Foolish Things - 1959 B3 -
Jon Hammond neighbor 'Bob the Bass Player' rang the bell at the
end
-
S.T. Dupont at
top
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The song was not an immediate success, and Keith Prowse, Maschwitz's agent, refused to publish it, releasing the copyright to Maschwitz himself – a stroke of luck for the
lyricist. Writing in 1957, he claimed to have made £40,000 from the song. Despite being featured in Spread it Abroad, a London revue of 1936, it aroused no interest until the
famous West Indian pianist and singer Leslie Hutchinson ("Hutch") discovered it on top of a piano in Maschwitz's office at the BBC. "Hutch" liked it and recorded it, whereupon
it became a great success and was recorded by musicians all over the world. This first recording by "Hutch" was by HMV in 1936. Popular versions in the USA in 1936 were by
Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday, Nat Brandywynne, Carroll Gibbons and Joe Sanders. Billie Holiday's rendering of the song with Teddy Wilson's orchestra was a
favorite of Philip Larkin, who said, "I have always thought the words were a little pseudo-poetic, but Billie sings them with such passionate conviction that I think they
really become poetry." Holiday's version of the song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart.