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Autumn leaves instrumental12/16/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The song has added to Paul McCartney’s fortune as well his MPL Communications controls its publishing rights.Īs one of the most covered jazz standards of all time, many artists have recorded a version of “Autumn Leaves,” including Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Williams and Mercer both claim to have made more money from “Autumn Leaves” than any other song in their catalog. ![]() “I tried to make it sound like falling leaves.” “The first thing that came to mind was to play all those runs down the keyboard,” Williams, who died in 2011, told the Los Angeles Times. 1 hit with his arpeggio-heavy version, the first and only piano instrumental to top the Billboard pop charts. However, the song didn’t get a lot of attention until pianist Roger Williams recorded it in 1955. Traditional pop vocalist Jo Stafford was the first to record “Autumn Leaves,” and Édith Piaf sang the French and English versions on a nationally syndicated radio program on Christmas Eve 1950. (The original: The north wind takes them into the cold night of oblivion – Mercer’s: Soon I’ll hear old winter’s song) The original is darker, and Mercer’s is more wistful, but both are ultimately about death. While Mercer’s lyrics are different from the French original, they’re both somber, beautiful songs that use dead leaves as a metaphor for lost love. According to Mercer’s biographer Gene Lees, Goldsen said “tears came to my eyes” when he first heard it. He reportedly wrote the lyrics in a mere 10 minutes while he was waiting for publisher Mickey Goldsen, who was running late for their meeting. Mercer wrote English lyrics after hearing the “Les Feuilles Mortes” melody and not knowing French. The “Autumn Leaves” that many Americans know and love was penned by Johnny Mercer in 1950. In 1948, French singer Cora Vaucaire cut the first commercial recording. Composed by Joseph Kosma with lyrics by Jacques Prévert, the song was included in Marcel Carné’s 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night). “Autumn Leaves” is based on the French tune “Les Feuilles Mortes” (which translates to “The Dead Leaves”). So go the opening bars of the immortal jazz standard “Autumn Leaves.” With autumn now in full swing, let’s get in the swing with some swingin’ versions of this timeless ballad.Īlthough “Autumn Leaves” is often associated with The Great American Songbook, the song isn’t entirely American. ![]()
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