- Tea for Two (song)
"Tea for Two" is a
song from the 1925 musical "No, No, Nanette " with music byVincent Youmans andlyrics byIrving Caesar . The song is sung from the viewpoint of a lovestruck man, who plans the future with his new woman in mind.The story may be apocryphal, but Irving Caesar indicated on
Steve Allen 's radio show that the lyrics were intended to be temporary.Hoyt Axton later did much the same thing with the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" part of "Joy to the World (Hoyt Axton song) "."Tea for Two" became a
jazz standard and was recorded by numerous bands and instrumentalists. One famous interpretation of the song isTommy Dorsey 's cha-cha-cha version, top ten in 1958, re-popularized in 2005 by adverts forMcVitie's biscuits. Another notable recording was made byArt Tatum in 1939.The song has become a reliable standby for performers who call for
soft shoe bits.The song was also orchestrated by
Dimitri Shostakovich in 1928 under the title "Tahiti-Trot ". ConductorNikolai Malko bet Shostakovich 100rubles that he couldn't orchestrate the song after having heard it just once on a record. Shostakovich won the bet by doing the orchestration successfully in under 45 minutes. The song was also sung by Edith "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale, in the documentary film "Grey Gardens "."Tea for Two" was used as a code by English
paratroopers shot down overParis in the French film "La Grande Vadrouille ".Led Zeppelin has a song named "Tea For One". Any connection is only speculatory. The same goes for Soda Stereo's "Té para tres".
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