“Every time I’ve ever been asked to choose”: the one song Judi Dench could listen to forever
Dame Judi Dench is one of England’s greatest treasures. From her early days treading the boards at the Old Vic to that period in the 2000s when it seemed like her involvement was a prerequisite for every major Hollywood production and awards show, she has done as much to elevate the profile of the sceptered isle as anyone.
For those of us who have only known Dench for her work in movies, any mention of music or musicals might trigger a shudder. She did, after all, play one of the most prominent felines in the worst major release of the past few decades, Cats. That said, during her stage career, she earned rave reviews for her starring role as Sally Bowles in the 1968 production of Cabaret. So, Cats aside, there is no reason why we should not expect Dench to have impeccable taste in music.
In 2015, she went on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs to name her favourite tracks of all time and had no hesitation when it came to singling out her favourite. “This is Sinatra,” she said, “Who I think I’ve probably chosen every time I’ve ever been asked to choose a record. I can’t be anywhere, actually, without Frank Sinatra.”
In fact, she revealed, she and her late husband, the actor Michael Williams, had seen Ol’ Blue Eyes at the Royal Albert Hall. Before they saw him, they went to a pub for a drink, and Williams broke down in tears. “He said that Sinatra got more people in and out of bed than anyone in history,” Dench recalled. “Of course, he’s quite right.”
The Sinatra track she chose was ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, a song written by Cole Porter in 1936 for the musical film Born to Dance. It was nominated for ‘Best Original Song’ at the Oscars that year but lost, ironically enough, to another song that was to become a Sinatra staple, the Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields number ‘The Way You Look Tonight’.
Sinatra recorded the Porter song two decades later in 1956 for the enthusiastically titled album Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! According to Charles L Granata in the book Sessions with Sinatra, the singer insisted on doing 22 takes before he was satisfied. This came at the expense of jazz trombonist Milt Bernhart, who was tasked with delivering the barnstorming solo at the centre of the song.
“I left the best stuff I played on the first five takes,” he said, adding, “I was about ready to collapse.”
It was all worth it, though, because that track became one of Sinatra’s favourite pieces and helped establish his signature sound of that era. It became such a stalwart part of his repertoire that he recorded it several times, first in 1963 for the album Sinatra’s Sinatra, and again three years later for a live album.
In 1993, he recorded it yet again, this time with Bono for his Duets album. Sinatra continued to sing ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ regularly throughout his career, and, presumably, Dame Judi got to hear it live at the Royal Albert.
