Frank Sinatra Sings “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
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Much has been written about this Cole Porter song when books and articles are written about Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle. Essentially, the story goes that this was one of four songs recorded to complete the album. All of the songs including this one were written at the last minute with "Skin" being the last one as Riddle finished the orchestration in the backseat of his car which was driven by his first wife Doreen. The charts were ready by the time the recording session came about, then there was the dry run. After it was through, everyone in studio erupted in cheering and applauding for several-except Nelson Riddle who stood there motionless until after the applause, then said, "Yeah, how about that?" It took 27 takes to get "Skin" right, the 27th time, one of the engineers admitted that trombonist Milt Bernhart was inaudible. Without a thought, Sinatra got Bernhart a box to stand on close to one of the mikes. Bernhart remembers that his solo was to be like an uncontrollable scream, wild and passionate. Bernhart was also the one Riddle came for advice on the bridge with the trombones segueing into that might solo. Bernhart suggested Stan Kenton's tribute to Cuba, "23 Degrees North - 82 Degrees West" originally written by Bill Russo. Add to this concoction syncopated brass and sax figures and you have a boiling, steaming kettle of magnificence that, to this day, sounds inviting.
Comments (4)
I am absolutely loving your Sinatra postings Mr Musikfriend! This song in particular is just stunning, and the background you include with the song makes it all the better. If I had only heard this trombone solo when younger I might have stuck with the instrument past age 14. Cheers!
dharmachris
Everybody and I do mean everybody loves that hysterical, passionate trombone solo. From what Bernhart had to say about, he had no intention of ever playing it like that had he known that Riddle had based it on part of the song. This was due to his just simply playing what the score suggested which was one moment of insanity. At all of Sinatra's shows, that one moment always blew everyone away and caused the most cheers.
Many thanks for the note!
Yours truly,
musikfriend
"Wake up to reality". Frank sings it like he owns it. One of my favorite songs.
Never knew the details of that trombone solo. So cool of you to share that info.
:=)
Time Machine,
Thanks for the compliments! A friend of mine said to me once,"Did these people go to such lengths on every song they recorded?" The answer is Yes! Every story one has heard about the making of "Casablanca" or "Gone With the Wind" took place on the movie sets every single time. That commitment to excellence is something that is lost today but not entirely. There literally tons of stories about how records were and are made that could literally fill books. And you've just read one of them!
Happy listening!
Yours truly,
musikfriend