Body and Soul is a popular song and jazz standard written in 1930 by Johnny Green, with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton. It was written in New York City for the British actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence, who introduced it to London audiences. Libby Holman first performed it in the United States in the 1930 Broadway revue Three's a Crowd. Jack Hylton's and Ambrose's orchestras recorded it in England in February 1930, and by the end of that year American bands had recorded it. Louis Armstrong was the first jazz musician to record it, in October 1930, and Paul Whiteman and Jack Fulton popularized it in the US.
The song is usually in D-flat major, in 32-bar AABA form, with a bridge that shifts to D major and has been called a bridge like no other. It is a challenging piece to solo over. Coleman Hawkins's 1939 Bluebird recording is its famous version, an early tremor of bebop, and it was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004. Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1947, and Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse's 2011 duet, Winehouse's last recording, won a Grammy in 2012. The song is also the musical theme of the 1947 American film noir Body and Soul.
