Summer Love - Victor Young
"Summer Love" is another unjustly forgotten song from the 1950s. Composed by Victor Young, it comes from the score of the 1952 film "The Star" starring Bette Davis and Sterling Hayden. Victor Young (1900–1956) was a child prodigy on the violin who was born in Chicago but spent most of his early years in Europe, studying at the Warsaw Conservatory and playing before the Russian nobility. He returned to the United States after the Russian revolution and World War I and began a commercial career. He wrote an arrangement for Isham Jones's orchestra (one of America's most popular) and played the violin solo for the 1930 performance that made "Stardust" a popular love song of the period (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acOeuR6sjy4). He then went on to an illustrious career in composing for over 350 films in Hollywood and wrote many standard tunes (for a list see http://songwritershalloffame.org/songs/C318) including "Stella By Starlight" and "My Foolish Heart."
"Summer Love" has a standard 32-bar ABAC form with typical aspects: each section is eight measures long and the B section ends in a semi-cadence. Within this framework, Young has created a work of considerable sophistication. The B section is based on a long descending bass line starting at the end of the A section, rendering an unusual harmonic structure very different from the usual ii-V couplings found in most songs. The C section is also built on a different descending bass line, providing a parallelism that is musically interesting and creates a deeper coherence than the typical repeat of a melody or motif. As a result, the song is impossible to "fake" without knowing its harmonic structure. As an aside, I first came across this song in a fake book in the 1960s; the lead sheet had the melody only, and although I was attracted to its beautiful melody, I had some difficulty coming up with good chord changes. I was never satisfied with the result, and it is only by listening to a recording of the song from the film that I was able to discover what the composer had in mind.
There is an instrumental performance of the song (called "Moonlight Serenade" in the film) on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_2PNmYsSU) that clearly provides melody and harmony to the listener. There is also a vocal version by Felicia Sanders, whose unfortunate rhythmically boxy performance is matched by her unattractive voice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gARP_BTMwDM).
Unfortunately, I cannot direct you to a lead sheet for this beautiful song in any available source. You will have to learn the melody from the recording; my chord chart will provide the rest. I really think this song is too lovely to be forgotten and I hope you agree.
I perform the song at 100 bpm. It works well with the Jazz - Ballad Swing style. It can also be performed as a Bossa (with the acoustic style) and as might be typical in the 1950s, as a rhumba, using the Bolero style.
Summer Love - Victor Young
