20 Best Versions of Strayhorn's classic "Lush Life"

What's the plot twist? I know the song pretty well, and I can't figure out what you're referring to.

Donna Summer's version is by far the best. In her 2003 memoir, she said this was the hardest song she ever recorded (she was pregnant at the time, which didn't help). Quincy J kept pushing her to record it over and over again, and after many takes he was finally pleased with the 'perfect' recording by her.

The recording of this song encouraged her to record a jazz album which she was working on and off over the years, and was trying to finish before when she found out her cancer was terminal. I don't think she ever finished it, though.

Lush life is one of the greatest American songs ever written.

"Lush Life" always reminds me of a song that should be played on New Year's Eve for some reason.

OP, I thought Strayhorn was even younger when he wrote it, but regardless, yes, he was clearly an old soul.

Glad to see Sarah Vaughan's version on the list. It's my absolute favorite recording of the song.

Queen Latifah sang it wonderfully in a film I haven't seen since its original release back in 1998. I remember being kind of charmed by the film, but not sure if it holds up. I see now it received mixed reviews. Regardless, Latifah's Lush Life was wonderful. It's a shame she doesn't sing more.

Linda Ronstadt

The greatest but you knew that.

Natalie did a beautiful rendition on her Unforgettable album. Sounded lovely live, too

A very worthy #1. There is only one criticism to make of that Hartman/Coltrane album: At 31 minutes, it was short for an LP. And that's just everything they recorded at the sessions. There weren't three more rejected tracks that were going to turn up in the CD era, when such unearthing was common.

On the other hand, there's not a bad minute. What there is, is perfect.

Ellington stepped to the microphone and announced: "Have a seat, Mr. Strayhorn. Of course you know Billy Strayhorn wrote our radio theme, 'Take the A Train.' And now the purpose, of course, of him appearing on tonight's program which is a little extra added thought?I should say?is that I'd like for him to play for Kay Davis to introduce a new tune of his called Lush Life."

As played at the 1948 concert?the first documented recording?Lush Life is a theatrical song to be sung dramatically. It seems as though Strayhorn's lyrics carry the melody. Duke must have also understood the nature of the piece as neither he nor Strayhorn ever arranged Lush Life for the Ellington orchestra. Occasionally, Duke invited Strayhorn to perform the song on stage, but it never became an official part of the working repertoire. To add further confusion as to the song's origins, Lush Life was not copyrighted until 1949 by Duke's publishing company Tempo Music.

Live in Carnegie Hall, New York City. November 13, 1948.

I love the way Rickie Lee Jones does it on her "Girl At Her Volcano" EP.

On her program on Sirius satellite radio back in the day, Nancy Sinatra told how her father agonized for hours in the recording booth, unable to record even one complete take of this song. She played one of them, he sounded glorious, but not even midway he stopped, frustrated. It is a tricky song. I think Nat King Cole's version is the definitive one.

I've always loved the songs, but I have to say, some of the lyrics seem overwritten and a bit odd. Can anyone explain "Now life is awful again. A troughful of hearts could only be a bore" to me? I guess maybe the singer means that, now that their romance with the person they're addressing in the song is over, they could try to date and romance a whole bunch of new people, but that would only be boring? Kind of weird phrasing, though, and maybe Strayhorn didn't have to reach so far just to rhyme "awful" with "trough full."

Yeah, I agree it is a bit overwritten. It's also easy to get tangled up in if you're singing it, and there are some words you're always afraid the singer will stumble over if you're playing behind one (not even getting into the musical difficulties). I've never run across "distingué" in another song, and while "poignant" is a common enough word, it's not common in song lyrics. This song demonstrates why: it doesn't lie on a musical phrase gracefully.

It's a great, touching song, though, even with the clunkiness. Your reading of "A troughful of hearts could only be a bore" is correct. It's about someone who tries to get over something painful by plunging back into excess and frenetic activity, and finds that he feels more lonely and isolated than ever; the pain doesn't go away. Of course it was written by a gay man. There are Billy Strayhorns in every creative generation.

Thanks, R15. Seems to me that "distingue" may be used in one or two musical theater songs, but I can't think of one at the moment.

Love the Blossom one, but have to say I'm loving the Donna one. She is so kicking it for me..It seems to just suit her voice so well....That line, w. the sax 'why must I be alone?' Went right through me..then stay, stay, stay, say you will..

Thanks for this thread. DL at its best!!

Donna's version is fabulous. That woman could sing anything, and sing it beautifully.

[quote]Lush life is one of the greatest American songs ever written.

That's what we're told. I dislike it. It's pretentious like a teenage wanting to be a composer would write.

I thought Ronstadt's should definitely be up there. Queen Latifah's version is so good too and truly underrated.

Aren't there one or more famous recordings where the singer sings "distant gay traces" instead of "distingue traces?"

Queen Latifah is so underrated as a vocalist. Her covers album, "The Dana Owens Album," is excellent.

[R17] You're welcome. I thought DLers would like this subject, and be knowledgeable with their answers. Put me in the Donna camp - she sings the hell out of it. Too bad she never did that jazz album she promised.

In this order: Donna's version then Hartman and Coltrane's and then Latifah's from the film Living Out Loud, which also had the wonderful Clark Anderson singing Give Me Something Real (he ended up on the mean streets through drug addiction and mental illness).

I know I'm straying off topic, but I always found the scene in that film with Holly Hunter taking the wrong door in the club and being deeply kissed by Elias Koteas incredibly sexy. I would have loved to have had that kiss.

Thanks, OP, for opening this thread.

Sweet Pea was a genius. My favorite rendition is Johnny Hartman's.

Queen Latifa dud a fine version in that Holly Hunter movie many years back, the one with Eddie Cibrian.

[quote] I think Nat King Cole's version is the definitive one.

Strayhorn hated it.

Nothing tops the Coltrane/Hartman version. I’ve always thought of this as a man’s song and I’m not crazy about women singing it.

It’s too bad Sinatra never tried to record it again. I think he could’ve gotten it.

I'd love to hear Carol Channing's version.

Another vote for Queen Latifah. I bought the Living out Loud CD just for her vocals.

[quote] Natalie did a beautiful rendition on her Unforgettable album. Sounded lovely live, too

Natalie Cole's recording on "Unforgettable" is the BEST rendition of this song! I know lists like this are a matter of personal taste but I don't know how the author overlooked the most beautifully orchestrated and sung recording of this tune -- but rated Lady GaGa and Blossom Dearie.

[quote] Donna Summer's version is by far the best. In her 2003 memoir, she said this was the hardest song she ever recorded (she was pregnant at the time, which didn't help). Quincy J kept pushing her to record it over and over again, and after many takes he was finally pleased with the 'perfect' recording by her.

Specifically I heard that Quincy Jones said to her, in the recording booth, "if you think you can sing as good as Chaka Khan you're gonna have to prove it." Apparently, that was the only encouragement she needed.

I always hated the Donna Summer version. And I'm a fan. I prefer just about every other version I've ever heard to hers.

I'm genuinely shocked they ranked it so high on the list. I always thought of it as a huge fail on her part.

I haven't listened to it in years, though. I'll have to give it another listen at some point.

[quote]I've always loved the songs, but I have to say, some of the lyrics seem overwritten and a bit odd.

There's a great biography of Billy Strayhorn called (what else?) Lush Life. It paints a wonderful picture of who he was, which was basically a huge nerd going back to childhood. It makes perfect sense that he would write lyrics like this.

Donna Summer's version is shit. She had a great voice, but the song is completely beyond her ken. This is a song about male loneliness and only really comes to life when a man sings it.

[quote]Natalie Cole's recording on "Unforgettable" is the BEST rendition of this song! I know lists like this are a matter of personal taste but I don't know how the author overlooked the most beautifully orchestrated and sung recording of this tune -- but rated Lady GaGa and Blossom Dearie.

My thoughts exactly. If Natalie's version isn't on the list, then the list isn't worth shit.

Excellent thread subject. For me, it's the Johnny Hartman / John Coltrane version - I'm biased. The entire album they created is a favorite.

The Queen Latifa version? Oh man, a revelation for me - I'd never heard it and she's fabulous.

One last comment... I agree with a poster upthread, I think this is a man's song to sing. Hartman has that cigarette and whiskey quality that accentuates the mood. Surprised Sinatra didn't think he could master it.

I wonder what Mel Torme could have done with the song? He knew how to work a lyric and emotion.

I agree it’s a great song to be sung by a man- easily my favorite version was recorded by Nat King Cole. I also believe Nat to be the definitive male pop vocalist of his era. If he had not died so young, and been black he would be regarded as such. His voice was smoke and velvet, his phrasing perfect, and his musicianship informed by his jazz piano virtuosity. A great artist.

As much as I love Summer's, and agree hers is the best, I never felt it was on the right album for her. Did it really belong with "Love Is In Control" and "State of Independence" ?

This song was first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1948 when Billy was 33. Even though he wrote it at was 21 when he was "...writing a song a day". He had a decade to perfect it.

During a 1949 Upbeat interview, Strayhorn spoke of the song’s genesis: “’Lush Life’ wasn’t the first tune of mine Duke [Ellington] heard. In fact, he didn’t hear it until just a little while ago. I wrote it in 1936 while I was clerking at the Pennfield drugstore on the corner of Washington and Penn in Pittsburgh….I was writing a song a day then, and I’ve forgotten many of them myself….One night I remembered it and played it for Duke….I called it 'Life is Lonely,’ but when anyone wanted me to play it they’d ask for ‘that thing about lush life’.”

I loved the Queen Latifah version in Living Out Load, but it was the lesbian bar on E that was perfect on the big screen, as were Dana's huge heaving tits.

[quote] One last comment... I agree with a poster upthread, I think this is a man's song to sing. Hartman has that cigarette and whiskey quality that accentuates the mood. Surprised Sinatra didn't think he could master it.

I don't agree. Jack Jones, the finest male singer of the traditional pop genre, could not distinguish this song and he has some definitive takes on other standards. That his milquetoast recording made the list is no surprise considering its company. Nat King Cole, Hartman and Eckstine are fine but it is not a romantic song. It is a song of yearning. Women typically essay torch songs better than men, and Strayhorn wrote for women. That is probably why Sinatra, great with torch songs, knew his was not up to snuff.

[quote] I also believe Nat to be the definitive male pop vocalist of his era. If he had not died so young, and been black he would be regarded as such. His voice was smoke and velvet, his phrasing perfect, and his musicianship informed by his jazz piano virtuosity. A great artist.

Among male vocalists of the 20th Century, perhaps only Sinatra is more highly regarded than Nat King Cole. His youth and his race did not prevent the world from celebrating his brilliance as a recording artist when he was alive. He was one of the biggest-selling artists of his time.

Sinatra just was having a hard time getting it musically. So he set it aside and then just never worked back to it, which happens sometimes. He and Riddle had more than enough tracks for Only the Lonely, the album for which Lush Life was intended and would have fit perfectly.

[quote]It is a song of yearning. Women typically essay torch songs better than men, and Strayhorn wrote for women. That is probably why Sinatra, great with torch songs, knew his was not up to snuff.

I'm surprised that anyone who could sing "One For My Baby" and "Angel Eyes" as well as Sinatra would have had such a problem with "Lush Life." But I would say the song is more complex than the labels "torch song" or "song of yearning" imply.

[quote] But I would say the song is more complex than the labels "torch song" or "song of yearning" imply.

If by "complex" you mean "gay" then I agree.

[quote]I'm surprised that anyone who could sing "One For My Baby" and "Angel Eyes" as well as Sinatra would have had such a problem with "Lush Life."

Lush Life is tougher than those two in terms of staying on key through the changes. When singers talk about songs being difficult, it's usually over something like that. There's a recording of Billie Holiday rehearsing I Don't Wanna Cry Anymore in the '50s, and she tells one of the musicians, "It's a hard song, and that's why don't nobody wanna fuck with it." She was right.

The article below has an account of the Sinatra attempt. "Sinatra’s immediate comments after cutting the record short are enlightening as he exclaims 'It (Lush Life) is not only tough enough with the way it is but he (Riddle) has some clydes in there.' No doubt by 'clydes' Sinatra is referring to the intricacies of Riddle’s arrangement ('clyde' was an all-purpose noun that Sinatra used to refer to a multitude of things). Had Riddle been there it seems likely that the 'clydes' would have been resolved...One thing that is certain is Sinatra’s affection for 'Lush Life.' In his book, Hajdu quotes Sammy Cahn as saying, 'Frank [Sinatra] and I love that song…Those words, the maturity. Sophistication. You really had to have lived a life to write that. Frank adored that...Discussions of Sinatra’s abandoned attempt often overshadow the arrangement of 'Lush Life' itself. Riddle’s work is masterful. You can listen to every other arrangement of 'Lush Life' and there are simply none like it."

I don't care what the jazz purists say, Donna Summer's version is the one to beat. Flawless performance.

Maybe it was just the wrong time when Sinatra made the attempt at Lush Life?

Maybe Gordon Jenkins could have provided Frank with something that he could get his head, voice, and inflection around? I love the September of My Years album, think Lush Life fits the mood... try It Was a Very Good Year. Sinatra's in the right reflective mood...

Sinatra's partial recording of "Lush Life" sounds great to me in terms of the interpretation and the Riddle arrangement. I can't figure out why he stopped in the middle of that take when he did, as I don't hear anything wrong. I do wish he had completed a take.

I see the threads and I remember reading that Sinatra thought the song was "too difficult" to perform. Does anyone have the exact source ?

R14, as I hear it, the song is meant to sound arch and affected: it’s the drama of someone who is invested in acting sophisticated and doesn’t want to face reality—that’s why they’re drinking. In fact, even though the song is most effectively song by women, the narrator of the song sounds very much like a gay man.

Very interesting interpretation, R51. Thank you.

My alcoholic father played this song continuously for months before walking into the river and drowning himself. I was too young to understand the song at the time. Thank you, DL

Sorry you had a fucked up father r53. Mine got me into Columbia and I'm still drawing on the Morgan Stanley trust account he set up for me.

[R50] I believe that was a quote from his daughter Nancy, included on one of the liner notes for his CD packages.

R55, I expect Nancy was way oversimplifying what her father said. Based on Sinatra's comments during that aborted recording session, he recognized that the song (and the arrangement he was using) were challenging, but that's not the same as saying that the song is "too difficult to perform."

R6 I think Living out Loud's mixed reviews were due in part to a crummy marketing campaign. The studio tried to sell it as a conventional romcom but it was more experimental/meandering. Queen Latifah was great but I thought Danny DeVito was truly moving. I like Holly Hunter but she couldn't suppress her southern twang enough to play an uptight upper east sider, plus she looks terrible as a blonde.

Forgive the tangent, but Is LIVING OUT LOUD the movie that has that incredibly hot scene where Holly Hunter gets a massage from the indescribably gorgeous Eddie Cibrian?

oh yes R58, worth watching for his appearance alone.

Thanks a million for all of these posts! Every version has something amazing to offer!

R28 R35 R36 Imagine how great Nat King Cole would have done performing this song! Natalie gives us a clue!

The best

I have to say, R61, that was a strange comment. Why did you assume that Nat never recorded the song?

Liking Ella’s version…

Gosh, that Ella performance is in a much higher key than it would have expected. A little too high, I would say, even though she still sings it brilliantly.

Has anyone ever heard of this woman? First time I’ve heard of her. Her version is decent too.

Can someone tell me more about her?

We COULD tell you more about her, but we refuse to.

Blossom Dearie, R66, was a New York cabaret performer and songwriter. She's an acquired taste... a very thin voice that she uses very well. She's wonderful as a piano player. Here's another tune she used to perform, "Bruce" - very funny, but quite dared, note the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans lyric and more.

oops.. "dated" - not dared.

I only know blossom dearie because Noah Baumbach used her in the soundtrack to The Squid and the Whale

Thanks, r9, for posting the live clip of Natalie Cole singing "Lush Life." She is so effortless and masterful in her performance. I am particularly impressed because I know she was aware of, and influenced by, the greater singers of her father's generation and yet she still forged her own unique take on the song. It's one thing to record it, it's entirely another to sing this difficult song live with such knowing and aplomb.

I'm surprised Streisand never recorded this song. Same with Diana Ross and the jazz albums she recorded.

Love the Donna Summer song. Surprisingly breezy

[quote]Thanks, [R9], for posting the live clip of Natalie Cole singing "Lush Life." She is so effortless and masterful in her performance. I am particularly impressed because I know she was aware of, and influenced by, the greater singers of her father's generation and yet she still forged her own unique take on the song. It's one thing to record it, it's entirely another to sing this difficult song live with such knowing and aplomb.

Beautifully said, R71. It seems like that album is mostly remembered for the (admittedly wonderful) novelty of Natalie dueting with her father. But, that novelty aside, I honestly think it's one of the best albums of standards ever. One of the things I love about that album is that Natalie sings all of those gorgeous standards with a reverence for and deep appreciation of the style, but it never feels like some museum piece. In fact, in subtle, but distinctive ways, you hear her call upon her earlier R&B roots without straying too far.

That entire concert is on YouTube. Highly recommended. The shimmering opening of The Very Thought Of You is so lovely.

[quote]But, that novelty aside, I honestly think it's one of the best albums of standards ever

I had Unforgettable...With Love at one time and thought it was all right, but then I really LOVED her followup album, Take A Look (1993). I thought it was the better album in all ways. The version of "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life" on that one is so gorgeously arranged.

Natalie’s HOLLY AND IVY Xmas CD is pretty good too. I love how she got George Hurrell to do the cover art for this and UNFORGETTABLE - very old school glam.

Natalie Cole finally came into her own in the 90s, starting with 'Unforgettable' in 1991. Whoever was managing her career then really knew what they were doing and saw her potential. Both her holiday albums were equisite - it seemed she could do no wrong back then.

I’d rather discuss the different version of Cyndy Lauper’s Tine After Time.

^ 911? Send the Oh, Dear SWAT team stat!

It’s been said, but I’m voting for Rickie Lee Jones’s version. Another great on that album is her rendition of “Something Cool”.

I’m surprised that Marlene Dietrich didn’t sing this in one of her nightclub shows. I can imagine her talk-singing it in that worldly way of hers. Not really a fan of her, but I think she could have done it some justice.

R81, I honestly don't think the song would work at all with a heavy German accent, or a heavy accent of any language other than English.

I can't believe Ethel Merman didn't belt this out and go against script at the end of "Gypsy". Instead of 'Rose's Turn' she could've sung this.

How about Louis Armstrong.

[quote] Strayhorn hated it.

In all honesty, I don't think the composer is the best judge of who sings his song the best.

Richard Rodgers hated it if anyone tried to sing any of his songs other than as simply as possible, and yet his songs were so beautifully covered by jazz singers who would put beautiful fillips and alterations on them.

When will Madonna record a version ? The music industry waits with bated breath !

[quote] I had Unforgettable...With Love at one time and thought it was all right, but then I really LOVED her followup album, Take A Look (1993). I thought it was the better album in all ways. The version of "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life" on that one is so gorgeously arranged.

Natalie won a jazz vocal Grammy for "Take A Look." It is a great record, I think her audiences and peers were just really impressed with her facility for traditional pop. She really started out as a soul belter/balladeer in the manner of Aretha. Few artists have done that kind of switch-up with her ease. I think she performed far more naturally and at ease with that material than others of her generation who tried it.

All this to say, her version of "Lush Life" is the best.

R86, I know that's a joke but I could see a successful dance recording of "Lush Life." Maybe not from Madonna, though.

Many wonderful versions. If I have to choose, I'm picking Hartman.

You cannot deny Natalie Cole's way with a standard, she understood the genre and how to put across a lyric.

But she has a nasal tone for me and I just don't completely warm up to her.

She struggled a bit after she had nodules removed from her vocal cords in the early eighties. I think she retrained her voice.

And smoking tons of crack didn't help matters either, r91

I’ve never heard a man sing this before. Was it written for a male vocalist? The Hartman version is fine but it doesn’t build, there should be some fire. He sounds a lot like Billy Eckstine.

R93, Strayhorn wasn’t even a professional musician when he wrote this, he was just a clerk in a pharmacy. I don’t think he ever said who he envisioned singing it, but it was first performed by a woman, the Duke Ellington vocalist Kay Davis.

old queen latifah looks like a man in person. kind of shocking.

R93, what is there to build to? Lyrically the character is defeated, will give up "and live a lush life in some small dive / and there I'll be / while I rot with the rest / of those whose lives are lonely too"

So, again, build to what exactly?

For me, Hartman's version does work because he's in synch with the lyric, sad, maybe wistful.

Note that the word lush has two meanings... luxurious or as a drunk. It's part of the greatness of Strayhorn's lyric. "I'll live a lush life" can sound glamorous until the next line "in some small dive" - o-u-c-h.

The title of the song is one of the greatest things about it, because of the double meaning, so all the more interesting to read that Strayhorn originally called it "Life is Lonely," which is nowhere near as good a title.

"Natalie Cole finally came into her own in the 90s, starting with 'Unforgettable' in 1991. Whoever was managing her career then really knew what they were doing and saw her potential. Both her holiday albums were equisite - it seemed she could do no wrong back then."

Please. Natalie Cole came into her own in 1975 with her very first release. Her first four albums - Inseparable (1975), Natalie (1976), Unpredictable (1977), and Thankful (1977) and the following incredible live album, Natalie Live! (1978) show why some people considered her a challenger to Aretha. Powerful and nimble singer. She had nine Top-10 R&B singles, including five No. 1s in that span. And all of those songs were in the Top 100 on the "regular" chart, including a couple Top 10s.

She did have a semi-down phase in the early-mid 1980s before Everlasting in 1987 brought her back some. Unforgettable in 1991 is what exposed her to an entire population of people who weren't familiar with her (in addition to people who did already know her, obviously). So, sure, Unforgettable gave her the widest general exposure that she ever had. But Unforgettable is "finally coming into her own" if "coming into their own" simply means peak album sales. Unforgettable has its charms and is a nice album, but it's not her best work IMO; not even close.

I always encourage people to listen Natalie Live! if nothing else to get a real grasp of what she was capable of.

Is it DL bad luck to say this thread is fascinating? Well there, it's done.

The quality of this recording is a bit off, but here's one of my favorite Gaga performances. I believe the wig was literally borrowed from Cher, and that's the gayest thing I've typed all day.

r98, I'm not the poster you quoted, but with Natalie's earlier R&B and pop career and, later, her American songbook career, it was always "and" not "or" for me. Honestly, now that you mention it, I struggle to think of another singer as uniquely gifted and adroit at navigating each of those genres with such ease. She was a POWERFUL, soulful R&B singer, a gifted 80s pop balladeer and an exceptional interpreter of the American songbook. I love her earlier output, but I think 'nice' is a massive understatement for Unforgettable. The novelty of her dueting with her later father aside, her sensitive and intelligent readings of those classic early 20th century songs were exquisite. And, in subtle, but no insignificant ways, she layered in just a touch of knowing R&B sound in those interpretations. It could have been just a pleasant diversion. Instead, I think it's essential Natalie Cole and, no exaggeration, one of the finest recordings of the American songbook.

That's a good way to look at it, R100. I get worked up on my "early Natalie" spiel because I've encountered many people who know her primarily from Unforgettable and don't know much about what preceded it. While the picture they have isn't bad, it's just so incomplete. Plus, I just think the early-career material is incredible.

R98 - I feel ya. I mean.. GOD... this is so good. The way she and her incredible backup singers bring this song to life at the Grammys? Come on!

Natalie was busted for cocaine possession in the early 80s. Bitch hid her bag of coke IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE POLICE CAR.

And as she was being led away IN HANDCUFFS into the station she looked back and memorized the number of the police car AND THE PLATES in the parking lot because bitch was so high she thought that when she got out of lockup she could just break into the police car and sneak into the parking lot and retrieve her BAG OF COKE.

I will always love her forever for this. RIP Natalie. You were the best. Ever. Amen.

Charles McPherson with Pat Martino

Sarah Vaughan. She has a whiskey and cigarettes take on it. I heard her and it reminded me of Johnny Hartman.

IMO Sweet Pea (Billy Strayhorn) wrote to a man.