Advanced singing class

The song “Is that all there is” by Leiber and Stoller

Key of F Major

The song was written by randy Newman and passed over a few singers before Peggy lee got it. Barbra Streisand has said to be kicking herself as she passed it over.

Story telling song. Yells the story of a young girl who’s house burns down and is surprised by the fact that the fire only does that and says, well we can keep on dancing.

She then visits the circus at 12. She felt there was something missing at the show. Again she asks is that all there is.

The song is said to be about a woman who is bored from the start of life.

The delivery of the song is half sung half spoken. The orchestration was done by the same band that did the famous version of Mack the knife.


Radio Program: notes from the radio program that was broadcast about the song

·      Writters - Leiber and Stoller

·      Is that all there is was written in 1966

·      Demo was taken to Peggy lee and she wanted to sing it straight away

·      1959 an F4 tornado hit Saint Louis at 2.30; his mother asked if she would have trouble getting to work. He then went to school and no one brought up the tornado.

·      The title came to him after he was on the bus after no one really mentioned the tornado, he asked himself, is that all there s is to tornado.

·      Don’t get so caught up in something happening when the most important things happening is your family and your life.

·      Peggy lee was pretty famous before rock, the Beatles came along and people liked her vocals.

·      Phrasing and timing and sound of the voice make the song special.

·      The song became covered in different countries. Tony Benet did a version of the song.

·      Christians recording was described as terrible as she changed some of the lyrics and chords. The song was done in a modern way for the time.  A pasttege of punk.

·      Joie renyolds, wmbc radio