Something Cool

Performed by June Christy (1955)
Written by Hollywood composer/lyricist Billy Barnes.



"Something Cool" is an unusual jazz standard that became June Christy's signature song. Its lyrics are an extended narrative, full of emotional complexity.

In response to an offer to buy her a drink, a girl in a bar tells you she wants "something cool." It's warm here, she tells us, and she's far from home. She can't seem to remember your name, but she must know you from somewhere, because she never drinks with strangers. You offer her a cigarette:

"A cigarette? / Well, I don't smoke them as a rule /
But I'll have one / it would be fun / with something cool."

She tells you about her glory days, when she lived in a large house, had lots of suitors and took trips to Paris. But that's in the past. Returning to the moment:

"About a date? / Oh wait / I'm such a fool /
He's just a guy / who stopped to buy me /Something cool."

This ballad contains so much narrative, emotional baggage and character development, that it is a unique entry in the library of jazz standards.

How High the Moon

June Christy (vocals), Nat King Cole (piano), Mel Tormé (drums)



In the 1950s, when this was televised, music alone was able to transcend segregation. Here we have a black man (Cole), a Jew (Tormé – born with the surname Torma) and a white woman (Christy, who was Anita O’Day’s replacement in the Stan Kenton Orchestra) uniting in joyous music making. Many fans of Cole and Tormé in the latter part of their careers are not aware that Cole was a superb pianist, nor that Tormé played drums; they both gave up their respective instruments and later worked exclusively as vocalists.