"ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET" (1947)

How many potentially great jazz standards have been relegated to obscurity because they debuted in failed Broadway plays or in mediocre movies? If it hadn’t been for Miles Davis, "On Green Dolphin Street" probably would have met that fate. In 1947 it was introduced in an over-long costume epic, the MGM film Green Dolphin Street, which the New York Times reviewer described as "…just a glamorized illustration of a turgid adventure yarn, dressed up in stiff, expensive costumes and spangled with scenic effects. ...for all its propping—the picture is a dead weight, by and large." The film was based on a novel of the same name by English writer Elizabeth Goudge. In 1944 Green Dolphin Street was the recipient of MGM’s annual Novel Award and Goudge received a $200,000 prize. The book was the only winner of that award that was made into a film, and the film attempted to include almost everything in the novel, including an earthquake, a Maori uprising, and a near-death escape. The critics panned the film when it was released, and, unlike some films, the passage of time has not improved its artistic reputation. However, in 1947 war-weary audiences were ready for an escapist extravaganza, and it was the top box office draw. It won the Academy Award for visual and sound effects.

Bronsilaw Kaper, the composer of the film score, had made a career for himself as one of Hollywood’s great film composers with a string of successful songs and scores; he ultimately wrote music for 145 films. His film scores were nominated twice for Academy Awards, and his score for the film Lili won the award in 1953. Ned Washington, the lyricist, was another successful writer for Hollywood films. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Music twice, once for "When You Wish Upon a Star" in the 1940 film Pinocchio and again for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin" in the 1952 film High Noon; he was nominated eleven times. Even with these veteran Hollywood songwriters composing the film score, its theme song "On Green Dolphin Street" was not a hit when the film was released. It even is difficult to verify who first covered the song. Some sources attribute the first recording to Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra in 1947 and others to Ralph Marterie and his Orchestra in 1949. In the early to mid-1950s, Urbie Green, Ahmad Jamal and others did recordings worthy of consideration, but none achieved much notoriety or popularity.

The song was neglected by most jazz artists until Miles Davis recorded it in May of 1958 with his newly reconfigured sextet which included himself on trumpet; Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley, alto saxophone; John Coltrane, tenor saxophone; Bill Evans, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; and Jimmy Cobb, drums. The song was released later that year on the album ’58 Miles. Richard Cook, in his book It’s About That Time: Miles Davis On And Off The Record, has this to say about the recording: "On Green Dolphin Street", the Bronsilaw Kaper film theme which was yet another piece appropriated from Ahmad Jamal’s book, is given a momentous treatment. Chambers, as he did on ‘Milestones’, plays a key role, switching between an eight-bar vamp and straightforward eight bars of walking bass. Davis almost croons the melody with the Harmon mute firmly in place, and he is followed by the, as usual, more mercurial Adderley and Coltrane. Evans, making what was effectively his debut on the track, seems to leaf through Kaper’s chord sequence, shifting his voicings in such a way as to proffer the theme as a kind of hip mood music. There is scarcely a false step in the whole performance, brooding but repudiating any sentimentality."

The Davis recording established "On Green Dolphin Street" as a jazz standard, and since that time it has been recorded by many artists. Instrumentalists find it easy to improvise on the chord changes and melody, but vocalists can have difficulty keeping the song in tune. Consequently, it has been performed most frequently and notably as an instrumental, but singers such as Nancy Wilson have made memorable recordings as well.

On Green Dolphin Street
by Bronsilaw Kaper and Ned Washington

Lover, one lovely day,
Love came planning to stay.
Green Dolphin Street supplied the setting,
The setting for nights beyond forgetting.

And through these moments apart,
Memories live in my heart.
When I recall the love I found on,
I could kiss the ground on
Green Dolphin Street.