I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" is a song from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.[1] It was originally performed by Rex Harrison[1] as Professor Henry Higgins.[2] He also performed in the 1964 film version.[3]
The song expresses Professor Henry Higgins's rage at the fact that his pupil Eliza Doolittle has chosen to walk out of his life, and his growing realization of how much he will miss her.
In Popular Media
Johnny Mathis made his recording in 1957 for his album Warm.
Dean Martin recorded the song May 9, 1960 for his album, This Time I'm Swingin' (Capitol T-1442 (mono), ST-1442 (stereo)).[4] It was later remastered in 2007 as a duet with smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti for Martin's album Forever Cool[5] and Botti's Italia[6] respectively.
It was later covered by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, on their 1964 album South of the Border (A&M Records LP-108 (mono), A&M Records SP-108 (stereo)).[7]
Kermit the Frog performed this song several times during the 1950s and '60s, though at that time he was not yet a frog. In this case, the character wore a wig while lipsyncing to Rosemary Clooney's recording of the song, singing to a small creature that is covered entirely by a piece of cloth with a face drawn on it. As "she" sings, the creature eats the mask off its own head, revealing itself to be the Muppet character Yorick (from Sam and Friends). Kermit keeps singing though, even as Yorick tries to munch on his hand. Later on, Brian Henson (son of Jim Henson, the original performer of Kermit) and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph recreated the famous sketch for the Henson Alternative Show Stuffed and Unstrung and at the D23 Expo, once again using the Rosemary Clooney soundtrack.
Barbra Streisand performed several lines in her "Color Me Barbra Medley" from the TV special and album Color Me Barbra. Subsequently, on her 2016 album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, Streisand performs the song (combined with "I'll Be Seeing You" from the 1938 musical Right This Way), as a duet with actor Chris Pine.
Stewie Griffin sings his version in the Family Guy episode "Running Mates"
Sideshow Bob sings his own version of this song ("The Very Reason That I Live") in The Simpsons (in the Season 14 episode The Great Louse Detective).
Recorded versions
- Ronnie Aldrich
- Herb Alpert
- Chet Baker
- Count Basie
- Tony Bennett
- Chris Botti[6]
- Ruby Braff
- Cecil Brooks III
- Les Brown & his Band of Renown
- Jimmy Bruno
- Joe Bushkin
- Jerry Butler
- Jackie Cain
- Richard Clayderman
- Jay Clayton
- Petula Clark
- Nat King Cole
- Ray Conniff
- Jesse Davis Quartet
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Doris Day
- Paul Desmond
- Marlene Dietrich
- Arne Domnérus and his orchestra
- Eastern Rebellion (jazz quartet)
- Billy Eckstine
- Dewey Erney
- Connie Evingson
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Percy Faith
- Michael Feinstein
- Eddie Fisher
- Molly Flannery
- Shelby Flint
- Bruce Forman
- Sergio Franchi - Broadway, I Love You (1963)[8]
- Forty Second Street Singers
- Art Garfunkel - Some Enchanted Evening (2007)
- Marvin Gaye
- Stan Getz
- Jackie Gleason
- Golden State Orchestra & Singers
- Benny Goodman
- John Greaves
- Buddy Greco
- Stewie Griffin (In Family Guy, as "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face")
- Frank Haley
- Eddie Harris
- Sam Harris
- Rex Harrison
- Coleman Hawkins
- Buck Hill
- Lena Horne
- Jeremy Irons
- Milt Jackson
- Maria João
- Jack Jones
- Roger Kellaway
- Stacey Kent - The Lyric (2005)
- Diana Krall
- Steve Lawrence
- Peggy Lee
- Alec McCowen
- Gordon MacRae
- Shelly Manne - My Fair Lady (1956) (with André Previn)
- Mantovani
- Dean Martin
- Johnny Mathis
- Susannah McCorkle - The People That You Never Get To Love (1981)
- Martine McCutcheon
- Brad Mehldau
- Matt Monro
- Wes Montgomery
- Gerry Mulligan Quartet
- Peter Nero
- Veronica Nunn
- Oscar Peterson
- Louis Prima and Keely Smith
- Ian Richardson
- Sonny Rollins (as "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face")
- Edmundo Ros
- Mathilde Santing
- Robert Underdunk Terwilliger (Sideshow Bob) (In The Simpsons, as "The Very Reason That I Live")
- Rod Stewart
- Barbra Streisand
- Tierney Sutton
- The Temptations
- Claude Thornhill and his orchestra
- McCoy Tyner
- Andy Williams
- Wes Montgomery - "Full House" (Live at Tsubo, Berkely, CA,) Riverside Records, 1962.
- Gloria Estefan
References
- 1 2 IBDB: My Fair Lady - The official source for Broadway information
- ↑ IBDB Home Page My Fair Lady
- ↑ My Fair Lady - Soundtracks at Internet Movie Database
- ↑ The Dean Martin Fan Center Website
- ↑ "Forever Cool overview". Allmusic.com.
- 1 2 "Italia overview". Allmusic.com.
- ↑ Herb Alpert Discography
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com Sergio Franchi
External links
- Lyrics of Andy Williams cover at MetroLyrics