Greatest Love Songs Ever: #26 “Body and Soul”

By Tom Quiner, Pulse Life Advocates Board President

“Body and Soul” may be the most sophisticated song musically-speaking on our list of the 52 Greatest Love Songs Ever. It’s a jazz classic, performed and recorded by countless jazz artists over the past 95 years.

You don’t care that it starts in the key of Db for the refrain before segueing into a unique 8 measure bridge that begins in they key of D for four measures before taking a surprising turn into the key of C for the next four bars before heading home to Db.

You don’t care about the clever, jazz-inflected chord changes concocted by the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, John Green.

But if you’ve ever fallen for someone who doesn’t reciprocate your love, you will care a great deal about “Body and Soul.” It is the ultimate torch song, a soulful exploration of a human condition known as unrequited love.

A team of lyricists, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton, penned a set of lyrics that says what you felt at that moment in life:

“My heart is sad and lonely,

For you I sigh, for you dear only,

Why haven’t you seen it?

I’m all for you, body and soul.”

The invocation of the word “soul” acknowledges that love is more than a skin-deep emotion. It is a soulful experience that transcends flesh and blood.

I’ve listened to many recordings of this masterpiece. Once again, Sinatra shines. He’s my go-to guy for the classic songs that comprise The Great American Songbook. The recording at the top of the page is Sinatra past his prime, around 69 or so. But I love it. His world-weary presentation captures the essence of the song as only Sinatra can do it.

Honorable mention goes to Tony Bennett’s duet with Amy Winehouse, her last recording before her untimely death from a drug overdose.

Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse sing “Body and Soul”

For good measure, listen to Oscar Peterson’s virtuoso jazz presentation of “Body and Soul,” accompanied by the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by John Williams. (Many Williams fans don’t know that he, too, was a jazz pianist who released several jazz albums in the late 50s/60s.)

Oscar Peterson plays “Body and Soul” with the Boston Pops

Next week’s entry is one of Broadway’s classic love songs by a composer who was raised just two states over from Iowa. Check back. Tell your friends to subscribe to our blog so they can be notified when new posts come out. And if you haven’t done so, be sure to make a gift to Pulse to help us spread the pro-life message.

Why are we publishing this series? Because love is the antidote to abortion.