Henderson–Geo white scandals, Thrill is gone, Sarah Vaughan

The second song from the George White’s Scandals of 1931 is not well-known; in fact, we had never heard of the song before. It packs quite a wallop and is definitely not typical of a Ray Henderson song. It is blue and moody and very downbeat. It was performed by Rudy Vallee on Broadway, and we listened to his 1931 recording. It is quite good. But compared to the two versions that we picked out for you, it is flat and ordinary in comparison.

So, we are going to start with a 1958 recording in Paris by Sarah Vaughan, who recorded for Mercury Records (as did The Platters). Vaughan’s performance was enhanced by this Quincy Jones arrangement. Jones also conducted: Piano: Maurice Vander, Ronnell Bright, Bass: Richard Davis, Drums: Roger Paraboschi / Kansas Fields additional strings and woodwinds.

The thrill is gone,
The thrill is gone,
I can see it in your eyes,
I can hear it in your sighs,
Feel your touch and realise
The thrill is gone.

The nights, the nights are so cold,
For love is so old,
Love was grand when love was new,
Birds were singing, skies were blue,
Now it don’t appeal to you,
The thrill is gone.

This is the end
So why pretend
And let it linger on?
The thrill is gone