
There is a popular myth that when the Andrews Sisters released their hugely successful recording of Sholom Secunda's "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" in 1938, the composer's mother was so distraught, she fasted for a week to expiate her sins. The reason for her distress? Only two months earlier, her son had sold the rights to the song for a mere thirty dollars! The composer had no idea the song would become such a hit. Written in 1932, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" (translation: "To Me You Are Beautiful") was part of a Yiddish operetta called "I Would If I Could", written in 1932 by Abraham Bloom, with music by Secunda and lyrics by his writing partner, Jacobs. Within two months of the sale, a little-known musical trio called the Andrews Sisters recorded a newly adapted English-language version of the song, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin. The only Yiddish that remained was the title, repeated throughout the song. Released by Decca Records, it became the Andrews Sisters' first major hit record. "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. The Russians loved it so much that they claimed it as their own. It was even a hit in Germany under the Nazi regime—that is, until it was discovered that the composer and lyricist were Jewish, whereupon the song was promptly banned. French vedette of the 1930s and 1940s, Léo Marjane, who was recording many international hits, redorded this one for Disque Gramophone in 1938, in French and in English versions.
Bei
mir
bist
do
schon
Yddish
song
Leo
Marjane
1930s
France
nostalgia
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