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Pick Yourself Up
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Pick Yourself Up
| cover =
| alt =
| caption =
| type =
| written =
| published = 1936 by Chappell & Co.
| artist = Fred Astaire
| album =
| B-side = The Way You Look Tonight
| released = August 1936
| recorded = July 26, 1936
| studio = Los Angeles, California
| venue =
| genre = Jazz, Pop Vocal
| length =
| label = Brunswick 7717
| writer =
| composer = Jerome Kern
| lyricist = Dorothy Fields
| producer =
| prev_title = A Fine Romance
| prev_year = 1936
| next_title = Never Gonna Dance
| next_year = 1936
}}
"'Pick Yourself Up'" is a popular song composed in 1936 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It has a verse and chorus, as well as a third section, though the third section is often omitted in recordings. Like most popular songs of the era it features a 32 bar chorus, though with an extended coda.
Background
The song was written for the film 'Swing Time' (1936), where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Rogers plays a dance instructor whom Astaire follows into her studio; he pretends to have "two left feet" in order to get her to dance with him. Astaire sings the verse to her and she responds with the chorus. After an interlude, they dance to the tune. (Author John Mueller has written their dance "is one of the very greatest of Astaire's playful duets: boundlessly joyous, endlessly re-seeable.")
In 1936, Astaire recorded the song on his own for the Brunswick label.
The song has been covered many times, including by:
*Nat King Cole 1944
*George Shearing 1950
*Nat King Cole and George Shearing 1962
*Anita ODay 'Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day' 1957
*Dakota Staton 1961
*Ella Fitzgerald and Nelson Riddle 1962
*Frank Sinatra arranged and conducted by Neal Hefti 1962
*Mel Torm 1988
*Natalie Cole 1996
*Diana Krall 1999
*Molly Ringwald 2013
*Wilford Brimley with The Jeff Hamilton Trio 2013
*Gregory Porter 2017Cordova, R. (2017, Nov 05). For sentimental reasons // gregory porter pays touching tribute to nat 'king' cole. Arizona Republic
Popular culture
*The tune served as the theme song for the short-lived 195556 prime time television variety series 'The Johnny Carson Show'. It was also the theme song for the 19891991 British TV comedy "French Fields" starring Julia McKenzie. It was occasionally used during filmed remotes on 'Late Night with David Letterman.'
*Nancy Walker performed the song on an episode of 'The Muppet Show' with Fozzie Bear.
*On 20 January 2009, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, in his inauguration speech, quoted the lyrics in the song, saying "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."[http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/01/obama_calls_for_3.html Obama calls for American renewal], Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor, in "Political Intelligence" column, January 20, 2009, Boston Globe Frank Rich linked the lyric to Fields and the movie in 'The New York Times', writing that it was "one subtle whiff of the Great Depression" in the address.[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25rich.html?em "No Time for Poetry"] by Frank Rich, 'The New York Times' 1-25-09 p. WK10 of NY edition. Retrieved 1-25-09.
*Nat King Cole's version was also featured in the 'Breaking Bad' episode "Gliding Over All."
References
Category:1936 songs
Category:Songs with music by Jerome Kern
Category:Songs with lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Category:Songs written for films
Category:Pop standards
Category:Great Depression songs
Category:Ella Fitzgerald songs
Category:Fred Astaire songs
Category:The Muppets songs
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