I'm In The Mood For Love

Lyrics by Dorothy Fields; Music by Jimmy McHugh

FZ album(s) in which song has appeared

Tour(s) on which song is known to have been performed (main source: FZShows, v. 7.1)

Comments

Marc De Bruyn (emdebe@village.uunet.be), August 27, 2003

"I'm In The Mood For Love" was one of seven songs written by Jimmy McHugh (1895-1969, music) and Dorothy Fields (1905-1974, words) for the film "Every Night at Eight" (1935).

Frances Langford introduced and recorded "I'm in the Mood for Love", but the performer who had a big hit with it was Little Jack Little and his orchestra. Since then dozens of performers have recorded it: Al Martino, Art Tatum, Billy Eckstine, Brenda Lee, Brook Benton, Charlie Parker, Dean Martin, Dizzy Gillespie, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Erroll Garner, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, Guess Who, Heptones, Johnny Mathis, Julie London, Les Paul, Lester Young, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Mae West, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Bassey, Stan Getz, Tommy Dorsey, Vera Lynn, ... and Charlie Watts (1996, "Long Ago and Far Away"), the longtime drummer of the Rolling Stones. The song has happily survived its association with (Wladziu Valentino) Liberace (1919-1987) who adopted it as his theme song. There's a traditionally crazy version by Spike Jones (1911-1965), Bryan Ferry definitely succeeded in giving the song a totally new sound (1999, "As Time Goes By"), and Bob Dylan sung it four times during 1988 and 1989.

"I'm in the Mood for Love" was the inspiration for another song, a jazz standard, "Moody's Mood". Saxophonist James Moody recorded a jazz solo which used the chords of "I'm in the Mood for Love" as the basis of a new melody; lyricist/singer Eddie Jefferson then set words to the new melody.

"I'm In The Mood For Love, simply because you're near me. Funny, but when you're near me, I'm In The Mood For Love. Heaven is in your eyes, bright as the stars we're under. Oh! Is it any wonder, I'm In The Mood For Love? Why stop to think of whether this little dream might fade? We've put our hearts together, now we are one, I'm not afraid! If there's a cloud above, if it should rain we'll let it, but for tonight, forget it! I'm In The Mood For Love." There is a rarely heard introductory verse: "Lovely interlude, most romantic mood, and your attitude is right, dear. Sweetheart, you have me under a spell. Now my dream is real, that is why l feel such a strong appeal tonight. Somehow all my reason takes flight, dear."

Conceptual Continuity

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