Cheek to Cheek

"Cheek to Cheek"
"Cheek to Cheek"
	Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in Swing Time, 1936
Song by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman's Orchestra
B-side	"No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)"
Published	July 2, 1935 by Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
Released	August 1935
Recorded	June 26, 1935
Studio	ARC Recording Studios, 1776 Broadway, New York City
Genre	Jazz, Pop Vocal
Length	3:19
Label	Brunswick 7486
Songwriter	Irving Berlin
Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman's Orchestra singles chronology

"Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35,^[3] specifically for Fred Astaire, the star of his new musical, Top Hat, co-starring Ginger Rogers.^[4] In the movie, Astaire sings the song to Rogers as they dance. The song was nominated for the Best Song Oscar for 1936, which it lost to "Lullaby of Broadway".^[5] The song spent five weeks at #1 on Your Hit Parade and was named the #1 song of 1935.^[4] Astaire's 1935 recording with the Leo Reisman Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.^[6] In 2004, Astaire's version finished at No. 15 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.^[7]

Composition & Release

The song was composed by Irving Berlin, with a melody drawing similarity to the theme of Chopin's Polonaise héroïque, itself inspired by the Polish folk dance.

On June 26, 1935, Fred and Leo Reisman, along with his Orchestra, worked at ARC (parent company of Brunswick Records at the time) Studios in New York City. They recorded two Irving Berlin compositions, "Cheek To Cheek" and "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)". The next day, with Johnny Greene's Orchestra, "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" were completed. Both singles were released in August, and then at the end of the month, "Top Hat" premiered. "Cheek to Cheek" headed straight to #1, where it stayed for eleven weeks, and finished the #1 hit of 1935. Fred Astaire topped his career high of ten weeks for "Night And Day".^{[citation needed]}

Recorded versions

According to the database of secondhandsongs.com, "Cheek to Cheek" has been recorded by 438 different artists as of July 2021.^[8]

Release	Performer	Vocalist	Recording date	Album	Label	Source
1935	Guy Lombardo	Guy Lombardo
1935	The Boswell Sisters	The Boswell Sisters
1956	Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong	Ella & Louis	August 16, 1956	Ella and Louis	Verve
1956	Vic Damone	Vic Damone	1956	That Towering Feeling!	Columbia	^[9]
1957	Lou Donaldson feat. Horace Silver Quartet	instrumental	June 20, 1952	Quartet/Quintet/Sextet	Blue Note	^[10]
1957	Marcy Lutes (arr. Gil Evans)	Marcy Lutes	1956 or 1957	Debut	Decca	^[11]
1958	Peggy Lee	Peggy Lee	January 3, 1958	Jump for Joy	Capitol
1958	Doris Day	Doris Day	February 24, 1958	Hooray for Hollywood	Columbia
1958	Ella Fitzgerald	Ella Fitzgerald	March 1958	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book	Verve
1958	Billie Holiday	Billie Holiday	August 1956	All or Nothing at All	Verve
1959	Frank Sinatra	Frank Sinatra	December 1958	Come Dance with Me!	Capitol	^[12]
1976	Alex Harvey	Alex Harvey	Christmas 1975	The Penthouse Tapes	Vertigo
1982	Taco	Taco	1981	After Eight	RCA Victor
2014	Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga	Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga	June 2013	Cheek to Cheek	Columbia

References

↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries 1935 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 30 Pt 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1935.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7300 - 7500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
↑ Irving Berlin Collection description from the Library of Congress's online Performing Arts Encyclopedia; retrieved 2012-03-07.
1 2 "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire, 1935 Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine; from the University of Virginia's American Studies website, subsection "Manufacturing Memory Archived 2014-10-14 at the Wayback Machine: 1935-1939"; retrieved 2012-03-07.
↑ The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners, from the website of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science (www.oscar.org); retrieved 2012-03-07.
↑ Grammy Hall of Fame page Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine from www.grammy.org; retrieved 2012-04-07.
↑ "Essential American Songbook". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
↑ "Cover versions of Cheek to Cheek by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
↑ That Towering Feeling! - Vic Damone | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-02-15
↑ Cheek to Cheek by Lou Donaldson, secondhandsongs.com.
↑ "'Debut', Marcy Lutes: Overview", Allmusic.
↑ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.

[1] Catalog of Copyright Entries 1935 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 30 Pt 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1935.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[2] "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7300 - 7500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-03-20.

[3] Irving Berlin Collection description from the Library of Congress's online Performing Arts Encyclopedia; retrieved 2012-03-07.

[UVA-4] 1 2 "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire, 1935 Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine; from the University of Virginia's American Studies website, subsection "Manufacturing Memory Archived 2014-10-14 at the Wayback Machine: 1935-1939"; retrieved 2012-03-07.

[5] The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners, from the website of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science (www.oscar.org); retrieved 2012-03-07.

[6] Grammy Hall of Fame page Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine from www.grammy.org; retrieved 2012-04-07.

[7] "Essential American Songbook". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2026-06-30.

[8] "Cover versions of Cheek to Cheek by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.

[9] That Towering Feeling! - Vic Damone | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-02-15

[10] Cheek to Cheek by Lou Donaldson, secondhandsongs.com.

[11] "'Debut', Marcy Lutes: Overview", Allmusic.

[12] "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.

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v t e Fred Astaire
Stage and film performances Dances Songs Discography Awards
Studio albums	The Astaire Story Easy to Dance With Now Fred Astaire Three Evenings with Fred Astaire A Couple of Song and Dance Men (with Bing Crosby) They Can't Take These Away from Me
Soundtrack albums	Song Hits from Holiday Inn Blue Skies Easter Parade Three Little Words Royal Wedding The Belle of New York The Band Wagon Funny Face
Songs	"A Couple of Swells" "A Fine Romance" "A Foggy Day" "After You, Who?" "All by Myself" "All of You" "Change Partners" "Cheek to Cheek" "Clap Yo' Hands" "The Continental" "Dancing in the Dark" "Dream Dancing" "Fascinating Rhythm" "Funny Face" "He Loves and She Loves" "I Can't Be Bothered Now" "I Used to Be Color Blind" "I Won't Dance" "I'm Old Fashioned" "I've Got My Eyes on You "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" "I've Got Beginner's Luck" "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" "Let's Face the Music and Dance" "Life Is Beautiful" "My One and Only" "Never Gonna Dance" "Nice Work If You Can Get It" "Night and Day" "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)" "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" "Pick Yourself Up" "Puttin' On the Ritz" "'S Wonderful" "Slap That Bass" "So Near and yet So Far" "Something's Gotta Give" "Steppin' Out with My Baby" "That's Entertainment!" "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues" "They Can't Take That Away from Me" "This Heart of Mine" "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" "The Way You Look Tonight" "Who Cares?" "You're All the World to Me"
Other	Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Adele Astaire (sister) Robyn Smith (spouse) Triplicate (horse) An Evening with Fred Astaire Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography (f.k.a. The Astaire Awards)