"Body and Soul" is a popular song and jazz standard written in 1930 with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.
"Body and Soul" was written in New York City for the British actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence, who introduced it to London audiences.
[1] Louis Armstrong was the first jazz musician to record "Body and Soul", in October 1930,[2] but it was Paul Whiteman and Jack Fulton who popularized it in United States.
[3] The "A" section uses conventional chord progressions including ii–V–I turnarounds in the home key of D flat, however the bridge is highly unusual in its tonal center shifts.
A crossroad of sorts, this performance finds Sinatra beginning to inject some of the pain of his personal life into the music; the singer delving deep within his soul, struggling to extract every nuance of emotion possible, to bring the complex lyric and melodic subtleties intended by the songwriters sharply into focus.
As well, his tonal quality reflects much of the aching, melancholic mood that would fully emerge (and become so poignant) just a short time later, in the late Columbia period.
Proceeds from "Body and Soul" go to benefit The Amy Winehouse Foundation, an organisation created to raise awareness and support for young adults struggling with addiction.