The Swiss-born, New York-based singer Tatiana Eva-Marie and legendary jazz pianist Terry Waldo have released a cover of ‘Runnin’ Wild‘, the Roaring ’20s number performed by Marilyn in Some Like It Hot. It’s the third single from their upcoming duets album, I Double Dare You, as Vents magazine reports – listen here.
The earliest recordings of ‘Runnin’ Wild’ sound more like Tony Curtis’ warbling rendition in the bathroom scene. Following Joyce Bryant‘s sizzling 1954 version, Marilyn dropped the verse and turned up the heat. Her own musical idol, Ella Fitzgerald, would also cover the song in 1962.
“Eva-Marie and Waldo breathe new life into the 1922 jazz standard which was made popular by Marilyn Monroe’s performance in the 1959 comedy film, Some Like It Hot. Eva-Marie shares how watching Monroe’s famous scene singing “Runnin’ Wild” sealed her fate. She says, ‘I was four years old when I became obsessed with the movie, Some Like It Hot, learning every song and one-liner by heart. When I saw the train scene where Marilyn Monroe sings Runnin’ Wild right before a boozy flask slips out of her garter, I had no doubt I wanted to become a jazz singer.’
Since then, the singer embarked on her music career and never looked back. Today, she fronts the internationally acclaimed Avalon Jazz Band, whose live performance video of ‘Runnin’ Wild’ garnered nearly 1 million YouTube views.
Terry Waldo, whose jazz music career spans six decades, knew Eva-Marie was a natural fit for the album’s 1920s sound. He describes Eva-Marie as delivering ‘swinging, subtly sophisticated and audience-pleasing performances on every track.’
The duo’s rendition of ‘Runnin’ Wild’ features Eva-Marie’s signature fresh and flirty vocals along with a 7-piece jazz ensemble led by Terry Waldo’s famous stride piano playing.
‘Runnin’ Wild’ was first introduced in 1922, written by Arthur Harrington Gibbs with lyrics by Joe Grey and Leo Wood. Famous recordings of the jazz standard include Duke Ellington and his orchestra, the Benny Goodman quartet, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Ella Fitzgerald.
About the new track, Waldo says, ‘Runnin’ Wild is the hottest and oldest piece on the album. It is also the most loosely arranged tune in the collection. Using a 7 piece ensemble, we are able to play in the New Orleans tradition of jazz where everybody improvises together. And everyone gets a piece of the action in solos or duets. We recorded the song at the moment when it was still fresh to all of us. It comes off beautifully as it builds from the beginning agitated vamp on piano to the rip-roaring finale.'”
The Marilyn Report 