Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Recording history

1930s

Paul Whiteman had the first hit recording of the song on the record charts in 1934. Whiteman and his Orchestra performed the song with vocals by Bob Lawrence, and this version topped the charts in the same year. The song was reprised by Irene Dunne, who performed it in the 1935 film adaptation of the musical co-starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra released their version in 1938, with the B-side "Night and Day".

During the mid-to-late 1930s, Larry Adler and Henry Hall recorded live radio performances of the song on BBC Radio: Adler's rendition was a syncopated, harmonica arrangement, while Hall's was with the BBC Orchestra with vocals by Dan Donovan; Hall's version was released as a 10" single. Jazz pianist Art Tatum said in an introduction in 1955 that he also performed "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in the 1930s.

1940s

Andre Kostelanetz recorded an easy listening arrangement of the song for Columbia Masterworks Records (4265-M) in 1941.

In the same year, the Benny Goodman Orchestra played the song on the radio with Helen Forrest, but she left the ensemble during the early part of 1941, so Goodman replaced her with Peggy Lee. Lee's recording for a Mutual broadcast was released on the collaborative album Roll 'Em by Goodman and jazz drummer Sid Catlett.

Glenn Miller conducted his own rendition of the song at Abbey Road Studios in 1944, but due to his death later that year in the Second World War, his version was unreleased until 1995. On October 30, 1946, Nat "King" Cole recorded the song with his trio, consisting of himself, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on double bass, during a live broadcast from New York City. Cole performed it on television in 1957 for The Nat King Cole Show.

Harry Belafonte covered the song in 1949 with jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims, one of Belafonte's first recordings. Sims' performance was parodied on December 10, 1977, on The Muppet Show by Zoot from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the character he inspired.

1950s and later

In 1950, both Charlie Parker and Jo Stafford released their versions of the song on their own respective albums, Bird at St. Nick's and Autumn in New York. Eartha Kitt recorded the song in 1952 with the Henri René Orchestra for her 1954 album That Bad Eartha, in the same sessions which yielded her 1953 hit single "Santa Baby".

Dinah Washington released the song in 1956 on her album Dinah!, Vic Damone on his 1956 album That Towering Feeling!, and Jeri Southern on her 1957 album When Your Heart's on Fire, named after a lyric from the song. Polly Bergen performed the song during the series premiere of her variety show The Polly Bergen Show, originally airing September 21, 1957, in the same year of Nat King Cole's televised performance of the song, in The Nat King Cole Show. In 1958, Sarah Vaughan released her rendition on her album No Count Sarah.

Coleman Hawkins played the song on his Good Old Broadway 1962 album.

Bryan Ferry recorded a version of the song which reached number 17 on the UK singles chart in 1974. Penny McLean's version was included in her 1975 album Lady Bump and peaked at number six on Billboards Disco Singles chart.

JD Souther covered the song for the soundtrack to director Steven Spielberg's 1989 film Always, and has a cameo appearance performing it at a dance with the main characters, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter.

The Platters version

| B-side = No Matter What You Are

"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was recorded in 1958 by the Platters for their album Remember When? The group's version became a number 1 hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart, and was their highest hit on that chart. In 1959 it peaked at number 3 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. The song spent 20 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number 1 for one week on March 20 of that same year. Buck Ram, the producer, said that Harbach praised them "for reviving his song with taste." However, after she was informed that the record was a huge seller and she was going to receive large royalties from its sales, she dropped her lawsuit.

In 2019, the song by The Platters was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Blue Haze version

| B-side = Anna Rosanna

Johnny Arthey's studio group Blue Haze released a version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" as a single in 1972, and on the album Blue Haze the following year. Their version was an international hit, reaching the top 10 in Belgium and the Netherlands, and on Billboards Easy Listening chart.

Chart performance

References

References

1. "Ray Sinatra: Frank's cousin". sinatrafamily.com.
2. "Victor 24454: Gertrude Niesen and Isham Jones – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes / Jealousy". popsike.com.
3. James Ferguson. (17 May 2021). "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes — as beautiful a tune as has ever been written". [[The Financial Times]].
4. (2012). "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire". Oxford University Press.
5. Tsort. "Song artist 12 - Paul Whiteman".
6. "Henry Hall Orch - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". [[Internet Archive]].
7. [https://archive.org/details/78_when-your-hearts-on-fire-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes_andre-kostelanetz-and-his-orche_gbia0239065b/(When+Your+Heart's+o+-+ANDRE+KOSTELANETZ+and+his+ORCHESTRA.flac "Smoke gets In Your Eyes" performed by Andre Kostelanetz in 1941], ''Archive.org''
8. "Great Encounters #24: When Peggy Lee Joined Benny Goodmans Band". jerryjazzmusician.com.
9. "Peggy Lee official discography". peggylee.com.
10. "Missing Chapters, Vol. 5: The Complete Abbey Road Recordings". [[Allmusic]].
11. "Nat King Cole: An Informal Discography (Sessions of 1946)". alongthehall.com.
12. "The Polly Bergen Show".
13. "Bryan Ferry".
14. "Penny McLean: Awards". [[RhythmOne]].
15. {{Pop Chronicles. 14. 4. Buck Ram
16. Whitburn, Joel. (2004). "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004". Record Research.
17. (1976). "Rock File 4". Panther Books Ltd.
18. The widow of composer Jerome Kern disliked the recording so much, she began legal action to prevent its distribution.[[Fred Bronson]], ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits'', Billboard Publications, 1985, p. 48.
19. (13 January 2019). "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Steyn's Song of the Week". [[Mark Steyn.
20. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists".
21. "CHUM Chart Archives – January 12, 1959". [[CHUM (AM).
22. [https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/3882/platters/ Platters - Full Official Chart History], [[Official Charts Company]]. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
23. [https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-platters/chart-history/bsi/ Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes The Platters Chart History], ''Billboard.com''. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
24. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1959".
25. "Top 100 Songs of 1959 - the top-performing singles in the US in 1959.".
26. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1959".
27. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart".
28. "[http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1972/19720805.html GO-SET National Top 40]", August 5, 1972. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
29. RPM]]'', Volume 18, No. 4, September 9, 1972. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
30. [https://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/18a72/Blue-Haze-Smoke-Gets-In-Your-Eyes Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes], [[Ultratop]]. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
31. [https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Blue+Haze&titel=Smoke+Gets+In+Your+Eyes&cat=s Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes], ''Dutchcharts.nl''. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
32. [https://www.top40.nl/blue-haze/blue-haze-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes-7579 Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes], [[Media Markt]] Top 40. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
33. [https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Smoke+Gets+in+Your+Eyes+by+Blue+Haze&id=5655 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes By: Blue Haze], MusicVF.com. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
34. "[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-01-13.pdf Easy Listening]", ''[[Billboard (magazine). Billboard]]''. January 13, 1973. p. 22. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
35. "[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-01-20.pdf Cash Box Top 100]", ''[[Cashbox (magazine). Cash Box]]''. December 26, 1970. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
36. "[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/73/RW-1973-01-27.pdf The Singles Chart]", ''[[Record World]]''. January 27, 1973. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
37. [https://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/18a72/Blue-Haze-Smoke-Gets-In-Your-Eyes Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes], [[Ultratop]]. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
38. [https://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Blue+Haze&titel=Smoke+Gets+In+Your+Eyes&cat=s Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes], ''norwegiancharts.com''. Retrieved March 5, 2021.