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Torch Songs are sultry ballads, that create a mood which may either celebrate romance or - more usually -lament heartbreak, most often with the singer lamenting an unrequited or lost love.

Typically, the singer is female, although the tunes are often "covered" by male singers too. While a female vocalist may indeed have many other "Pop" songs in her repertoire, she may be called a "Torch" if the quality of her rendition purveys that certain feeling of deep lamentation for her lost love.

While the genre is most popular with female singers, there are a few 'Torches' for male vocalists, too.

Strictly speaking, "Torch" songs are not really a genre, but rather more of a niche within the 'Popular Song' genre. Sadly, the loss of Torch songs seems allied with the loss of the Big Bands era, and, perhaps more importantly, with the loss of the composers active during the 'golden era' of what composer Alex Wilder called the "American Popular Song".

The late 1930s and '40s were the glory days not only of Swing music, but also of wonderful sentimental ballads - straight from the heart. . It was the heyday of musicians who enjoyed a mastery of their instruments, read from charts, and had the discipline to play in big bands, where one could hear all the individual instruments.

It was also the heyday of the Pop singer, -tough, statuesque dames, with hearts of pure gold, and their singing was their raison d'etre. You could hear the words and understood what they meant. Unlike rock, little room was provided for a jazz singer to hide if he or she didn't have real talent, And that talent included impeccable phrasing and the ability to convey the emotional meaning of the lyrics. And, --they were backed by some of the finest composers; -men such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and many others.

All too many of today's singers are aggressive multimedia stars whose singing seems incidental to their marketing and merchandising. By and large, present day technique is to put a microphone into the singer's mouth, and let them scream as loudly as possible.

I suppose that as with any kind of nostalgia, there's no point in regretting the change. Singers had to change, and they had to go. Fortunately, they left a legacy of great recordings for this generation to discover and to love.

Although many of the most popular singers were male, - Crosby, Sinatra, Bennett, Vic Damone, and Nat Cole - torch singing, a musing on love unrequited, was mostly women's work. -----signed: Murray L. Pfeffer

Some good examples of the Torch song include:

  "The Man That Got Away", (612 kb) : Judy Garland.

  "My Man", (624 kb) Fanny Brice, America's first "torch" singer, with her' signature song'.

  "All Of Me", (570 kb) sung by Mildred Bailey, with the Paul Whiteman Orch.

  "More Than You Know", (650 kb). Ella Fitzgerald singing with Oscar Peterson accompaniment. (1980)

  "The Man I Love", (612 kb), sung by Kate Bush, with Larry Adler on harmonica. .

  "The Man I Love", (411 kb), Billie Holiday

  "Until The Real Thing Comes Along", (536 kb), sung by Julia Lee, accompanied by "Her Boyfriends Orch."

  "Am I Blue", (575 kb), Ethel Waters singing this Torch song.

  "When Your Lover Has Gone", (599 kb) : Ethel Waters singing this wonderful 'Torch". Recorded: Feb.10, 1931 New York, NY Columbia 2409-D
  "When Your Lover Has Gone" (composer: Einar Aaron Swan);
This Ethel Waters' version has the verse:

  "For ages and ages the poets and sages
  of love wanted love always tame
  but ask any lover and you'll soon discover
  the heartache that romance can bring"

Chorus

"When you're alone who cares for starlit skies?
When you're alone the magic moonlight dies
At break of dawn there is no sunrise
When your lover has gone

What lonely hours the ev'ning shadows bring
What lonely hours with mem'ries lingering
Like faded flowers, life can't mean anything
When your lover has gone"

  "When Your Lover Has Gone", (613 kb): This is an interesting version because it is a "Torch" song sung here by a Male singer, - Paul Small, singing with 'The Charleston Chasers ' on their last recording session Feb, 9, 1931 New York, NY Columbia 2404-D. In more recent years, another male singer tried his hand with this Torch.... Frank Sinatra.

  "What'll I Do", (455 kb) Cher singing this Irving Berlin ballad. It is a rather interesting song because Berlin composed the tune while mourning the demise of his loving wife.

  "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", (593 kb), sung by Jeanette MacDonald, with the Russ Case Orchestra, in 1946.

  "The Very Thought Of You", (545 kb), sung by King Harvey, with 'Red Nichols and His Famous Pennies' under the direction of Frank Guarante.

  "All Or Nothing At All", (317 kb), Diana Krall singing a 'Torch' with a slight "Jazz" accent.

  VIDEO: "It Had To Be You"   (Film Clip: yeyoli ) Barbra Streisand singing the quintessential Torch song. Some of her purest and most minimalistic work. Live and like always-at her best!

  "Avant Nous", (537 kb): (Eng. title: "Before Us"). Edith Piaf

  "T'es Beau, Tu Sais", (731 kb): (Eng. title: "You are Beautiful, You Know" ) Edith Piaf

  "You Go To My Head", (577 kb): Julie London

  "I'de Rather Be Blue", (325 kb). Fanny Brice singing,

  "Cigarettes, Cigars", (583 kb): Ruth Etting

  "Just The Way I Am", ( 520 kb)): Julie London

  "Mean To Me", (701 kb): Judy Garland.

  "How Insensitive", (876 kb): Judy Garland (Late in her career and live on the Mike Douglas TV Show) After a little 'spiel', Judy gives a remarkably sensitive rendition of "How Insensitive".

  "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most", (524 kb) a 3 minute portion (the lyric) of Jane Monheit singing.this Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf song.
with lyrics about a lost love such as:

"All alone, the party is over.
Old man winter was a gracious host.
But when you keep praying for snow to hide the clover,
spring can really hang you up the most"

"Once I was a sentimental thing;
threw my heart away each spring.
Now a spring romance hasn't got a chance"

  "Body And Soul ", (500 kb): Regretfully, this vocalist is unknown, as is the group which the label called the "Majestic Dance Orchestra" (a pseudonym. Sometimes it was a "studio" band under the direcition of Adrian Schubert,, sometimes it was a "studio" band under the direcition of Sam Lanin, and at other times a "studio" band under the direction of Joseph Samuels, and there were still others )

  "Body And Soul", (557 kb): Curiously, prior to 1939, "Body and Soul" was a pretty much neglected song, -rarely recorded - rarely sung, and unknown to the majority of Americans. Then, -in 1939, -. a date that will forever live in Jazz history, Coleman Hawkins cut an Instrumental version of "Body and Soul" that established the song as a leading Jazz ballad forever. It is now an absolute Standard in the Jazz repertoire This is that very instrumental recording. It not only made Hawkins a star, but this recording is often credited with establishing the tenor saxophone as the major instrument of Jazz, surpassing the trumpet that previously had dominated. Since Coleman's instrumental rendition, several hundred singers have taken a shot at this song.

  "I Can't Get Started With You", (506 kb): Bunny Berigan and His Boys in 1936. Very interesting not only because it's a lovely song, but also because it is one of those rare "Male" Torch songs.

  "If I Could Be With You", (541 kb) Bill Coty singing in 1930. The band was "Hotel Pennsylvania Music" (a Columbia label orchestra made up of any 'sessions musicians' that were available for the day. Interesting because it is one of the few "Male" Torches.

  "The Man That Got Away", (807 kb): Judy Garland,on her TV Show singing her great hit: "The Man That Got Away". This song was originally featured in her 1954 film: "A Star Is Born". This song was declared as #11 out of the top 100 most famous movies songs by the American Music Institution ( Composed: Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen -©1954 )

  "Autumn Leaves", (486 kb): Frank Sinatra singing this lovely Torch.. Originally a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles Mortes" (literally "The Dead Leaves") with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, English lyrics were written in 1949 by the American songwriter Johnny Mercer.

  "But Not For Me", (585 kb): A duet with Carolyn Leonhart singing and Michael Leonhart at the piano, playing this lovely George and Ira Gershwin tune. This performance is from a live radio show from New York broadcasted to France by France Musique on October 10, 1998



Still other 'Torches' include:
  "What is This Thing Called Love"
  "A Cottage For Sale"
  "La Vie En Rose"
  "They can't take that away from me (live)"
  "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good"
  "(They're Writing Songs of Love) But Not For Me"
  "Cry Me A River"
  "Black Coffee"
  "I'll Wait For You"
  "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)"
  "How About Me?" - Composed by: Irving Berlin -©1928
  "Black Coffee"
  "Little Girl Blue" - Composed by: Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers - From: Musical "Jumbo" -©1935
  "All Or Nothing At All" - Composed by: Jack Lawrence and Arthur Altman -©1939
  "What's New?" - Composed by: Johnny Burke and Bob Haggart -©1939
  "Love Me Or Leave Me" - Composed by: Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson - From: Musical Production "Love Me Or Leave Me" -©1928
  "The Party's Over" - Composed by: Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jule Styne - From: Musical Production "The Bells Are Ringing" -©1956
  "If He Walked Into My Life "- Composed by: Jerry Herman -©1966
  "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year" - Composed by: Frank Loesser - From: Movie "Christmas Story" -©1943
  "My Silent Love" - Composed by: Edward Heyman and Dana Suesse -©1932
  "Nobody's Heart" - Composed by: Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers - From: Musical Production "By Jupiter" -©1942
  "If You Go Away" - Composed by: Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen -©1959
  "What Did I Have That I Don't Have Now?" - Composed by: Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane - From: Musical "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" -©1965
  "La Vie En Rose" - Edith Piaf

for males
  "Just One More Chance" - Composed by: Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston -©1931
  "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good" Composed by: Paul Francis Webster and Duke Ellington -©1941
  "What'll I Do?" - Composed by: Irving Berlin - From: "Music Box Revue Of 1924" -©1924
  "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning "- Composed by: Bob Hilliard and David Mann -©1955
  "Lush Life" - Composed by: Billy Strayhorn -©1949
  "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" - Composed by: Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen - From: Movie "The Sky's The Limit" -©1943
among others.