"There'll Be Some Changes Made" ("Changes") is a popular song by Benton Overstreet (composer) and Billy Higgins[1][2][a] (lyricist). Published in 1921, the song has flourished in several genres, particularly jazz. The song has endured for as many years as a jazz standard.[3] According to the online The Jazz Discography (an index of jazz-only recordings), "Changes" had been recorded 404 times as of May 2018.[4] The song and its record debut were revolutionary, in that the songwriters (Overstreet and Higgins, the original copyright publisher, Harry Herbert Pace, the vocalist to first record it (Ethel Waters), the owners of Black Swan (the record label), the opera singer (Elizabeth Greenfield) for whom the label was named, and the musicians on the recording led by Fletcher Henderson, were all African American. The production is identified by historians as a notable part of the Harlem Renaissance.[5]
The debut recording with Ethel Waters was recorded on Black Swan Records (1921) and rapidly became a hit. Her rendition features the rarely-heard 6-bar instrumental intro,[b] followed by her singing the 1st verse (16 bars, plus 1), then her singing the 1st chorus (16 bars, plus 2), then instruments playing 8, plus 2 bars of the chorus, finishing with her singing the 1st chorus (16 bars, plus 2).
Variety magazine, in a fifty-year commemorative issue, included Ethel Waters' recording in its "Hit Parade of a Half-Century (1905–1955)" list for 1923.[6] A 1924 recording by Marion Harris (Brunswick 2651) helped establish it as a standard.[7] Other artists with notable recordings during the 1920s include Josie Miles (Ajax 17087; 1924), Sophie Tucker (Okeh 40921; 1927), and the Chicago Rhythm Kings (Red McKenzie, vocalist; Brunswick 4001; 1928). In jazz discography, which does not include the recordings of Marion Harris or Sophie Tucker, there were 11 recordings of the song during the 1920s.[4]
1941 was not a good year for newly published popular music due to the ASCAP strike. According to a January 31, 1942, Billboard article, ASCAP members claimed only 2 of the top 13 sellers in sheet music. Five of the remaining 11 were revivals, one of which was "There'll Be Some Changes Made."[9] The 1941 film, Play Girl, gave new life to the song. In 1941, Benny Goodman's 1939 version became a Billboard No. 1 Hit for 4 weeks (during April and May) and peaked at No. 2 on Your Hit Parade. In 1961, BMI published a list, "All-Time Hit Songs, Broadcast Music, Inc., 1940–1960," in Billboard. "There'll Be Some Changes Made" was among the 17 songs listed for 1947.[10] In jazz discography, there were 60 recordings of the song during the 1940s.[4]
In early 1959, Billie Holiday did three sessions with Ray Ellis and orchestra for MGM Records in New York: March 3, 4, and 11. She recorded "Changes" in the final session. That session turned out to be the last studio session of her life. She died 4 months and 6 days later — on July 17.[11] The album — released under various titles, notably, Last Recording (MGM SE-3764; 1959) — was posthumously released.
In jazz discography, there were 42 recordings of "Changes" during the 1950s.[4]
In the 1972 film Slaughterhouse-Five, a quartet is singing the song when the airplane Billy Pilgrim is traveling in spins out of control and crashes.[12]
Ann Reinking sang and danced to the song accompanied by Leland Palmer and Erzsébet Földi during the "Hallucination Sequence" in the 1979 film, All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse. Reinking, Fosse's previous partner, directs the song to Roy Scheider playing Joe Gideon, a semi-autobiographical version of Fosse himself.
The soundtrack of Woody Allen's 1999 film, Sweet and Lowdown, included "There'll Be Some Changes Made," recorded by members of the film's music department: Howard Alden, solo guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli, rhythm guitar, Ken Peplowski, clarinet, Kelly Friesen, bass, and Ted Sommer, drums. In the scene, Emmet Ray, played by Sean Penn in the lead role as a guitarist, is playing the song with his quintet at a club as he is approached by a woman with black hair.[13]
Shorts
The 1928 Vitaphoneshort film, Character Studies (Vitaphone 2734), directed by Murry Roth, featured three songs, including "Changes," all sung by Florence Brady (née Florence E. McAleer; born approx. 1902), a comedian, singer, vaudeville actress, and longtime stage partner with her songwriter husband, Gilbert William Wells (1893–1935).[14]
Josie Miles
With the Choo Choo Jazzers
Josie Miles (vocals), Bob Fuller (clarinet), Louis Hooper (piano)
Recorded circa December 1924, New York City
(audio on YouTube)
Ajax (Canadian Race label) 17087 Matrix 31749
Roy Newman (de) and His Boys
Recorded October 1, 1935, Dallas
Roy Newman (piano), Jim Boyd (born 1914) (brother of musician Bill Boyd brother) (guitar), Earl Brown (guitar), Ish Erwin (bass), Holly Horton (1892–1944) (clarinet), Walter Kirks (tenor banjo), Randall "Buddy" Neal (guitar), Thurman Neal (fiddle) Matrix: DAL-196-1 Vocalion 03325[15]
Hy-Lo Trio (vocals and instrumentalist) 78 rpm album: Old Tyme Favourites
Recorded around 1948, Boston
Vinnie "Jimmy Cal" Calderone (accordion)
Angelo Boncore (né Angelo Joseph Boncore; 1919–2012) (bass)
Side B, Track 3
Label: Crystal-Tone (Boston)
Re-issue: Family Library of Recorded Music (Canada)
(audio on YouTube)
1007-B Library and Archives Canada - Amicus #3573505
† "There'll Be Some Changes Made," was recorded in 1941 on acetate discs by an amateur, a Columbia Student, Jerry Newman (né Jerome Robert Newman; 1918–1970), and released in the 1973. Newman's collection was the initial sole material used to launch the jazz label, Onyx Recording, Inc. (aka Onyx Records), a New York entity co-founded in 1972 by Don Schlitten and Joe Fields.[18][19]
Newman,[c] while a student at Columbia in 1941, lugged his acetate disc recording machine – a portable Wilcox-Gay Recordio "disc cutter" – to jazz clubs in Harlem, including Minton's Playhouse on 118th Street and Clark Monroe's Uptown House on 134th Street, both of which were incubators of jazz of the day, and in 1941, the beginning of bebop. Newman's collection served as the core library for Onyx Recording, Inc. Art Tatum[20] at Minton's in 1941, issued by Onyx after being declined by Columbia, on the LP God Is in the House.[21] At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1974, the album won two Grammys, one for Best Improvised Jazz Solo and one for Best Liner Notes, written by Morgenstern. Newman's recordings have been issued as unauthorized records, variously over the years; that is, none were done so with the permission or participation of the artists or their estates.[22] The commercial value of the recordings were deemed nil; and those who acquired and distributed the recordings viewed the mission as one of curating jazz history.
The Art Tatum session at Gee-Haw Stables, later, became the subject of a poem, "Art Tatum at the Gee-Haw Stables," by Grace Schulman.[23]
^Vol. 19, Part 5, No. 1, Sect. I, January–June 1965 (1967), pg. 627
Sheet music covers
Edward B. Marks Corporation was the publisher of "There'll Be Some Changes Made." The sheet music cover design, artwork by Irving Politzer (1898–1972), featured portraits of performers who had recorded the song. Those appearing on covers include Marion Harris, Ruth Etting, and Benny Goodman.
Subtitle on some sheet music covers
Some sheet music covers, even 1st editions, included the subtitle, in parentheses, "Philosophic Blues."
Notes
^Some biographical references, notably the searchable BMI Song Database, incorrectly identify the lyricist as William Blackstone. The copyrights, and copyright renewals, credit Higgins as the lyricist. "Blackstone" is the maiden name of the mother of another Billy Higgins (1936–2001) — the late jazz drummer who has no direct relationship to the Higgins of this article. The mother's full maiden name was Anna Bell Marie Blackstone (1903–2001). She was married to Samuel Higgins (1901–1970). ("Higgins, Billy" – reference entry; the "other" Billy Higgins), Oxford Index: American National Biography Online; retrieved November 22, 2016) ("BMI Repertoire Song Search: 'There'll Be Some Changes Made';"Archived 2006-11-24 at the Wayback Machine retrieved November 22, 2016)
^Published versions of the music include a 4-bar intro, followed by a 2-bar vamp. The Ethel Waters rendition does not repeat the vamp. Her rendition is:
B♭ major — 4 4 time Intro, instrumental (4 bars; plus a 2-bar, non-repeated vamp) 1st verse, sung (16 bars; plus 1) or ("A1 theme," 8 bars; plus "A2 theme," 8 bars; plus 1) 1st chorus, sung (16 bars; plus 2) or ("B1 theme," 8 bars; plus "B2 theme," 8 bars; plus 2) 1st chorus, instrumental (8 bars) ("B2 theme," 8 bars; plus 2) 1st verse, sung (16 bars; plus 1) or ("A1 theme," 8 bars; plus "A2 theme," 8 bars; plus 1)
^Bill Fox (aka Bill Mink, Bill Wolf/Wolfe), Jerry Newman (né Jerome Robert Newman; 1918–1970), and Seymour Weiss (né Seymour Michael Wyse; born 1923 in London) founded the Esoteric Record Corporation in 1949 in New York. In 1957 the label was renamed Counterpoint; and after being first sold to Eichler Records Corporation in 1960, and then to Everest Record Group in 1963, to Counterpoint / Esoteric Records. Earlier, in 1948, Newman and Wyse founded Greenwich Music Shop. In 1964, Fox moved to Vanguard Records, to become the production coordinator. Fox had been Newman's business partner with the Greenwich Music Shop
^Edward B. Marks Music Corporation was founded in 1898 by Edward Bennett Marks (1865–1945). One of Edward's two sons, Herbert Edward Marks (1902–1984), took over the company in 1945. In 1983, Freddy Bienstock bought the Edward B. Marks catalog of classical and contemporary music for $5 million in partnership with the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate. His brother, John, was in charge of the division. The Edward B. Marks catalog is currently owned by Carlin America.
^Al. H. Wilson (aka Alphonse or Alfonso H. Wilson; né Alphonse Heerwich Niederhofer; 1868–1936) was an American stage actor, comedian, singer, monologist, songwriter, theater stock company director, and playwright. (Who's Who in Music and Drama. Entry: "Wilson, Al. H.", Dixie Hines né George Wilmer Hines Jr.; 1872–1928, Harry Prescott Hanaford, 1863–1925, eds., H.P. Hanaford, publisher, 1914, pg. 325; OCLC5345361, 21786350) He was the brother of actress Lizzie Wilson (née Elisabeth Niederhöfer; 1863–1939). (see Winfield Daily Free Press and Passport Applications, referenced below) Alphonse H. Wilson's name is inscribed on a vertical-type monument, 10 feet high, 8 feet wide (front face, right margin, 13th row), honoring Catholic Actors Guild of America, in Calvary CemeteryWoodside, Queens. Inscribed at the top of the front face is a quote from Macbeth, "A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more". Inscribed at the top of the back face is a quote from Hamlet, "Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest". (see Death Certificate and BillionGraves references, below)
^ abcdeTom Lord (ed.), The Jazz Discography Online, Lord Music, (retrieved December 5, 2016; subscription required; accessible at many libraries); OCLC690104143
^East Carroll Township and the Sunset Ballroom, 1910–2010, by Cecelia Farabaugh (born 1963; local historian, genealogist) (self published), Chicora, Pennsylvania: Mechling Bookbindery (2010); OCLC795836256; LCCN2010-907320
^Death Certificate – New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795–1949 (June 3, 2020). "Alphonse Wilson". Place of death: Manhattan, New York → DOD: March 6, 1936 → father: John Wilson → mother: Anna Stengel → spouse: Laura Wilson → death certificate no. CN 6317. New York Municipal Archives. Retrieved February 4, 2021 – via FamilySearch. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)FHL (GS) microfilm no. 2,079,282; digital folder no. 4,007,605; online image no. 555; indexing project (batch) no. I07962-7; record no. 316. (note: Alphonse Wilson's middle initial "H" is on the actual death certificate).
