Origins
The song originated from Walter Huston's request that he should have one solo song in the musical Knickerbocker Holiday, if he was going to play the role of the aged dictator Peter Stuyvesant. Anderson and Weill wrote the song specifically for Huston's gruff voice and limited vocal range, in a couple of hours.
Knickerbocker Holiday was roughly based on Washington Irving's "Father Knickerbocker's History of New York." Set in New Amsterdam in 1647. It is a political allegory attacking the New Deal through the semi–fascist government of New Amsterdam with a corrupt governor, Peter Stuyvesant, and corrupt councilmen. It also involves a minor love triangle with a young woman forced to marry Stuyvesant while loving another. The musical enjoyed only moderate success and closed in April 1939 after six months. "September Song" was seldom recorded in the 1940s, with recordings by Bing Crosby (1943) and Frank Sinatra (1946). But after Huston's version was used in the 1950 movie "September Affair," and reached number one on pop music chart (see below), the song quickly became established as a modern standard, with many recordings.
Read more about this topic: September Song
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
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