Irvin Berlin spent a lot of time traveling back and forth between Broadway and Hollywood. Let’s Face The Music and Dance was written for the 1936 Astaire-Rogers movie, Follow The Fleet. Hey, sailor.

Let’s Face The Music and Dance was under-recorded until the mid-Fifties when it emerged as a classic. It has some dark undertones that rendered it less commercially palatable than most Berlin tunes. That’s one reason I like it so much.

We begin with Friday Cocktail Hour fixture Ella Fitzgerald:

Anita O’Day is another one of my favorite jazz singers. Here’s her take on this terpsichorean classic:

The Chairman of the Board somehow missed this tune on his Come Dance With Me concept album. This version is from an album with a deeply silly title, Ring-a-Ding-Ding:

Diahann Carroll was best known as an actress but she could belt it out with the best of them:

One of the most influential versions of Let’s Face The Music and Dance was recorded by Nat King Cole in 1964:

Finally, Diana Krall puts the boss in Bossa Nova:

That’s all for this week. Pour yourself a belt and toast the end of another week. It’s what Bogie, Betty, and Frank would want. Never argue with them.