| "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Gertrude Niesen with Ray Sinatra and his Orchestra | |
| B-side | "Jealousy" |
| Released | 1933 |
| Recorded | October 13, 1933 |
| Label | Victor |
| Composer(s) | Jerome Kern |
| Lyricist(s) | Otto Harbach |
| Producer(s) | Ray Sinatra |
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical comedy Roberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. It was first recorded by Gertrude Niesen, with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin,[1] on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by Victor, with in the B-side "Jealousy", a song featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra.[2] The line "When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes" apparently comes from a Russian proverb.[3]
By the time of Roberta in 1933, the tune had been composed for a tap dance in the 1927 musical Show Boat, but was not adopted; in 1932 it was retried as a march for a radio series theme tune.[3]
The song was also included in the 1952 remake of Roberta, Lovely to Look At, in which it was performed by Kathryn Grayson. It also was a no. 1 chart hit in 1959 for The Platters.
- ^ Ray Sinatra: Frank's cousin, sinatrafamily.com, retrieved July 25, 2014
- ^ Victor 24454: Gertrude Niesen and Isham Jones – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes / Jealousy, popsike.com, retrieved July 24, 2014
- ^ a b James Ferguson (May 17, 2021). "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes — as beautiful a tune as has ever been written". The Financial Times.