This Love of Mine

By Sol Parker, Henry Sanicola & Frank Sinatra
1941

As a way of commemorating the birthday of Frank Sinatra, perhaps the greatest ambassador of the Great American Songbook, we're spotlighting one of the handful of songs he actually had a hand in writing. Possibly his most famous composition (he served as lyricist), "This Love of Mine" was written during Frank's time with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra, and it was Dorsey's band that introduced it, with a record that rose to #3 on the charts. It would forever be associated with the crooner, who re-recorded the tune on his seminal 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours.

Lyrics:

This love of mine goes on and on,
Tho' life is empty since you have gone.
You're always on my mind, tho' out of sight
It's lonesome thru the day,
But oh! the night.

I cry my heart out it's bound to break,
Since nothing matters, let it break.
I ask the sun and the moon,
The stars that shine,
What's to become of it, this love of mine.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Stan Kenton w/Cyd Charisse
Sonny Rollins Quartet
Jack Jones
Ray Charles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK!

I Think of You

By Jack Elliott, Don Marcotte & Sergei Rachmaninoff
1941

Inspired by the gorgeous melody from the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, this tune was adapted by Elliott, with lyrics added by Marcotte. Tommy Dorsey's orchestra introduced it with a young Frank Sinatra on vocals, and Frank would later revisit the song on his 1957 album Where Are You? One of the finest examples of a classical piece being adapted into a pop song, with Rachmaninoff's lush original melody blending perfectly with the heartbreaking Marcotte lyrics.

Lyrics:

In the hush of evening,
As shadows steal across my lonely room,
I think of you,
I think of you.

From afar the music
Of violins come softly through the gloom.
All I can do,
Is think of you.

Oh, I can see you standing there before me.
And I can hear you whisper,
"You adore me."

So when dusk is falling,
I live again the loveliness we knew.
I think of you,
I think of you.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Mildred Bailey
Jane Powell
Tierney Sutton
Johnny Desmond

At Last

By Mack Gordon & Harry Warren
1941

A standard introduced by the Glenn Miller orchestra in the film Orchestra Wives, and later that same year on record as well, At Last is a gorgeous number that experienced a total rebirth a generation later, when it was literally reinvented by the eminent soul singer Etta James. Aided by a masterful arrangement, Etta's sublime recording is one of the most well-known of all time, and has ensured that this one-of-a-kind composition will never be forgotten.

Lyrics:

At last,
My love has come along,
My lonely days are over,
And life is like a song.

At last,
The skies above are blue,
My heart was wrapped in clover
The night I looked at you.

I found a dream that I could speak to,
A dream that I could call my own.
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to,
A thrill that I have never known.

You smiled,
And then the spell was cast,
And here we are in heaven,
For you are mine at last.

Recorded By:

Glenn Miller
Etta James
Ray Anthony
Chet Baker
Nat King Cole

Violets for Your Furs

By Matt Dennis & Tom Adair
1941

A tender, haunting ballad from the same duo that gave us "Let's Get Away from It All" and "The Night We Called It a Day". This sublime number was written for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra, with a young Frank Sinatra as vocalist. Lyricist Adair actually worked for the Dorsey band at the time as an arranger. Sinatra would later revisit the tune for his 1954 solo album, Songs for Young Lovers.

Lyrics:

It was winter in Manhattan, falling snow flakes filled the air,
The streets were covered with a film of ice.
But a little simple magic that I learned about somewhere,
Changed the weather all around, just within a thrice.

I bought you violets for your furs,
And it was spring for a while, remember?
I bought you violets for your furs,
And there was April in that December.

The snow drifted down on the flowers,
And melted where it lay.
The snow looked like dew on the blossoms,
As on a summer's day.

I bought you violets for your furs,
And there was blue in the wintry sky.
You pinned my violets to your furs,
And gave a lift to the crowds passing by.

You smiled at me so sweetly,
Since then one thought occurs,
That we fell in love completely,
The day I bought you violets for your furs.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
John Coltrane
Stacey Kent
Frank Sinatra
Joe Lee Wilson

Let's Get Away from It All

By Matt Dennis & Tom Adair
1941

An ode to vacation traveling made popular by the Tommy Dorsey orchestra in a recording featuring then band-singer Frank Sinatra, along with Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers. A "catalog song", it lists various destinations across America in clever fashion. It was rerecorded some 15 years later by the solo Sinatra on his Come Fly with Me album.

Lyrics:

Let's take a boat to Bermuda
Let's take a plane to Saint Paul.
Let's take a kayak to Quincy or Nyack,
Let's get away from it all.

They say there's no place
quite like home
A charming thought it's true
But until the world we roam
how can we be sure

Let's take a trip in a trailer
No need to come back at all.
Let's take a powder to Boston for chowder,
Let's get away from it all.

We'll travel 'round from town to town,
We'll visit ev'ry state.
I'll repeat, "I love you sweet!"
In all the forty-eight.

Let's go again to Niag'ra
This time we'll look at the Fall.
Let's leave our hut, dear,
Get out of our rut, dear,
Let's get away from it all.

Recorded By:

Gene Krupa & Anita O'Day
Frank Sinatra
Della Reese
Dave Brubeck
Fats Waller

Don't Take Your Love from Me

By Henry Nemo
1941

One of the most successful compositions of popular Hollywood hipster and songwriter Henry Nemo, who is often referred to as the inventor of "jive talk". He was also the alleged inspiration for the commercial cartoon character Charlie the Tuna. This song was a big hit for him, and was introduced by the minor '40s songstress Joan Brooks.

Lyrics:

Tear a star from out the sky and the sky feels blue.
Tear a petal from a rose and the rose weeps, too.
Take your heart away from mine and mine will surely break.
My life is yours to make, so, please keep the spark awake.

Would you take the wings from birds so that they can't fly?
Would you take the ocean's roar and leave just a sigh?
All this your heart won't let you do,
This is what I beg of you:
Please don't take your love from me.

Recorded By:

Keely Smith
Frank Sinatra
Lena Horne
Julie London
Doris Day

White Christmas

By Irving Berlin
1941

"Grab your pen and take down this song. I just wrote the best song I've ever written — heck, I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!"
Those are supposedly the words Berlin spoke to his secretary when struck with what would become his most famous and successful composition. It was introduced on the radio by Bing Crosby in 1941, but achieved immortality on the soundtrack of Bing's 1942 musical film Holiday Inn. Bing's recording of it would go on to become the highest-selling single in the history of recording music, credited with 50 million sales. It also immediately conjures up Christmas for millions of people around the world.

Lyrics:

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
The Drifters
Dean Martin
Andy Williams
Ella Fitzgerald

Everything Happens to Me

By Matt Dennis & Thomas Adair
1941

A brilliant tune written specifically for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and Frank Sinatra. Dorsey met Dennis through mutual friend Jo Stafford, then a singer for the bandleader. Dennis met Adair at a nightclub gig and asked the struggling poet to compose the song's cleverly self-deprecating lyric. A songwriting team was born--Dennis & Adair would compose many other future standards, including another Dorsey original "Let's Get Away from It All".

Lyrics:

Black cats creep across my path
Until I'm almost mad.
I must have roused the devils wrath
'Cause all my luck is bad.

I make a date for golf – and you can bet your life it rains.
I try to give a party - but the guy upstairs complains.
I guess I'll go through life just catching colds and missing trains;
Everything happens to me.

I never miss a thing - I've had measles and the mumps.
And every time I play my ace my partner always trumps.
I guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps;
Everything happens to me.

At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me.
That love would turn the trick to end despair.
But now, I just can't fool this head that thinks for me.
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air.

I telegraphed and phoned, sent an Air Mail Special, too;
You answer was goodbye - there was even postage due.
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you,
Everything happens to me.

I've never drawn a sweepstake, or a bank night at a show.
I thought perhaps this time I'd won, but Lady Luck said no.
And though it breaks my heart, I'm not surprised to see you go,
Everything happens to me,
Everything happens to me.

Recorded By:

Charlie Parker
Chet Baker
Billie Holiday
Woody Herman
Branford Marsalis

Just Squeeze Me

By Duke Ellington & Lee Gaines
1941

Although originally written by Ellington for his 1941 "Negro revue" Jump for Joy, the Ellington band didn't make the very first recording of the song until five years later. It would not become a hit until Paul Weston's version hit it big later in 1946. The classic tune is a fine example of the Duke's lively, swinging style, fitted perfectly to Gaines' staccato lyrics.

Lyrics:

Treat me sweet and gentle
When you hold me tight.
Just squeeze me,
But please, don't tease me.

I get sentimental
When you hold me tight.
Come and squeeze me,
But please don't tease me.

Missing you since you went away,
Singing the blues most everyday,
Counting the nights and longing for you.

I'm in the mood to let you know
I never knew I loved you so.
Please tell me that you love me, too.

For when I get that feeling,
I'm in ecstasy.
Come on, squeeze me,
But please, don't tease me.

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Jane Monheit
Ella Fitzgerald
Sarah Vaughan
Les Brown

Tangerine

By Victor Schertzinger & Johnny Mercer
1941

Director Schertzinger collaborated with Mercer on this song for his 1942 musical film The Fleet's In, in which it was introduced by Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra, featuring Helen O'Connell & Bob Eberly on vocals. Schertzinger and Mercer teamed to write several numbers for the movie, also including "I Remember You". The tune is a classic example of Mercer's delightfully playful way with a lyric.

Lyrics:

South American stories
Tell of a girl who's quite a dream,
The beauty of her race.
Though you doubt all the stories,
And think that the tales are just a bit extreme,
Wait till you see her face.

Tangerine--
She is all they claim,
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame.
Tangerine--
When she dances by,
Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh.

And I've seen
Toasts to Tangerine
Raised in every bar across the Argentine.
Yes, she has them all on the run,
But her heart belongs to just one.
Her heart belongs to Tangerine.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Dave Brubeck
Chet Baker
Harry Connick Jr.

Don't Take Your Love From Me

By Henry Nemo
1941

Introduced by the lovely Lena Horne, perhaps the last great living pre-WWII vocalist, this song was composed by Henry Nemo. Songwriter Nemo, strangely enough, also happens to have been the inspiration for Charlie Tuna, created in 1961 by an adman friend of his at the Leo Burnett Agency.

Lyrics:

Tear a star from out the sky and the sky feels blue
Tear a petal from a rose and the rose weeps, too
Take your heart away from mine and mine will surely break
My life is yours to make, so, please keep the spark awake

Would you take the wings from birds so that they can't fly?
Would you take the ocean's roar and leave just a sigh?
All this your heart won't let you do
This is what I beg of you
Please don't take your love from me

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Keely Smith
Doris Day
Julie London
The Four Aces

Dream Dancing

By Cole Porter
1941

Still on the Fred Astaire kick today. This one was written by Porter for Astaire's movie You'll Never Get Rich. Ironically, it was introduced in the film as an instrumental; still Astaire was the first to subsequently record it with lyrics, accompanied by the Delta Rhythm Boys.

Lyrics:

When day is gone and night comes on,
Until the dawn what do I do?
I clasp your hand and wander through slumber land,
Dream dancing with you.

We dance between a sky serene
And fields of green sparkling with dew.
It's joy sublime whenever I spend my time
Dream dancing with you.

Dream dancing,
Oh, what a lucky windfall,
Touching you, clutching you,
All the night through.

So say you love me, dear,
And let me make my career
Dream dancing, dream dancing with you.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Mel Torme & George Shearing
Tony Bennett
Stacey Kent
Ray Anthony

Why Don't You Do Right?

By Kansas Joe McCoy
1941

Although originally written as "The Weed Smoker's Dream" in 1936, McCoy refined the melody and rewrote the lyrics five years later. As a result, it was made a hit by blues singer Lil Green, with Big Bill Broonzy on guitar. It quickly became a definitive "woman's blues" number, thanks in part to a recording a year later by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee that made Lee a star. It returned to prominence in 1988 thanks to a rendition by animated character Jessica Rabbit in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Although Kathleen Turner voiced the character, it was another actress, Amy Irving, who provided vocals on the song.

Lyrics:

You had plenty money, 1922.
You let other women make a fool of you .
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too.

You're sittin' there and wonderin' what it's all about.
You ain't got no money, they will put you out.
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too.

If you had prepared twenty years ago,
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too.

I fell for your jivin' and I took you in,
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin.
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass
Sinead O'Connor
Shirley Horn
Kay Kyser
Julie London

Lover Man

By Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez & James Sherman
1941

While serving in the Army, Davis wrote the song specifically for Billie Holiday, and brought it straight to her when he was home on leave. Unfortunately, he was shipped back to Europe with the outbreak of World War II, and didn't live to see Lady Day make it one of her classic recordings three years later. Holiday adored the haunting, deeply bluesy ballad, and was adamant about recording it will a full string section, which Columbia Records agreed to after some prodding.

Lyrics:

I don't know why, but I'm feeling so sad.
I long to try something I never had.
Never had no kissin',
Oh, what I've been missin'.
Lover man, oh, where can you be?

The night is cold, and I'm so alone.
I'd give my soul just to call you my own.
Got a moon above me,
But no one to love me.
Lover man, oh, where can you be?

I've heard it said
That the thrill of romance
Can be like a heavenly dream.
I go to bed with a prayer
That you'll make love to me,
Strange as it seems.

Someday we'll meet, and you'll dry all my tears,
Then whisper sweet little things in my ear.
Hugging and a-kissing,
Oh, what I've been missing.
Lover man, oh, where can you be?

Recorded By:

Sonny Rollins
Ella Fitzgerald
Charlie Parker
Dizzy Gillespie & Sarah Vaughan
Dinah Washington

I Remember You

By Victor Schertzinger & Johnny Mercer
1941

Proof that even the most beautiful song can be horrifying under the right circumstances, Slim Whitman's country-style recording of this standard was used to great effect in Rob Zombie's film House of 1,000 Corpses. It was originally written for quite a different movie--1942's The Fleet's In, in which it was introduced by Cass Daley. It can also be heard in Star Trek III, and Uncle Junior even quoted a bit of it on a Sopranos episode.

Lyrics:

Was it in Tahiti?
Were we on the Nile?
Long, long ago,
Say an hour or so
I recall that I saw your smile.

I remember you,
You're the one who made
My dreams come true
A few kisses ago.

I remember you,
You're the one who said
"I love you, too," I do.
Didn't you know?

I remember, too,
A distant bell,
And stars that fell like rain
Out of the blue.

When my life is through,
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all,
Then I shall tell them
I remember you.

Recorded By:

Nat King Cole
Frank Ifield
Diana Krall
Chet Baker
Bjork

I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

By Duke Ellington & Paul Francis Webster

1941

Ellington's West Coast revue Jump for Joy contained this extremely popular composition of his. It was introduced on stage by Ivie Anderson (pictured), and recorded by her and Ellington soon after. Unfortunately, the onset of World War II contributed to the show's disappointing failure, meaning it would never make it to Broadway as Duke hoped.

Lyrics:

The poets say that all who love are blind;
But I'm in love and I know what time it is!
The Good Book says "Go seek and ye shall find."
Well, I have sought and my what a climb it is!
My life is just like the weather,
It changes with the hours;
When he's near I'm fair and warmer,
When he's gone I'm cloudy with showers;
In emotion, like the ocean it's either sink or swim,
When a woman loves a man like I love him.

Never treats me sweet and gentle the way he should;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good!
My poor heart is sentimental not made of wood;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good!

But when the weekend's over,
And Monday rolls aroun'
I end up like I start out,
Just cryin' my heart out.

He don't love me like I love him, nobody could;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good!
Like a lonely weeping willow lost in the wood;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good!
And the things I tell my pillow, no woman should;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good!

Though folks with good intentions
Tell me to save my tears,
I'm glad I'm mad about him--
I can't live without him.

Lord above me, make him love me the way he should;
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good...

Recorded By:

Benny Goodman
Ella Fitzgerald
Count Basie
Tony Bennett
Bunny Berigan

How About You?

By Burton Lane & Ralph Freed
1941

Often also referred to as "I Like New York in June," this sweet number was written for the Busby Berkeley musical Babes on Broadway, in which it was introduced by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Lyricist Ralph Freed was the brother of movie producer Arthur Freed. On his 1956 album Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Sinatra famously changed the lyric "Franklin Roosevelt's looks" to "James Durante's looks."

Lyrics:

When a girl meets boy,
Life can be a joy,
But the note they end on
Will depend on little pleasures they will share;
So let us compare.

I like New York in June,
How about you?
I like a Gershwin tune,
How about you?
I love a fireside when a storm is due.
I like potato chips, moonlight and motor trips,
How about you?

I'm mad about good books,
Can't get my fill,
And Franklin Roosevelt's looks
Give me a thrill.
Holding hands at the movie show,
When all the lights are low
May not be new,
But I like it, how about you?

[Duet]
I like Jack Benny's jokes.
To a degree.
I love the common folks.
That includes me.
I like to window shop on 5th Avenue.
I like banana splits, late supper at the Ritz, how about you?

[Duet]
I love to dream of fame, maybe I'll shine.
I'd love to see your name right beside mine.
I can see we're in harmony.
Looks like we both agree on what to do.
And I like it, how about you?

Recorded By:

Tommy Dorsey
Buddy Greco
Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra
Judy Garland