From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Nature Boy" is a song by eden ahbez, published in 1947.

Contents 1 Song origin 2 Film usage 3 Published versions 3.1 Popular versions 3.2 Other versions 3.3 Moulin Rouge! versions 4 References

Ahbez composed the song which told a fantasy of a "strange enchanted boy... who wandered very far" only to learn that "the greatest thing... was just to love and be loved in return." The Yiddish songwriter Herman Yablakoff alleged that the melody to "Nature Boy" came from his song "Sveig Mein Hartz" ("Be Still My Heart"); his legal action was settled out of court.

"Nature Boy" was a primary theme of the score for the 1948 motion picture The Boy with Green Hair. The original version of the song was used for it. The Nat King Cole rendition set the tone and was used several times in Untamed Heart (1993), which starred Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater.

It was also featured prominently in Moulin Rouge! as the opening song, and as a recurring melody throughout the rest of the movie. (see below). It was played on the trumpet accompanied by flute in the 2001 film Angel Eyes during a jazz improvisation in a club.

In addition, it features in the French film Peindre ou Faire L'Amour ("To Paint or Make Love"), 2007, starring Daniel Auteuil.

All versions (vocal and instrumental):

• Bruno Pelletier (On the album "Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre") [1]
• Mick Nock (on the album "Dark and Curious")

The most successful version was recorded by Nat King Cole. Cole's recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15054. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on April 16, 1948 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, notably peaking at #1. ^[2]

The Dick Haymes recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24439. The flip side was "You Can't Be True, Dear." The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on June 4, 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #16. ^[2]

The Frank Sinatra recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38210. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on May 28, 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #18. ^[2]

Cher recorded a version of "Nature Boy" as a tribute to her late former husband, Sonny Bono.

My Ruin made it a talked introduction of the Album "The Brutal Language" released in 2005 (street date Sept, 27th) on the Label "33rd Street Records", and produced by Mick Murphy.

Grover Washington Jr. recorded a version of "Nature Boy", in his distinctive style of jazz. His version was recorded in 1994 on the album "All My Tomorrows".

Bruno Pelletier's version of "Nature Boy" can be found in his album "Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre".

A parody named Serutan Yob was recorded by Red Ingle and the Natural Seven. It was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15210. The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 1, 1948 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #24. ^[2]

The 60's psychedelic rock band Gandalf recorded a version of this tune on their only self-titled album for Capitol in 1969.

There was also a jazz-funk version recorded by George Benson released by Warner Brothers on the album entitled: In Flight (1977). Bobby Darin recorded it in 1961 on his LP: Things and Other Things.

Powderfinger recorded a different song by the same name as a B-side for their 2000 single, "My Happiness".

A version by David Bowie was a major theme in the 2001 musical film Moulin Rouge!. The version contained within the film was, however, sung by cast member and actor John Leguizamo as the non-fictional character of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec during the introductory scenes to the film. Some of the premise for the film was based on the lyrics found within the song, in particular the lines "There was a boy... A very strange, enchanted boy". The lyric "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is (just) to love and be loved in return" is used regularly throughout the film, as a general reminder of the importance of love (being one of the film's central themes).

1. ^ Dion, Celine (2002). "A new day has come." Program notes to A new day has come: Epic, .
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.