, a live 1964 encounter with Ronnie Scott, The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, eventually surfaced, and another in 1966 with resident guitarist Ernest Ranglin and British tenor saxophonist Dick Morrissey. Stitt was one of the first jazz musicians to experiment with an electric saxophone (the instrument was called a Varitone), as heard on the albums What's New in 1966 and Parallel-A-Stitt in 1967.
Later life
In the 1970s, Stitt slowed his recording output slightly, and in 1972, he produced another classic, Tune Up, which was and still is regarded by many jazz critics, such as Scott Yanow, as his definitive record. Indeed, his fiery and ebullient soloing was quite reminiscent of his earlier playing. He also recorded another album with Varitone, Just The Way It Was - Live At The Left Bank in 1971 which was released in 2000.
Stitt joined the all-star group Giants of Jazz, which also featured Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Kai Winding and bassist Al McKibbon) and made albums for Atlantic Records, Concord Records and Emarcy Records. His last recordings were made in Japan. In 1982, Stitt suffered a heart attack, and he died on July 22 in Washington, D.C..[2]
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Sonny Stitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's why I'll always be around
You are the apple of my eye
Forever you'll stay in my heart
I feel like this is the beginning
Though I've loved you for a million years
And if I thought our love was ending
You are the sunshine of my life
That's why I'll always stay around
You are the apple of my eye
Forever you'll stay in my heart
You must have known that I was lonely
Because you came to my rescue
And I know that this must be heaven
How could so much love be inside of you?
You are the sunshine of my life, yeah
That's why I'll always stay around
You are the apple of my eye
Forever you'll stay in my heart
Love has joined us
Love has joined us
Let's think sweet love
The song "You are the Sunshine of my Life" by Sonny Stitt is a classic love song expressing the feelings of a person towards their significant other. The lyrics express how much the person loves their partner and how much they mean to them. The person describes their lover as the sunshine of their life and the apple of their eye, and they express that they will always be around to cherish their partner. The person also mentions that if they thought their love was ending, they would be heartbroken.
The lyrics show that the person feels blessed to have their partner in their life and cannot imagine life without them. The person feels that their partner rescued them from loneliness, and they describe their love as heaven. The lyrics end with a call to cherish the love that has brought them together.
In essence, the song is a celebration of love and the joy that it can bring to one's life. It describes the inseparable bond between two people who are meant to be together, and it encourages us to cherish the people we love.
Line by Line Meaning
You are the sunshine of my life
You bring brightness and happiness into my life and I'm grateful for you.
That's why I'll always be around
I will always stay close to you, and be there for you no matter what.
You are the apple of my eye
You're my very favorite person and I admire you greatly.
Forever you'll stay in my heart
You will always hold a special place in my heart and I will love you forever.
I feel like this is the beginning
I feel like our love is only just starting and it will continue to grow.
Though I've loved you for a million years
I've loved you for so long, it feels like forever.
And if I thought our love was ending
If I ever felt like our love was ending or in danger, it would be devastating for me.
I'd find myself drowning in my own tears
I would be so heartbroken that I would cry uncontrollably.
You must have known that I was lonely
You figured out that I was feeling lonely and you came to my rescue.
Because you came to my rescue
You helped me out of a tough situation and I'm so grateful for you.
And I know that this must be heaven
Being with you feels like I'm in heaven, it's an amazing feeling.
How could so much love be inside of you?
I'm amazed by the amount of love you're capable of showing, it's truly special.
Love has joined us
Our love has brought us together and made us one.
Let's think sweet love
Let's focus on the positive aspects of our love and cherish each other always.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Iricom US Ltd, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chesh Lenitnes
The ideas Sonny had bouncing in his head were so interesting, you just never knew what he was going to play, which (for me) makes for an exciting listening experience. His appreciation for what Bird was saying is omnipresent, yet retains the nuance, which is uniquely Stitt's. Not many famous Jazz artists dare to effectively execute recorded works featuring pop hits like "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." Ending the piece with his tenor was a warm touch as well.
Ronnie Woods Bellmont Sound's
There just isn't enough words in the entire world human vocabulary to describe the sheer greatness of this wonderful musician.God bless.
exjazzbass baz
how good is this.not many soloists would attempt this but sonny was a master player and it shows here.his playing has brought me so much pleasure through my life and i am so grateful for that.
wyndhl eodumegwu
Stitt deserves much much more credit than is given him. Even John Coltrane, the Great, has acknowledged clinging to some swift passages and embellishments from Sonny Stitt, who himself makes frequent references to his musical contemporary - not idol - the God of saxophonic emotion ,speed, fills and spirituality, Monsieur Charlie Parker during his (Stitt's) improvisation.Here, Stitt improvis
Rex0680
A legend covering another legend... love it.
C Davis
OMG - I am in awe every year I listen more to Sonny Stitt. He is one of greatest saxohpone players (no - jazz artists) EVER.
He listen - I been playing Charlie Parker Omnibook for 30 years. Sonny is the embodiment of that style and he nails it even better and more modern than Parker did. Parker was a freakin' genius. Sonny is another level of freakin' genius. It may take another 10 years, but in jazz, Sonny will get his dues. I can only imagine that he knew this as he played. He knew what he was.
Jan Gunnar Olsen
Listening to Sonny S Here, Charlie Parker is "Dancing" in his grave!
Marina Carvalho
Que maravilha!
Pinkie Eldred
Sonny Stitt proves it's not the song....it's what each artist makes of it. He makes this a masterpiece. .....Sonny Stitt....wow ..!!!!
ghairraigh
I heard Sonny play this at the Jazz Showcase in the late '70's. Someone had broken into his car and stolen all his horns and he was breaking in a brace of new Selmers. He introduced the tune as "You Are the Sunnyshine of My Life".