Decca 18887 (original) USA, June 1946
Words & Music by: Side A – Cole Porter; Side B – Cole Porter
Musicians: Bing Crosby (lead baritone vocals), John Scott Trotter and
his orchestra
Recording sessions: Produced by Jack Kapp at Decca Studios, Los Angeles,
CA; Side A on 11. February 1944; Side B on 15. January 1945
Highest chart positions: Side A
–US #21; Side B – none
The release achieved
only modest success for Bing Crosby, especially compared with his broader
record in the 1940s, when he scored 14 US number-one hits.
Cole Porter was notoriously strict about his sophisticated lyrics. He hated it
when singers changed even a single syllable of his poetry. Yet, on this
February 1944 recording, Crosby audibly rebelled against one of the song's most
famous lines. Cole Porter originally wrote the climax of the verse as: "Like
the drip, drip, drip of the raindrops / When the summer shower is
through...". Crosby reportedly felt that singing the word "drip,
drip, drip" sounded clunky and unromantic for his smooth crooner style.
Without asking Porter for permission, Crosby stepped up to the microphone and
sang: "Like the plash, plash, plash of the raindrops..."
When Porter found out that the biggest recording star in the world had replaced his rhythmic "drip" with "plash," he was allegedly furious. However, because this record was directly tied to the studio promotion of Warner Bros.' upcoming Cole Porter biopic, “Night and Day”, Porter ultimately chose not to block the record's release.
List price: Les Docks lists this at $4-$7. 45cat.com Price Guide sets this at €9. Discogs.com shows a median price of $5,54.
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