"Heart and Soul" is a well-known song written by Hoagy Carmichael, with lyrics by Frank Loesser. The song became popular with different artists from 1938 to 1961. A simpler version of the song is often played as a piano duet, meaning two people play the piano together.

Larry Clinton and his Orchestra were the first to record and release the song in 1938. Bea Wain sang the vocals on this original recording.

Musical format

The main part of the song is often described as a repeating pattern of chords, known as I-vi-IV-V, and is taught to beginning piano students as a simple two-person duet. One person plays the chords, while the other plays the melody.

Similar to the piece "Chopsticks," this version became very popular, even among people who never studied piano. It is sometimes incorrectly believed to be a traditional folk song. The chord pattern, called the "50s progression," was used in many doo-wop songs from the 1950s and 1960s.

Early versions

In 1938, the song was first recorded on September 1 and released on September 21 by Larry Clinton and his Orchestra, with vocals by Bea Wain on Victor Records. This recording became the most popular and successful version of the jazz and pop standard. A film of their performance was made for a short movie by Paramount Pictures and released in 1939.

In the same year, Al Bowlly recorded the song with Geraldo and his orchestra.

In 1939, three versions of the song appeared on music charts: Larry Clinton’s version reached No. 1, Eddy Duchin’s version reached No. 12, and Al Donahue’s version reached No. 16. A version by The Four Aces with the Jack Pleis Orchestra reached No. 11 in 1952, and a version by Johnny Maddox reached No. 57 in 1956. In 1961, The Cleftones’ version reached No. 18, and Jan and Dean’s version reached No. 25.

The Cleftones version

In 1961, The Cleftones made the song "Heart and Soul" popular by creating a new version in the rhythm and blues style. After it was released on April 17, 1961, the song reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that year. This became The Cleftones' most well-known song.

In 1959, The Cleftones' manager, George Goldner, encouraged the group to record songs that were already popular. By this time, Charles James had become more skilled on the guitar, and Goldner and the group used this talent to create a new version of the song.

In 1959, a well-known local disc jockey in Rochester, New York, arranged a recording session for "Heart and Soul." He invited Pat Spann's boyfriend, Panama Francis, to play drums and 15-year-old Duane Hitchings, who later won a Grammy Award, to play keyboards. During the session, the group was given a more formal version of "Heart and Soul" than they had practiced. They added unexpected rhythms to give the song a bouncy, offbeat feel.

The recording of "Heart and Soul" was not released until 1961. In early April of that year, Roulette Records president Morris Levy restarted Gee Records, a New York-based label, as a division of Roulette Records. He made "Heart and Soul" the first release for the reactivated label. In the same month, Billboard Music Week listed the song as one of seventeen "Pick Hits" from songs released that week. Billboard also noted that "Heart and Soul" had the strongest sales potential among all records reviewed that week.

On July 3, 1961, "Heart and Soul" reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 R&B chart. The recording eventually sold about 350,000 copies for Gee/Roulette.

In 1973, The Cleftones' version of "Heart and Soul" was used in the movie American Graffiti. The song also appears in the 1985 film Mischief.

In 1990, music critic Terry Atkinson of the Palm Beach Post said that "Heart and Soul" is the song for which The Cleftones are best known. In 1999, music critic Dave Marsh included The Cleftones' "Heart and Soul" as number 913 in his book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

In 2012, author Ray Schuck noted that the lyrics "Well, I know that you're in love with him, 'cause I saw you dancing in the gym/You both kicked off your shoes – man, I dig those rhythm and blues" from Don McLean's song "American Pie" might be a reference to The Cleftones' 1961 song "Heart and Soul." Schuck suggested that this reference could naturally lead into the next part of the song's lyrics, but the outcome was not successful.

Jan and Dean version

Jan and Dean recorded the song at the same time as the Cleftones's record was on the chart. They wanted to release it on Liberty Records, but the label refused. Instead, the song was released on Gene Autry's Challenge Records. It reached number 25 on the charts. In Canada, the song reached number 13 on the CHUM Charts. After seeing the song's success, Liberty Records signed Jan and Dean. They later released five top-ten singles for the label: "Surf City," "Honolulu Lulu," "Drag City," "Deadman's Curve," and "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)."

Uses in other media

The song was part of a "Hearts" medley in The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

In 1980, a piano version of the song was performed in The Competition.

Two characters played the song in a piano museum in the 1980 Disney film Midnight Madness.

In the 1988 comedy film Big, the song was played on a large piano at FAO Schwarz, where characters played by Robert Loggia and Tom Hanks performed a duet in front of other customers.

In the TV show Frasier, during Season 5, Episode 20 titled "First Date" in 1998, the song was sung by Niles and Daphne while they sliced vegetables. In Season 8, Episode 18 titled "Daphne Returns" in 2001, the scene from Season 5, Episode 20 was shown as a flashback.

In Superman Returns (2006), Jason White played the song on a piano throughout the movie. In one scene, one of Lex Luthor’s henchmen joined Jason for a piano duet on a ship.

In 2011, the song was used in Family Guy Season 9, Episode 16 ("The Big Bang Theory") at 5:50, when Stewie showed Brian that they could do things outside space and time. It was played again in 2018 in Family Guy Season 16, Episode 13 ("V is for Mystery"), where Sherlock (Stewie) and Watson (Brian) played it on the bagpipes inside Veronica’s (Meg’s) body.

Apple used the song in a commercial for the first iPad Mini, showing how the device could be used like a larger iPad even though it had a smaller screen.

"Play That Song," a song by the band Train that includes parts of the melody, reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 2017.

In the TV series Lucifer, the character Chloe Decker, played by Lauren German, played "Heart & Soul" on the piano in the ninth episode of Season 1 and the tenth episode of Season 6, which was the final season.

In the video game Deltarune, players can use a large piano in the fourth chapter. Playing certain songs, including "Heart & Soul," causes special dialogue from characters Ralsei and Susie. Susie tells Kris to stop messing around when the song is played, along with "Chopsticks" and "You've Got a Friend in Me."