Thursday, June 21, 2012: Bobby Darin - Beyond The Sea

From Rockaeology

Bobby Darin's Beyond The Sea:

When Bobby Darin entered a New York studio in December 1958 to record his second album “That’s All,” he was a teen idol with hits like “Splish Splash” and “Queen of the Hop.” But Darin, then 22, decided to remake himself; Darin would record songs in the big band style of decades before. The result: classics like “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea.”

“Beyond the Sea” was an adaptation of the 1946 French hit “La Mer" ("The Sea"), written by Charles Trenet. New York songwriter Jack Lawrence writes that Trenet asked him to compose an English version of the song. I loved the unusual melody he had written but was not intrigued with his French lyric, which told about the different moods of the sea, and how they affected him.

Also, most of the recordings that had been made were somber and symphonic in feeling. I decided that my lyric would tell a different story — a romantic tale of a sea-faring lover and a land-locked lover waiting on a golden shore for his return. Lawrence told Michael Macomber what inspired his version: “Beyond the Sea.” I began getting an image of someone on the shore and someone on the sea, two lovers separated. Then I remembered an ancient Greek myth about beautiful Penelope, who stood on golden sands days and nights, praying and waiting for the return from the sea of her lover, Odysseus. And I had the basis for my romantic story. Adding the one word "beyond" gave the story scope and adventure.

“Beyond the Sea” enjoyed some success, recorded by Benny Goodman and Roger Williams. But Lawrence writes that a chance meeting led to the most famous version of the song. One day at the publisher's offices I ran into a new young singer with a distinctive style. He was brash and a bit cocky but rather refreshing and his name was Bobby Darin. He didn't hesitate to tell everyone that someday he would be as popular as Sinatra. I gave him a copy of "Beyond The Sea" and asked him what he thought of it. He said he liked some of the recordings he'd heard but he felt the song lacked a definite beat. A few months later he sent me his latest album and there was "Mack The Knife" and "Beyond The Sea" done to a crisp with an infectious toe-tapping beat and Bobby's inimitable delivery.

Produced by heavyweights Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Tom Dowd, the December 24, 1958 session featured a full orchestra under the direction of the song’s arranger, Richard Wess. Will Friedwald describes how the song’s arrangement helped make Darin’s version the classic.

(I)t opens alternating the rhythm section with tightly muted trombones, and once Darin enters, after an amazingly catchy vamp has been established, he plays with the time and his phrasing throughout. Strings and other horns enter in the second eight, and then, by the bridge, the brass starts to really kick. There follows an instrumental break, in which thunderous drums (played by Don Lamond, best known for his work with Woody Herman) alternate with soft strings. When Darin returns for his final chorus (unusually, he re-enters at the third line of the bridge, "I know beyond a doubt ... "), he's even friskier than before, especially in the coda, in which he expands on the concept of ceasing to sail ("no more sailin' ... so long sailin' ... bye-bye, sailin' ... ").

Released as a single in January 1960, “Beyond the Sea,” called Darin’s own personal favorite, made the Top 10. In 2004 it became the title of Kevin Spacey’s 2004 film biography of Darin.

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