Comments on: Like Breathless Mahoney, only not, you know, terrible.

Question: Like Breathless Mahoney, only not, you know, terrible.

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:18:34 -0800

If I want to be a lady lounge singer, in a restaurant/nightclub, draping myself across a piano in sequins and a smoky spotlight, what are the classic vamp songs I should learn, first?

By: ferociouskitty

ferociouskitty — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:24:02 -0800

This one. And "You Give Me Fever."

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:29:03 -0800

Stormy Weather
Makin' Whoopee
Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love
Let's Misbehave
Mind if I Make Love to You?

By: amicamentis

amicamentis — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:31:11 -0800

I Wanna Be Loved By You, a la Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot

By: stubby phillips

stubby phillips — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:32:28 -0800

Why don't you do right (like some other men do)?

By: stubby phillips

stubby phillips — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:32:49 -0800

On non-preview. Dammit.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:37:26 -0800

Crazy.

By: stubby phillips

stubby phillips — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:39:21 -0800

san francisco fan (cab calloway)

By: thebrokenmuse

thebrokenmuse — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:40:32 -0800

My Funny Valentine

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:44:38 -0800

I had never before realized that Crazy was written by Willie Nelson.

By: Unicorn on the cob

Unicorn on the cob — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:49:49 -0800

My heart belongs to daddy!

By: Kangaroo

Kangaroo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:57:14 -0800

Since I Fell For You

("Youuuuuu made me leave my happy home ....")

By: Robert Angelo

Robert Angelo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:02:08 -0800

Black Coffee

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:02:49 -0800

Kurt Weill has some fantastic stuff. Off the top of my head:

Speak Low from One Touch of Venus

The Alabama Song from the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny (you know "Oh show us the way to the next whiskey bar/oh Don't ask why/oh don't ask why")

Pirate Jenny from The Threepenny Opera (okay, it's not exactly a torch song, but done right it will bring the fucking house down)

By: nitsuj

nitsuj — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:03:14 -0800

Seconding why dont you do right - performed by Jessica Rabbit

By: cazoo

cazoo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:08:21 -0800

Someone to Watch Over Me.

By: ook

ook — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:08:27 -0800

Go slow.

By: LittleMissCranky

LittleMissCranky — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:12:41 -0800

Hee. I used to do this. Here's my list:

How long has this been going on?
Cry me a river
Come rain or come shine
Night and day
The man I love
Bewitched
Misty
The man that got away
Fine and mellow

I'll add more later as I think of them. Have fun.

By: stubby phillips

stubby phillips — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:12:47 -0800

pssst. that was Amy Irving singing for Jessica Rabbit. Yes, that Amy Irving.

By: goo

goo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:14:03 -0800

'Crazy' (Gnarls Barkley) would sound great I reckon, slowed down, as a counterpoint to Willie Nelson/Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' - maybe even as a segue/medley.

'The Man I Love' (Gershwins)

The Fabulous Baker Boys soundtrack should give you a good baseline from which to work.

By: infinitewindow

infinitewindow — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:19:46 -0800

Look to Peggy Lee's catalog.

By: roger ackroyd

roger ackroyd — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:20:35 -0800

You Do Something to Me

By: goo

goo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:20:50 -0800

Ooh, now I think of it I've always wanted to do a few of the Beaches soundtrack songs as a baby-grand lounging, sequinned singer - 'Glory of Love', 'Otto Titsling', 'Baby Mine' and 'I Think It's Going To Rain Today', and if you can throw in 'Oh Industry' that would be awesome.

By: pazazygeek

pazazygeek — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:34:53 -0800

Embraceable You
I Get Along Without You Very Well
Fly Me to the Moon
My Funny Valentine
Big Spender!

By: gingerbeer

gingerbeer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:35:35 -0800

Crazy (Gnarls Barkley) as sung by my favorite drag queen/lounge singer.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:48:25 -0800

Back in the 80s, Linda Ronstadt cut an album of torch songs, "What's New." Everything on that would be a good candidate (some already mentioned here).

Nina Simone had some suitable ones, especially, My Baby Just Cares for Me and Love Me or Leave Me. Black is the Color and Don't Smoke in Bed would take a little rearranging but seems like strong possibilities.

By: spec80

spec80 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:48:57 -0800

2nding Fabulous Baker Boys.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:52:27 -0800

Blues In The Night
C'est si bon
Santa Baby (seasonally, of course)
The Lady Is A Tramp

By: lilnemo

lilnemo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:58:31 -0800

Blue Velvet.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:01:18 -0800

You Belong To Me

Sway

Maybe This Time

and the arch Torch Song ...

Love For Sale

You could have a lot of fun going all Nouvelle Vague on songs, turning favorite songs into the lounge style ...The Killing Moon, The Guns of Brixton

and speaking of Breathless Mahoney, I always thought "Sooner Or Later" was an excellent torch song marred by Madonna's nasally non-singing. The right voice could knock it out of the park.

By: rodgerd

rodgerd — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:17:21 -0800

Laziest Girl In Town.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:29:07 -0800

Ten Cents a Dance

Live Alone And Like It (Mel Torme does that latter half only, and better to my mind.)

And of course-

Falling in Love Again Try it in German for extra credit

By: scody

scody — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:33:34 -0800

Seconding all the moody German cabaret stuff.

And speaking of moody: "Moody's Mood for Love"! (I'm sentimentally fond of the Georgie Fame version... Amy Winehouse's version has a nice vocal, but I'm not wild about the arrangement.)

By: sapere aude

sapere aude — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:34:25 -0800

Wow. Great songs posted so far. Here's what I culled from my collection, apologies for duplicates:

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (esp. Ella's racy version)
Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?
Besame Mucho
Sophisticated Lady
Lush Life
Stardust
The Man I Love
Blue Moon
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
Summertime
I Cover the Waterfront
That Old Black Magic
My Foolish Heart
I Get A Kick Out of You
I've Got You Under My Skin
Baby, Won't You Please Come Home

By: swift

swift — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:39:37 -0800

Whole Lotta Love.

By: nooneyouknow

nooneyouknow — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:43:03 -0800

I Just Want To Make Love To You - I like the version by Etta James, but you can slow it up.
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
The Way You Look Tonight

By: BoscosMom

BoscosMom — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:05:16 -0800

I Get a Kick Out of You
Santa Baby

By: desuetude

desuetude — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:55:52 -0800

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. Or Quizás, Quizás, Quizás if you can pull off the Spanish.

By: plinth

plinth — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:16:45 -0800

You'd Be So Nice to Home To

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:28:23 -0800

Every cabaret singer needs to know The Great American Songbook. Then you find a band that will play 'em slow and jazzy like.

By: sully75

sully75 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:49:36 -0800

I don't really know it, but isn't Peal Me a Grape one of those kind of songs?

By: nooneyouknow

nooneyouknow — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:25:37 -0800

La Vie En Rose - English, French
Can't Help Falling In Love
Big Spender
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Whatever Lola Wants (starts at 4:00)

By: Lesser Shrew

Lesser Shrew — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:18:27 -0800

Little Things Mean a Lot
Wheel of Fortune

Also, you should look into old-timey country like Kitty Wells. You'd be surprised what scales. "Hillbilly" music was very popular in lounges, which is why there's a cornpone number in "Funny Face."

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:28:19 -0800

ooo, Wheel Of Fortune is a great number and not overplayed.

By: Pecinpah

Pecinpah — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:34:26 -0800

Holy crap, here're three that'll make the set hotter than Satan;

- Comes Love
- Stone Cold Dead in the Market - They should have stopped making music videos after that one, as far as I'm concerned.
- Is That All There Is?
- Fancy - Bobby Gentry's other famous tune.

You may have to do a little arranging with these, but set them up as 'lounge tunes' and they'll kill.

By: peagood

peagood — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:43:22 -0800

Mais non! How have we reached something like 43 answers and not yet reached My Melancholy Baby? As this site states:

Originally popularized by Walter Van Brunt, the song was actually introduced under the title "Melancholy" around 1912 and may have been first performed in Colorado. It has been associated with drunken crowds for a couple of reasons. First, an early cabaret performer by the name of Tommy Lyman performed it (typically very late in shows that didn't even begin until midnight) in the 1920s. More to the point, the infamous "Play Melancholy Baby!" line came from the 1954 film "A Star Is Born" and seems to have been associated with the song ever since.

Here it is. Or, conversely, don't do it and wait for folks to slur "shing melancholy baybee".

By: CitizenD

CitizenD — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:09:53 -0800

this is a fabulous thread. thanks, everyone!

forgive me if it's already been posted, but i'd like to offer "come rain or come shine."

(this is not necessarily a definitive performance, but just the best torch-y version i could find in a quick scan on you tube. mary j. blige does have some pipes, tho. :)

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:18:04 -0800

Oh, thank you, thank you. You darlings sure do know how to make a lady feel welcome.

This next one is just for you. *winks to the opening tinkle of piano keys*

By: nicolin

nicolin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:01:00 -0800

A time for love

By: Lanark

Lanark — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:03:16 -0800

Whatever Maude Maggart is singing

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:52:32 -0800

The Look of Love -- Burt Bacharach's, not ABC's.

By: waraw

waraw — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:56:01 -0800

I've Got A Crush On You