Cool (West Side Story song)

"Cool" is a song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics.

Context

In West Side Story, "Cool" is a well known song that is sung by Riff before the Rumble meeting. The Jets are itching to fight with the Sharks, but Riff tells them to wait for the rumble.

In the movie, the song is placed after the rumble where Riff dies. The Jets are saddened by Riff's death and want revenge. When Action and A-rab start fighting, a man throws an object at them and tells them to go home. Action loses it and threatens the man, forcing the Jets to bring him into a warehouse. Ice (Tucker Smith), a character created for the film who is now their leader, has had it. He tells them they will have to play it cool in order to get through this.

This song is known for its fugal treatment of a jazz figure, described by one writer as "possibly the most complex instrumental music heard on Broadway to date".

Use in popular culture

In 2011, actor Harry Shum Jr. performed the song, as his character Mike Chang from TV series Glee, in the third episode of season 3, "Asian F" (aired on October 4).

Cool & Dre

Cool & Dre are a team of American record producers and songwriters from North Miami, a suburb of Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.

Epidemic Records

The duo started their own record label, Epidemic Records. They signed a contract with Jive Records in 2003 concerning the distribution of their first artist, Dirtbag.

In August 2010, the duo officially partnered with Cash Money Records. In April 2011, the duo signed a deal with Interscope Records through Cash Money (the first time Cash Money is under another Universal label), also to distribute their label Epidemic Records.

Production discography

Singles produced

References

Cool (The Time song)

"Cool" is a song by The Time, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album. Like most of the album, the song was recorded in Prince's home studio in April 1981, and was produced, arranged, and performed by Prince with Morris Day later adding his lead vocals. The song was co-written with Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson and contains background vocals by keyboardist Lisa Coleman, however both were uncredited.

The funk-pop relies heavily on synthesizers to provide both the bass and melody for the upbeat song. A guitar solo is present and a relatively simple drumbeat drives the song along. "Cool" sets up the persona created for Day as a wealthy playboy, one who is also popular, and of course, "cool". Day built a career around the persona. Prince's backing vocals are very apparent in the song, especially in the chorus.

The classic video for the song is directed by Chuck Statler, who is best known for directing the early Devo videos.

"Cool" was only issued as a 7" single with an edit of the song and a continuation as the B-side. The full version was only released on the album and on a promo release. One of The Time's more popular numbers, "Cool" is a staple in concert and a live version of the song recorded at the House of Blues in 1998 was included on Morris Day's 2004 album, It's About Time.