Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (song)

Song by Cab Calloway

"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"
Song by Cab Calloway
Published	1931 (1931) by Mills Music
Songwriter(s)	Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler

"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" is an American popular song published in 1931, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Ted Koehler, and first recorded by Cab Calloway in 1931. It was introduced in the 1931 Cotton Club show Rhythmania and is now a widely recorded standard.

Early hits

Joel Whitburn identified the most successful early recordings as being by:

Cab Calloway recorded October 21, 1931 for Brunswick Records (catalogue No. 6209)
Louis Armstrong performed a version featuring a trumpet solo which was recorded on January 25, 1932 and released by Columbia Records, catalogue No. 2600D.
The Boswell Sisters with The Dorsey Brothers (Recorded March 21, 1932, Brunswick Records, No. 6291)

Other recordings

Blossom Dearie on Give Him the Ooh-La-La (1958)

Film appearances

1933 Sing, Bing, Sing – Bing Crosby sang an abridged version of the song in this Mack Sennett short.
1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? – An instrumental version is played during one of the dance scenes.
1984 City Heat – sung by Eloise Laws.

Broadway show

Featured in the 2013 show After Midnight.

Later versions

George Harrison recorded a version of the song for his 2001 album Brainwashed.

References

"1931 sheet music "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea"". pinterest.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
"haroldarlen.com". haroldarlen.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin, US: Record Research Inc. p. 477. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
"THE ONLINE DISCOGRAPHICAL PROJECT". 78discography.com. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
"THE ONLINE DISCOGRAPHICAL PROJECT". 78discography.com. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
"THE ONLINE DISCOGRAPHICAL PROJECT". 78discography.com. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
"www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
"Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved June 4, 2017.

v t e Cab Calloway
Singles	"Saint Louis Blues" (1930) "Minnie the Moocher" (1931) "St. James Infirmary" (1931) "Nobody's Sweetheart" (1931) "Six or Seven Times" (1931) "You Rascal, You" (1931) "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (1931) "Reefer Man" (1932) "I've Got the World on a String" (1932) "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" (1933) "(Hep Hep!) The Jumpin' Jive" (1939) "Bye Bye Blues" (1941) "Blues in the Night" (1942) "The Honeydripper" (1946) "Little Child" (1956) "History Repeats Itself" (1966) "Minnie the Moocher" (1978)
Musical shorts	Minnie the Moocher (1932) Snow-White (1933) The Old Man of the Mountain (1933) Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934) Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (1935) Alright (1990)
Band members	Eddie Barefield Danny Barker Mario Bauzá Chu Berry Jerry Blake Andrew Brown Doc Cheatham Cozy Cole Shad Collins R.Q. Dickerson Panama Francis Dizzy Gillespie Tyree Glenn J. C. Heard Milt Hinton Quentin Jackson Illinois Jacquet Hilton Jefferson Keg Johnson Claude Jones Jonah Jones Al Morgan Rudy Powell Ike Quebec Reuben Reeves Edwin Swayze Walter Thomas Ben Webster Morris White Lammar Wright Sr.
Related topics	The Cab Calloway Orchestra Blanche Calloway Camay Calloway Murphy Sunset Cafe The Missourians Cotton Club Hepcat Jive talk Zoot suit Jitterbug Cab Calloway School of the Arts "Hi-De-Ho"

v t e The Boswell Sisters
Martha Boswell Connee Boswell Helvetia Boswell
Singles	"I Found a Million Dollar Baby" "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" "Dinah" "Alexander's Ragtime Band" "St. Louis Blues" "Cheek to Cheek" "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"
Film Appearances	The Big Broadcast (1932) Meet the Baron (1933) Moulin Rouge (1934) Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)

Categories: