Nature Boy (song)

"Nature Boy" is a song by eden ahbez , published in 1947. The song tells a fantasy of a "strange enchanted boy... who wandered very far" only to learn that "the greatest thing... was just to love and be loved in return".

ong origin

The Yiddish songwriter Herman Yablakoff alleged that the melody to "Nature Boy" came from his song "Sveig Mein Härtz" ("Be Still My Heart").

The melody of "Nature Boy" can be clearly heard in multiple passages from Antonín Dvořák's "Piano Quintet No. 2 in A, Opus 81" (1887).

The content of the song is based on a 1940s Los Angeles-based group called "Nature Boys," of which ahbez himself was a member.

Film usage

"Nature Boy" was a primary theme of the score for the 1948 motion picture "The Boy with Green Hair". The original version of the song was used for it. The Nat King Cole rendition set the tone for and was used several times in "Untamed Heart" (1993), which starred Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater.

"Nature Boy" was also featured prominently in "Moulin Rouge!" as the opening song, as well as a recurring melody throughout the rest of the movie (see below). It was played on the trumpet accompanied by flute in the 2001 film "Angel Eyes" during a jazz improvisation in a club.

"Nature Boy" features in the French film "Peindre ou Faire L'Amour" ("To Paint or Make Love"), 2007, starring Daniel Auteuil.

"Nature Boy" was also featured at the end of the second episode of Fox's New Amsterdam, "Golden Boy," 2008.

Published versions

All versions (vocal and instrumental):
* eden ahbez
* Suzy Solidor
* Nat King Cole (Billboard Chart #1)
* Dick Haymes (Billboard Chart #16)
* Frank Sinatra (Billboard Chart #18)
* Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass
* John Coltrane
* Sarah Vaughan
* George Benson
* David Bowie
* John Leguizamo
* Harry Connick Jr (released on his second Christmas album, Harry for the Holidays)
* Miles Davis
* Stéphane Grappelli
* Bobby Darin
* Marvin Gaye
* Lisa Ekdahl
* Toni Tennille
* Céline Dion [cite album-notes |bandname=Céline Dion |title=A new day has come |year=2002 |publisher=Epic]
* David J
* Annie Haslam
* Big Star
* Kurt Elling
* Cris Barber
* Chris Whitley
* Cher
* José Feliciano
* Peter Jöback
* Jon Hassell
* James Brown
* Joe Beck (on the album 'Nature Boy', ca 1968)
* Jelle de Vries (Dutch comedian who made a strange translation on his LP "mannetjes en vrouwtjes" Philips Minigroove 1958)
* Rogier van Otterloo with the Metropole Orchestra (released on 'Verzameld werk')
* (on the jazz album 'From Rita with love')
* Central Line (UK #21 Jan 1983)
* The Singers Unlimited (on the album Magic Voices, Disc 3)
* Vinicius de Moraes & Toquinho
* Caetano Veloso
* Jimmy Rosenberg (on his 1998 album "Jimmy Rosenberg with Bireli Lagrene and Angelo Debarre")
* Peter Cincotti (which he combined with musical cues from The Beatles' song "The Fool on the Hill)
* Nils Landgren
* Petra Magoni & Ferruccio Spinetti
* Engelbert Humperdinck
* Fila Brazillia
* Leonard Nimoy
* Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
* Grace Slick & The Great Society
* The New Standards
* Rick Astley
* [http://www.petersando.com/gandalf.html Gandalf]
* The David Grisman Quintet
* My Ruin
* Nils Petter Molvær, Bugge Wesseltoft & Eivind Aarset with Mike Mainieri
* Yami Bolo
* Radka Toneff
* Philip Jackson [http://www.comfortstand.com/catalog/001/index.html on 'Two Zombies Later' album from Comfort Stand Recordings]
* Pantaleimon (recorded the song as " [http://www.discogs.com/release/872318 Sitting On The Mountain Of Suan Mok] ")
* James Morrison
*Toki Asoko (On the album "Standards on the Sofa")
*Will-O-The Wisp (On the album Gift For Your Dreams)
* Tommy Korberg (on the album "Gränslos")
* Bruno Pelletier (On the album "Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre") [http://www.brunopelletier.com/]
* Mick Nock (on the album "Dark and Curious")
* Aaron Neville
* Sumi Jo
* Massive Attack and David Bowie from "Moulin Rouge!"
* Kyrgystani-American jazz pianist Eldar on his self-titled debut album
* Art Pepper (on his 1980 album "Straight Life")
* Al Hirt (on his 1967 album "Music To Watch Girls By")

Popular versions

The most successful version was recorded by Nat King Cole. Cole's recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15054. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on 16 April 1948 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, notably peaking at #1. cite book
last = Whitburn
first = Joel
authorlink = Joel Whitburn
title = Top Pop Records 1940-1955
publisher = Record Research
year = 1973 ]

The Dick Haymes recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24439. The flip side was "You Can't Be True, Dear." The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on 4 June 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #16.

The Frank Sinatra recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38210. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on 28 May 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #18.

Cher recorded a version of "Nature Boy" as a tribute to her late former husband, Sonny Bono.

My Ruin made it a spoken introduction of the album "The Brutal Language" released in 2005 (street date 27 September 2005) on the 33rd Street Records label, produced by Mick Murphy.

Grover Washington Jr. recorded a version of "Nature Boy", in his distinctive style of jazz, on the album "All My Tomorrows" (1994).

Bruno Pelletier's version of "Nature Boy" can be found in his album "Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre".

Celine Dion performed the song as part of her "A New Day ..." concert during her run at Caeser's Palace. The song had appeared on her 2002 album "A New Day Has Come" and is included on her 2004 live album "A New Day...Live In Las Vegas". [see celinedion.com]

Other versions

A parody named "Serutan Yob" was recorded by Red Ingle and the Natural Seven. It was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15210. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on 1 October 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #24.

The 1960s psychedelic rock band Gandalf recorded a version of this tune on their only self-titled album for Capitol in 1969.

There was also a jazz-funk version recorded by George Benson released by Warner Brothers on the album entitled: In Flight (1977). Bobby Darin recorded it on his LP "Things and Other Things" (1961).

Powderfinger recorded a different song by the same name as a B-side for their single "My Happiness" (2000).

Former singer/actress Vanity performed a version on the TV series "" (late 1980s).

Jamie Cullum has been known to cover the song extensively on his tours.

"Moulin Rouge!" versions

A version by David Bowie was a major theme in the musical film "Moulin Rouge!" (2001). The version contained within the film was, however, sung by cast member and actor John Leguizamo as the non-fictional character of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec during the introductory scenes to the film. Some of the premise for the film was based on the lyrics found within the song, in particular the lines "There was a boy... A very strange, enchanted boy". The lyric "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is (just) to love and be loved in return" is used regularly throughout the film, as a general reminder of the importance of love (one of the film's central themes). Massive Attack produced a version for the film's closing credits using the David Bowie vocal. The Massive Attack and David Bowie versions appear on the film's soundtrack, along with other notable covers.

External Links

[http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/1156/28/] Mark Steyn wrote a tribute to the song and its author on the 100th anniversary of eden ahbez birth.

References