I've Told Ev'ry (Every) Little Star - Jerome Kern

"I've Told Every Little Star" is a 1932 composition by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein from the musical "Music In the Air." Unfortunately, it suffers from many poor performances, particularly the awful Linda Scott 1961 hatchet job which changed both the melody and words to attract a teenage audience.

The tune has a standard 32-bar AABA form. Many of the standard performances (Bing Crosby's, for example) use a simple set of changes in the A sections that stay close to the tonic; these are the original changes (as per the lead sheet in The Ultimate Fake Book). However, there are alternate changes in the A section which go to the iv minor in the fourth measure and these are the ones adopted by jazz artists and are incorporated in my chord chart.

If you don't know this tune, I recommend listening to a vocal version by Diana Panton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeYprbZDeR4), as well as instrumental versions by Sonny Rollins ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWrhMVjX0Io) and Cannonball Adderley (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lX_poIwvk8 with a transcription of his solo [with inaccurate chord changes] at http://www.cannonballjazz.com/Cannon...ar_59-0423.pdf). A group featuring Marion McPartland uses a contrapuntal arrangement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjD32njRigs) and is worth a listen as well.

This song is a natural fit for the Jazz - Swing Two/Four style. I have complained in the past about the "two" part of the Swing Two/Four style being rhythmically dead. Therefore I arranged this song specifically to be used with the Ballad Swing style by writing in a walking bass line in the bridge of the tune. For those who haven't noticed the difference between these styles, first try this arrangement with the Two/Four style and then with the Ballad Swing style. You should immediately notice how much more lively the A sections sound with the Ballad Swing style. Thus, I end this submission with an appeal to our esteemed iRP developers to fix the Swing Two/Four style.

I hope you enjoy this tune.

I've Told Eve'ry Little Star (K's rev) - Jerome Kern

Nice work, Keith.

I'm singing this next Sunday at our Vocal Jazz Jam. Thank you! I love your arrangement. :D

I've Told Eve'ry Little Star GS - Jerome Kern

A little reharm of it.

I've Told Eve'ry Little Star-Rev JE - Jerome Kern

Cheers,
Jer

I love being able to see and benefit from the dicussions and work product of all here. As I've been a relative "newbie" in this space, I find myself wondering about some of the legacy and carryover conventions of published works into the Jazz world and into artist performances. I have a specific question about this particular song (and about similar situations with other songs): Is it better to use the published title (which--in this case--doesn't have two e's AND an apostrophe in the contraction of the word "every" in the title) or to carry into iReal Pro whatever has come from legacy lead sheets, recordings, live performances? This song is published under the title "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star," and the apostrophe is the substitute for the extra "e" in the word, and (I'm assuming) it's done in the lyric to indicate/preserve the rhythm/tempo. Cole Porter and others did this, and a couple of Porter's more celebrated and covered songs ("Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," and "Ev'rything I Love") have been handed down in lead sheets and collections with variations on the published titles (where "ev'ry" use happens). I can see how, for someone searching for one of these songs in a place like iReal Pro or in other online resources, it makes sense to have a listing/reference with the word "every" spelled out. But I wonder about how to best preserve the actual title as the writer intended AND to provide searchers a best route to finding what they need. Thanks for all you do, iReal Pro moderators and contributors.

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Originally Posted by storylyricwriter

I love being able to see and benefit from the dicussions and work product of all here. As I've been a relative "newbie" in this space, I find myself wondering about some of the legacy and carryover conventions of published works into the Jazz world and into artist performances. I have a specific question about this particular song (and about similar situations with other songs): Is it better to use the published title (which--in this case--doesn't have two e's AND an apostrophe in the contraction of the word "every" in the title) or to carry into iReal Pro whatever has come from legacy lead sheets, recordings, live performances? This song is published under the title "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star," and the apostrophe is the substitute for the extra "e" in the word, and (I'm assuming) it's done in the lyric to indicate/preserve the rhythm/tempo. Cole Porter and others did this, and a couple of Porter's more celebrated and covered songs ("Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," and "Ev'rything I Love") have been handed down in lead sheets and collections with variations on the published titles (where "ev'ry" use happens). I can see how, for someone searching for one of these songs in a place like iReal Pro or in other online resources, it makes sense to have a listing/reference with the word "every" spelled out. But I wonder about how to best preserve the actual title as the writer intended AND to provide searchers a best route to finding what they need. Thanks for all you do, iReal Pro moderators and contributors.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27...ry_Little_Star

We struggle with that exact dilemma constantly.

Our convention here on the Fourms is to first, respect the song and composer(s). While many users are comfortable shortening or even changing the title (to reflect the first line of the lyrics), as well as crediting tunes to bands or performers instead of the actual composer(s) on charts, we are not.

That said, we want to also make searching for (and finding) songs as easy as possible.

To that end, and as a helpful (and correct) resource for the future, we strongly encourage full and correct original titles and composer info.
https://www.irealb.com/forums/showth...er-information

When clarification is helpful to facilitate searches, additional information may also be included.
Sometimes lack of available space precludes adding additional info to the thread title. Fortunately, the search engine is (usually) able to find the added info in the body of a post as well.

We encourage a standard iRp chart-info format.
Example:
All Of Me (Sinatra) - Gerald Marx
...title......(version) - composer(s)

Composer name(s) are not enclosed in parentheses "( )" in iReal pro.
Parentheses are used for identifying performed-by versions as part of the song title or to clarify an ambiguous title because many different songs can share the same title.

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what difference does it make if I do it differently?

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Presenting a consistent format and style is important. It improves the user experience and reduces confusion when attempting to convey information.

The iReal pro forums has (for the most part) developed and maintains a consistent look and feel despite of thousands of different contributors. To accomplish that requires everyone's cooperation.

I believe the best way to shape the content and culture of the forums is through the leadership and participation of the members. I constantly strive for the forums to be more than just a chart library and iRp how-to. I want to see it become a useful and enduring resource for the future with members helping others along their musical journey.

We're all in this together.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your participation.

:))BOB

Thanks, Bob--this is hugely helpful! The specifics about iRp parenthesis usage is especially good to know. I've learned a song ("Drinking Again") that was written for/recorded by Gloria Lynne, then subsequently recorded by Frank Sinatra. In the original composition (by Doris Tauber), the last section of the song has the expected 8 measures, and that's how Gloria Lynne recorded it. When Sinatra did it, the arranger threw 4 additional measures into the last section--not a coda, really--just extended the last section by 4 measures. When I adapted the chart for that Sinatra arrangement/change, I added "Sinatra Version" to the song title, but did not know about the parenthesis usage to set the performed-by information apart. Thanks again--I'll do better with learning and applying iRp conventions (I really, really don't want to add to the challenges you all face trying to keep things organized for the benefit of all)!

A perfect example.
A different version is just that, a different version of a particular song.
It should still be posted in that song's discussion thread. (Along with all the other versions of that song)
Selecting the chart in your library is easier when the version is identified in the song title instead of by a random number at the end that is assigned by your app.
Your “<song title>3” will likely be different from mine...

I look forward to seeing your chart added to the Forums. (hint :) )...
https://www.irealb.com/forums/showth...-Johnny-Mercer

Thanks for joining in this discussion

:))BOB