“Blues In the Night” is one of the earthier songs of the Great American Songbook. It was written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, two of the top composers of the day, for a 1941 movie of the same name. One of nine film tunes then nominated for an Academy Award in 1942, “Blues In the Night” has been recorded by dozens of people as diverse as Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, Buddy Guy, Eva Cassidy, Jo Stafford, and Van Morrison.
Even unlikely stars such as Guy Lombardo and the Four Seasons felt moved to cover this track – but please, please, please don’t listen to Frankie Valli’s group sing “Blues In the Night.” It’s even worse than Lombardo’s version, if you can imagine that.
The song’s blues foundation made it a beautiful choice for Bill Champlin to rework for Chicago’s Night & Day: Big Band. His update is a perfect example of what “Blues In the Night” would have sounded like if it had been one of Champlin’s own originals – meaning his take sounds more like a Chicago song of the 1990s than a standard from the ’40s.
Champlin’s blues-rock vocals are perfect, as he sings with a much harder edge than I’m sure Arlen and Mercer originally intended. From the start, he turns the piece into a mid-tempo rock song instead of a pop-jazz classic. Things are topped off by a burning rock-guitar solo from guest star Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
This terrific moment from Chicago is proof that artists don’t have to write their own material to offer originality and eclecticism in their repertoire.
