Fred Rich & His Orchestra – It All Depends On You (de Sylva, Brown, Henderson) Fox-Trot from musical comedy “Lido Lady” with Vocal Refrain, Columbia 1927 (UK)
NOTE: For European & American upper classes of the turn of the centuries into the first decades of the 20th century, the French Riviera or the Venetian Lido holidays, spent in one of the local de luxe hotels were considered to be the pinnacle of elegance. In their world of count titles, film star careers and million-dollar fortunes, the Lido of Venice - although popular from the turn of the century - became ultra-fashionable in the mid 1920s. After the 1st WW, the visitors from UK and America, more than anyone else were attracted to the Lido although all of Europe began to fall in love with it. The growing railway network across Europe enabled easy access and the Rome Express connected Paris with Venice. Of great significance was the opening of the Simplon Orient Express in 1919 in addition to the Orient Express, using the southerly route from Paris (Gare de Lyon) to Lausanne, Milan, Venice, Trieste, Belgrade, and (from 1920 onwards) Istanbul. The journey time to Venice was 32 hours but in luxurious surroundings and with the benefit of sleeping cars and a restaurant. Cultured, well-to-do members of European society including fashion kings like Coco Chanel, composers like Stravinsky or Cole Porter and writers such as Somerseth Maugham, Thomas Mann, Scott F. Fitzgerald with their circle of posh friends succumbed to its spell and especially favoured Venice and the Lido as the ‘apotheosis of our festive years’, as Diana Cooper wrote.
“The season was usually from May – September, and although the Excelsior Hotel was the premier location there were many other excellent places to stay. Another first class hotel was the Grand Hotel des Bains also facing the Adriatic with 600 rooms, a restaurant, café, bar, park, terrace and tennis court. Other hotels included the Hungaria Palace Hotel (formerly Ausonia built in 1905) the Grand Hotel Lido (situated on the Venetian lagoon side), Albergo Grande Italia, Hotel Wagner and Paradiso, Hotel Pension Riviera, Hotel Villa Regina, Hotel Eden, Hotel Dardanelli and the Hotel Della Spiaggia” – writes author of the page http://www.jazzageclub.com/lido-mania/1607/.
“The day started late. After some late breakfast everyone headed for the beach where by the mid 1920s sunbathing had become an excepted norm. ‘You lie on the velvety yellow sand bronzing in the sunshine. You rise and walk through a creaming surf into a blue sea.. you come out on to the sand and are dry again almost before you lie down. Nothing matters except to remember when you have bronzed nicely and evenly on one side to turn over and give the other side a chance.’ After a swim, a refreshing drink and a light lunch, some took a walk perhaps to one of the piers for a view of the Lido in panorama to observe the two miles of private beaches, bathing cabins, terraces and tennis courts, the vast hotels and clubs behind them and the open sea in front. Many simply returned to the fun and frolics on the beach followed by playing backgammon or bridg before cocktails, dinner, dancing and cabaret”.
Inspired by all that, the musical comedy “Lido Lady” presented in 1927 in London’s Gaiety Theatre became a great success and some special musical numbers in it – such as “It All Depends On You” or “What’s the Use” became worldwide hits of the Jazz Age.
Here, \"It All Depends Of You\" is presented by the American dance orchestra led by Freddie Rich – a bandleader who was born in Warsaw, Poland (1898) to become celebrity in the musical market in USA, leader of one of the finest and most prolific dance bands of the Roaring Twenties and later a musical director in the United Artists Studios in Hollywood, CA.
