It’s been a while since I last posted (a mini Covid-19 break) and I haven’t written up a Frank Sinatra recording of a Porter song for 3 years (!) How is that possible? So let’s rectify that failing.
Casting around, I came across an enchanting version of “Mind if I Make Love to You?” produced when Sinatra’s voice was arguably at its most sublime (the ’50s) and Grace Kelly was looking beyond elegant and beautiful This song along with “You’re Sensational” and “Now You Has Jazz”, see my posts of 4/9/17 and 5/9/20, was introduced in the 1956 film “High Society”. Another song in the film, “I Love You Samantha”, was one of Porter’s favorites although he thought the public would delight more in “You’re Sensational”. Somewhat to his surprise, “True Love” was pronounced a “major hit” while “Mind If I” was generally ignored by the critics. The public loved the film while the Times assessed the songs in it as only “fair to maudlin”.
I found the attached Sinatra (Kelly doesn’t sing here) interpretation so romantic, despite the fact that this is not one of Porter’s most memorable melodies, that I couldn’t resist highlighting it here. For some contrast, I’ve thrown in a version released earlier this year by Harry Connick, Jr. (64 years after the original!).
“In the Heavens stars are dancing And the mountain moon is new, What a rare night for romancing, Mind if I make love to you?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSlPtVHTSPk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbjQsC7Bxhg (Harry Connick, Jr.)
