On a Little Street in Singapore

"On a Little Street in Singapore"
Single by Frank Sinatra with the Harry James Orchestra
B-side	"Who Told You I Cared?"
Released	1939
Recorded	13 October 1939 in Chicago, Illinois
Genre	Traditional pop, jazz
Label	Columbia COL 35261[1]
Songwriter(s)	Peter DeRose and Billy Hill
Frank Sinatra with the Harry James Orchestra singles chronology
"My Buddy" (1939) "On a Little Street in Singapore" (1939) "Ciribiribin (They're So In Love)" (1939)

"On a Little Street in Singapore" is a jazz song written by Peter DeRose and Billy Hill. It had some measure of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, marked by a number of high-profile performances. Artists to cover the song included Frank Sinatra with Harry James, Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond, Glenn Miller, Bert Kaempfert, Jimmy Dorsey and most recently Bob Dylan. Manhattan Transfer covered it again in 1978.

The music writer Will Friedwald places the song in a "long list of intercultural, interracial romances-that-can-never-be" likening the theme of the song to the "tragic mulatto syndrome" as identified by the film critic Donald Bogle. Friedwald categorises the song in this context with other Orientalist compositions such as "Poor Butterfly" and "Japanese Mammy".^[2]

Patrick Burke discussed Charlie Shavers' May 1940 recording of the song in his 2008 book Come In and Hear the Truth: Jazz and Race on 52nd Street writing that Shavers "evokes an exotic Orientalist atmosphere through the combination of an unusual melodic mode and a repeated figure in the bass and drums".^[3]

The Glenn Miller Orchestra released "On a Little Street in Singapore" with a vocal by Ray Eberle in May 1944. Anticipating the end of the Second World War, Billboard wrote that Miller would be "the hottest thing in band fronting" and described the song as "good, if a little dated" but concluded that "with tune and Miller sizzling what more can be desired?".^[4]

Reviewing Bob Dylan's album Fallen Angels which included the song, Michael Hann wrote in The Guardian that "On a Little Street in Singapore" was a "throwaway number" whose "strength is all in the melody" and lacked the "romantic profundity" of the other songs on the album.^[5]

The British figure skaters Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean performed their ice dance routine in figure skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics to "On a Little Street in Singapore".^[6]

Frank Sinatra recording

"On a Little Street in Singapore" was one of the earliest recordings made by Frank Sinatra. It was recorded at a session with the Harry James Orchestra on 13 October 1939 at the same time as "Who Told You That I Cared?".^[7] It was later issued as a 78 rpm single. The arrangements of both songs at the session were written by Andy Gibson.^[8][9] Sinatra's version of the song was the first Sinatra recording that the future Frank Sinatra discographer Vito Marino heard.^[10] Will Friedwald, in his 1995 book Sinatra! the Song is You: A Singer's Art wrote that the recording finds Sinatra and James "making like two American sailors in a Far East opium den". Friedwald feels that Sinatra "plays it cautiously" on the song, staying close to the melody and beat, perhaps intimidated by the bolero rhythm of the song.^[2]

References

1. Albert I. Lonstein; Vito R. Marino (1970). The Compleat Sinatra: Disgography [sic] Filmography, Television Appearances, Motion Picture Appearances, Radio Appearances, Concert Appearances, Stage Appearances. Cameron Publications. p. 3.
2. Will Friedwald (1995). Sinatra! the Song is You: A Singer's Art. Simon and Schuster. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-684-19368-7.
3. Patrick Burke (August 2008). Come In and Hear the Truth: Jazz and Race on 52nd Street. University of Chicago Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-226-08071-0.
4. "Record Possibilities". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 20 May 1944. p. 20.
5. Michael Hann (18 May 2016). "Bob Dylan's new album – as performed by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and more". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
6. Hennessy, John (18 February 1980). "Russian champion may be forced to drop out". The Times. No. 60553. p. 9. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
7. John Frayn Turner (2004). Frank Sinatra. Taylor Trade Publications. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-58979-145-9.
8. Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2000. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-313-31055-3.
9. "Frank Sinatra Singles List". Frank Sinatra Family. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
10. "Jersey Fan Leading Expert on Frank Sinatra Discography". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 20 November 1965. p. 84S.