My Funny Valentine

This melody, My Funny Valentine, has a history that dates back to 1937, born in the musical Babes in Arms. Originally, a young actress sang it to a character named Valentine, and this character's name was modified to fit the lyrics. The song describes Valentine in an unflattering way, pointing out his flaws, but in the end, the singer expresses that they like him as he is and do not wish him to change. This description seems to reflect the insecurities of its lyricist, Lorenz Hart, who felt his physical appearance prevented him from being loved. The peculiarity of the lyrics is that they allow for interpretation by any gender, and in fact, many versions feature a man singing about a woman.

The piece became a very popular jazz standard, appearing in over thirteen hundred recordings by six hundred different artists. For Chet Baker, this song became emblematic. His 1954 interpretation is one of the best known, and the version he recorded with Gerry Mulligan's quartet in 1953 was recognized in 2015 for its cultural and artistic value to American society. Gerry Mulligan also recorded it with his Concert Jazz Band in 1960. The song first reached the charts in 1945, and in 1954, Frank Sinatra also had a successful version. Chet Baker's interpretation, like that of Julie London, was heard in the 1981 film Sharky's Machine.

Later, in 1999, we saw it in the film The Talented Mr. Ripley, where the main character performs it in a jazz club. It even inspired an Italian designer to name an iconic typewriter from the late 1960s.