Cheek to Cheek


"Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for Fred Astaire, the star of his new musical, Top Hat, co-starring Ginger Rogers. In the movie, Astaire sings the song to Rogers as they dance. The song was nominated for the Best Song Oscar for 1936, which it lost to "Lullaby of Broadway". The song spent five weeks at #1 on Your Hit Parade and was named the #1 song of 1935. Astaire's 1935 recording with the Leo Reisman Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2004, Astaire's version finished at No. 15 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Composition & Release

The song was composed by Irving Berlin, with a melody drawing similarity to the theme of Chopin's Polonaise héroïque, itself inspired by the Polish folk dance.
On June 26, 1935, Fred and Leo Reisman, along with his Orchestra, worked at ARC Studios in New York City. They recorded two Irving Berlin compositions, "Cheek To Cheek" and "No Strings ". The next day, with Johnny Greene's Orchestra, "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" were completed. Both singles were released in August, and then at the end of the month, "Top Hat" premiered. "Cheek to Cheek" headed straight to #1, where it stayed for eleven weeks, and finished the #1 hit of 1935. Fred Astaire topped his career high of ten weeks for "Night And Day".

Recorded versions

According to the database of secondhandsongs.com, "Cheek to Cheek" has been recorded by 438 different artists as of July 2021.
ReleasePerformerVocalistRecording dateAlbumLabelSource
1935Guy LombardoGuy Lombardo
1935The Boswell SistersThe Boswell Sisters
1956Ella Fitzgerald & Louis ArmstrongElla & LouisAugust 16, 1956Ella and LouisVerve
1956Vic DamoneVic Damone1956That Towering Feeling!Columbia
1957Lou Donaldson feat. Horace Silver QuartetinstrumentalJune 20, 1952Quartet/Quintet/SextetBlue Note
1957Marcy Lutes Marcy Lutes1956 or 1957DebutDecca
1958Peggy LeePeggy LeeJanuary 3, 1958Jump for JoyCapitol
1958Doris DayDoris DayFebruary 24, 1958Hooray for HollywoodColumbia
1958Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldMarch 1958Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song BookVerve
1958Billie HolidayBillie HolidayAugust 1956All or Nothing at AllVerve
1959Frank SinatraFrank SinatraDecember 1958Come Dance with Me!Capitol
1976Alex HarveyAlex HarveyChristmas 1975The Penthouse TapesVertigo
1982TacoTaco1981After EightRCA Victor
2014Tony Bennett & Lady GagaTony Bennett & Lady GagaJune 2013Cheek to CheekColumbia