There's A Small Hotel - Benny Goodman - Helen Ward - 1936

There's A Small Hotel
From the musical production "On Your Toes"
Foxtrot
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
Vocals: Helen Ward
Writers: Richard Rodgers (m), Lorenz Hart (l)
Catalog Number:RCA Victor 25363-A
Matrix Number: BS-102066 (Take 1, 78 RPM, 10")
Place and Take Date: New York, 155 East 24th Street, Studio 3, 1936-06-16
The recording on the other side of this disc: That's A Plenty
There's A Small Hotel
There's a small hotel
With a wishing well
I wish that we were there together
There's a bridal suite
One room bright and neat
Complete for us to
Share together
Looking through the window
You can see a distant steeple
Not a sign of people - who
Wants people
When the steeple bell says
"Good night, sleep well“
We'll thank the small hotel
Together
The song was originally written for the Broadway musical „Billy Rose’s Jumbo“, but was dropped and then inserted into a later show, the 1936 musical „On Your Toes“. [genius.com/Rod...]
Source for audio restoration: archive.org/de...

[@user-iq7vp5xo3x]

El gran Benny Goodman ...🎺🎷

[@Skedawg88]

Great song!

[@barryweeks6229]

Is this on "The Complete Helen Ward"? I used to have the song, and had that CD set, but it doesn't look like it's on that set.

[@swingbluesjazz78rpm16]

Thanks for your comment. This recording comes directly from the original 78 RPM shellac record and was further digitally edited by me. Benny Goodman recorded this song for Victor. I believe the CD set you are referring to is "The Complete Helen Ward On Columbia".

[@barryweeks6229]

​@@swingbluesjazz78rpm16 Thanks for letting me know! Great music! It's pretty amazing you have that 78!

[@bfr2015]

​@@swingbluesjazz78rpm16Awesome recording! This is one of my favorite Benny Goodman songs. Would you have any idea how to find the big band arrangement that Benny and his Orchestra played? I'm in a swing band and I'd be over the moon to play it w/ them

[@swingbluesjazz78rpm16]

@@bfr2015
The sheet music for "There's a Small Hotel" was published by Chappel and Co. London in 1936, as usual for piano. They should be available here:
www.sheetmusicnow.com/products/theres-a-small-hotel-p397190
It's unlikely that you can order a big band arrangement there.
You may find help on this website: bennygoodman.com/
I'm sorry I can't help you here.

[@christopherlyons5900]

Somehow, this song doesn't work as a swing standard.
Rodgers & Hart didn't like these types of recordings of their work. You get a very long instrumental introduction. Then a brief snatch of the lyrics. Then a lot more music that doesn't much resemble the tune it's improvising on. That was the popular music of this time period, and it can be brilliant--nobody has to sell me on Benny Goodman, though I hold Ellington and Basie and a few others in higher regard. But they're just using popular standards from Broadway and Hollywood as raw material.
Later generations of jazz vocalists and instrumentalists did much better with the Rodgers & Hart songbook--still making changes, but changes that worked to bring out the meaning of the songs. And made full use of the winsome witty lyrics. Sadly, Larry Hart didn't live to hear those recordings.