words by Frank Loesser, music by Hoagy Carmichael
3 versions charted in 1939: Larry Clinton (# 1); Eddy Duchin (# 12); and Al Donohue (# 16)Heart and soul, I fell in love with you
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night
Heart and soul, I begged to be adored
Lost control, and tumbled overboard, gladly
That magic night we kissed
There in the moon mist
Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling
Never before were mine so strangely willing
But now I see, what one embrace can do
Look at me, it's got me loving you madly
That little kiss you stole
Held all my heart and soul
From the Reader's Digest "Treasury of Best Loved Songs":
"During a brief period in the Swing Era, the Hollywood film studios
produced a series of "short subjects" featuring dance bands, usually
playing their established hits. But only one "short", A Song Is Born
(1938), effectively introduced a hit. The band was Larry Clinton's,
with vocalist Bea Wain and the song was "Heart and Soul", Carmichael
and Loesser's first collaboration. Carmichael was an established
composer at the time, but Loesser - later a creator of both words and
music - was still only a lyricist. Carmichael told the Digest that the
song kicked around the back rooms of Paramount Pictures for a month
before it was assigned to any picture. During that period "the best
use the song got was for Anthony Quinn's voice practice". This was
before Quinn became a star. The writers were disappointed when their
song was launched in a minor production, but the disappointment was
short-lived as Clinton's recording became a big seller."