Talk:Body and Soul (1930 song)

There is an undue focus on Coleman Hawkins in this article. While, yes, his recording is undeniably one of the most famous in Jazz history, there are many others worthy of note, and the coverage, even after my slight cleanup, is still really too in-depth for the scope of this article. Perhaps it belongs in an article on the recording, or in Coleman's article itself. Essentially this is an NPOV problem.

A note to all editors. The sentence:

Hawkins' solo on this take is considered to be "one of the finest examples of pure, spontaneous creative artistry in the history of jazz."

had ^{[citation needed ]} on it for over two-and-a-half years, yet I can find no source for the statement, even in an industry where such praise is commonplace. As a result, the only citations for the sentence are from Wikipedia itself. This kind of empty quotation is unacceptable; it gives the initial impression that it is the opinion of a notable person, when upon a little further inspection - which most would not take upon themselves - it looks more like the work of an overzealous Wikipedian. This isn't just harmful to Wikipedia and its reputation, it's also harmful to anybody who relies on Wikipedia as a source of, well, reliable information. There is now a host of reproductions of this unsourcable laudatory which will never go away.

The community has an unfortunate habit of letting these things happen which we should strive to avoid in the future. One thing you can do to help is not let uncited but highly-opinionated statements go so long without being cited - check their citation request dates and be bold about removing them, particularly quotations which cannot be found on e.g. Google. Remember: people don't just read this stuff, they copy it too! Greg Ravn (talk) 01:19, 20 October 2009 (UTC) [reply ]

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As for opinionated statements made without citations, if statements are generally accepted as truth by jazz musicians and aficionados, I'd be more likely to let them slide without ambition for a hyper-orderly Wikipedia which is never going to happen. Many "writers" (critics) are found on blogs now, without "published" paper materials. Also, so many knowledgeable jazz musicians have equal or often more credibility, insight and wisdom than some critics. Citation to a web page may be a dead link, or it may not fit someone's definition of a "notable person" to quote.

On another note, I heard a radio version of Body and Soul with completely different lyrics -- a female vocalist on a recording probably from the 1930's. Does anyone know who this is, and who composed which lyrics? The song itself deserves a better article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.89.177.161 (talk) 03:41, 29 May 2013 (UTC) [reply ]

There are many contentious copyright issues surrounding the propagation of lead sheets, and as such, pending confirmation that this song is in the public domain, I've removed its link from the article. I confess I don't know Wikipedia's policy on the subject. In addition, there are many, many different lead sheets to this tune, and one could argue that it would be unencyclopedic to reference one person's interpretation of it without sourcing the original chord progression. Greg Ravn (talk) 01:33, 20 October 2009 (UTC) [reply ]

For one of the most popular jazz standards ever, this article is remarkably short. There is no mention of hit versions (other than Coleman Hawkins) like benny goodman's 1935 trio take. Bts.smith (talk) 19:03, 10 August 2011 (UTC) [reply ]

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