Whispering Jack Smith, (born Jacob Schmidt in the Bronx at the end of the 19th century) didn’t really whisper. He spoke-sung with a gentle, quiet, breathy cadence that he blamed on inhaling poison gas during his heroic WWI service on the battlefields of France. Good story! Actually, he was totally capable of belting, but he did really serve in the Great War, and who doesn’t love a good story and a memorable nickname? Whispering Jack’s soft, airy, talky-sing-y vibe was probably more a tribute to the development of the microphone in 1925 than to any need to whisper; it also helped distinguish him from the loud, raucous, vaudeville pack. His big hits were “Baby Face,” “Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?” and “Me and My Shadow.” He also appeared in an early Hollywood musical, 1930’s Cheer Up and Smile.
But we are here to talk about “Are You Sorry?” his popular apology number. And oh, Jack, no!
The relevant lyrics:
Dude, no. First of all, if you want to get back together, you do not ask your former paramour if they’re sorry! You apologize to them! And leading with guilt (“I can’t forget the way you made me cry”) is a real warning that a person is going to just keep guilting you as long as you’re in a relationship. Then there’s lots of noodge-y, wheedling questions, and, reality check, anyone who says “it doesn’t matter who was to blame” is the one who is to blame. Whispering Jack’s own apology doesn’t come until the very end of the chorus, 11 sentences in! Feh!
If it helps any, the manipulative, demanding, winsome creepiness is even worse in “Gimme A Little Kiss.”
YOU IN DANGER, GIRL. Everybody just stop debating whether that Christmas song is rapey or not, because we just found the anthem of the #metoo movement! The guy just keeps pressuring the female listener; he flatly refuses to take no for an answer. It’s her fault that he’s blue! Why won’t she understand that she has nothing to lose! Oh, run like the wind, female listener! The song even uses the phrase”in a rage” when she won’t deliver.
Also, my teenage daughter walked in as I was listening to “Baby Face” and said, “Ew. Freak.”
Let’s stick to a different Whispering Jack hit, “I’m Afraid of You.” Better!
FYI, the composer of “I’m Afraid of You” was a distant cousin of mine, Archie Gottler. However, I did not know this when I was looking for non-creepy Whispering Jack Smith songs. This one was also covered by Bing Crosby, should this ever come up on Jeopardy.
In terms of musical apologies, I do think Christine Lavin’s musical apology (full title: “Regretting What I Said to You When You Called Me at Eleven O’clock on a Friday Morning to Tell Me That at One O’clock Friday Afternoon You’re Gonna Leave Your Office, Go Downstairs, Hail a Cab to Go out to the Airport to Catch a Plane to Go Skiing in the Alps for Two Weeks. Not That I Wanted to Go with You, I Wasn’t Able to Leave Town, I’m Not a Very Good Skier, I Couldn’t Expect You to Pay My Way, But After Going Out with You for Three Years, I Don’t Like Surprises”) does fare better, in spite of its faults. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_6XMqcEqiI
That’s a great song! “I don’t really want to see you dismembered by the marijuana-sniffing dogs when a simple little nipping would suffice.”
Hah, the teen response of, “Eeew. Freak,” is my reaction to much of pop music love/relationship songs, because… seriously, eew, the lyrics are freaktastic. I mean, NO ONE wants to hear that sort of manipulative, narcissistic, semi-psychosis from anyone IRL, so why do we just bop along with that in pop songs????
Yet another supporting point for my lifetime thesis paper titled Humanity: Completely Baffling & Other Theories