The Shadow of Your Smile

By Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster
1965

One of the last of the great Academy Award winning movie songs of the traditional "songbook" era, this instant classic by arranger/bandleader Mandel and prolific lyricist Webster also won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Introduced in the Liz Taylor/Richard Burton film The Sandpiper by Mandel's orchestra, it was first recorded lyrically by singer Astrud Gilberto. Following the film, there was an explosion of recordings of the song throughout the late 1960s, with many artists of the old-school, lost in the burgeoning rock and roll era, latching on to it for its melodic beauty and poignant words. The one to be most successful with it at the time was Tony Bennett. Today, it remains a popular selection among instrumental groups and jazz bands, and was even recorded in 1992 by British actor Ian McShane.

Lyrics:

One day we walked along the sand
One day in early spring
You held a piper in your hand
To mend its broken wing
Now I'll remember many a day
And many a lonely mile
The echo of a piper's song
The shadow of a smile

The shadow of your smile
When you are gone
Will color all my dreams
And light the dawn
Look into my eyes
My love and see
All the lovely things
You are to me

Our wistful little star
Was far too high
A teardrop kissed your lips
And so did I
Now when I remember spring
All the joy that love can bring
I will be remembering
The shadow of your smile

Recorded By:

Peggy Lee
Ray Conniff
Sammy Davis Jr. & Laurindo Almeida
Ferrante & Teicher
Barbra Streisand

How Do You Keep the Music Playing?

By Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marylin Bergman
1982

In honor of the recent passing of both composer Michel Legrand and vocalist (and songwriter) James Ingram, I'm spotlighting the most "recent" song ever featured on Standard of the Day so far. The song, composed by Legrand with lyrics by the Bergmans, was introduced by Ingram and Patti Austin for the soundtrack of the Burt Reynolds/Goldie Hawn romantic comedy Best Friends. The original recording became a hit on the Adult Contemporary and R&B charts in 1983, and soon became a modern-day standard when it was snatched up by many an old-school performer thanks to its gorgeous melody and wistful lyric. Among them was Sinatra, who recorded it for his 1984 album L.A. Is My Lady, and Tony Bennett, who continues to use it as a show-stopping number to this day.

Lyrics:

How do you keep the music playing?
How do you make it last?
How do you keep the song from fading
Too fast?

How do you lose yourself to someone
And never lose your way?
How do you not run out of new things
To say?

And since you know we're always changing
How can it be the same?

And tell me how year after year
You're sure your heart won't fall apart
Each time you hear his name?

I know the way I feel for you is now or never
The more I love, the more that I'm afraid
That in your eyes I may not see forever, forever

If we can be the best of lovers
Yet be the best of friends
If we can try with every day to make it better as it grows
With any luck than I suppose
The music never ends

Recorded By:

Andy Williams
George Benson and Count Basie
Shirley Bassey
Johnny Mathis
Barbra Streisand

The Windmills of Your Mind

By Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman
1968

In honor of the great composer Michel Legrand, who passed away last Saturday at the age of 86, I'm spotlighting the song that was perhaps rivaled only by "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" as his greatest hit. Written for the soundtrack of the Steve McQueen heist film The Thomas Crown Affair at the request of director Norman Jewison, it began life as a French song with lyrics by Eddy Marnay. Husband-wife lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman were brought in, and handpicked the haunting, circular melody from among Legrand's numerous compositions, adding lyrics meant to reflect the mental turmoil of the film's main character. Introduced in the movie by Noel Harrison, it won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and was performed by Sting for the 1999 Thomas Crown Affair remake.

Lyrics:

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find 
In the windmills of your mind!

Recorded By:

Jose Feliciano
Dusty Springfield
Vic Damone
Jack Jones
Petula Clark

You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me

By Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal and Pierre Norman
1930

Iconic Frenchman Maurice Chevalier was one of the leading film heartthrobs of the Depression era, and this song was one of the reasons why. Introduced by him in the romantic comedy The Big Pond, in which he sung it to the beautiful Claudette Colbert, the song is an ebullient love anthem, with a Kahal lyric that extols the virtues of the beloved in the manner of a Shakespearean sonnet. Chevalier's recording was a major hit, and was famously lampooned the following year by the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business, which features a scene in which the boys try to pass themselves off as the crooner to get through customs.

Lyrics:

If the nightingales could sing like you
They'd sing much sweeter than they do
For you brought a new kind of love to me

And if the sandman brought me dreams of you
I'd want to sleep my whole life through
You brought a new love to me

I know that I'm the slave, you're the queen
Still you can understand that underneath it all
You're a maid and I am only a man

I would work and slave the whole day through
If I could hurry home to you
You brought a new kind of love to me

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Doris Day
Benny Goodman
Peggy Lee 
Vera Lynn

Jeepers Creepers

By Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer
1938

One of the catchiest songs of the World War II generation, and a song that remains in the mainstream consciousness to this day, "Jeepers Creepers" was written for the movie, Going Places, in which Louis Armstrong is the trainer of a horse named Jeepers Creepers (an old slang euphemism for Jesus Christ), who can only get the horse under control by playing the song for him. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song, losing to "Thanks for the Memory". Since then it has been revisited countless times, in Warner Bros. cartoons, and in later films (including Yankee Doodle Dandy, in which a bunch of teens sing it, much to the chagrin of James Cagney's old-fashioned James M. Cohan). It even had an unlikely renaissance in the 2001 horror film of the same name, in which the song heralds the appearance of the murderous creature known as "The Creeper". With its bouncy Warren tune and irresistible Mercer lyrics, it's not tough to see why it has endured so long.

Lyrics:

Oh, jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers?
Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those eyes?
Oh, gosh all, git up, how'd they get so lit up?
Gosh all, git up, how'd they get that size?

Oh, golly gee, when you turn those heaters on
Woe is me, got to put my cheaters on

Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers?
Oh, those weepers, how they hypnotize!
Oh, where'd ya get those eyes?

Recorded By:

Johnny Mercer
Frank Sinatra
Al Caiola
Dave Brubeck
Tony Bennett

Love Letters

By Victor Young and Edward Heyman

1945

Written by Victor Young for the film of the same name starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten, it first appeared as an instrumental only. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song, losing out to Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic "It Might as Well Be Spring" from the movie State Fair. Soon after, Edward Heyman added lyrics, and the tender ballad was introduced on record by vocalist Dick Haymes, who accompanied composer Young's own orchestra. It has since been recorded by countless artists, including an unlikely rendition by the King of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley.

Lyrics: 

Love letters straight from your heart,
Keep us so near while we're apart,
I'm not alone in the night,
When I can have all the love you write,

I memorize every line,
I kiss the name that you sign,
And darling,
Then I read,

Again from the start,
Love letters straight from your heart.

Recorded By:

Elvis Presley
Dick Haymes
Alison Moyet
Ketty Lester
Peggy Lee

Silver Bells

By Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
1950

A warm, fuzzy Christmas classic of the post-war era, this charming chestnut was composed for the film The Lemon Drop Kid, in which it was introduced by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. A major hit recording by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards released before the film was so successful it caused the film producers to re-shoot the scene more elaborately prior to the release of the movie. Conflicting reports indicate that the inspiration for the song came either from the bell-ringing Salvation Army Santas on NYC streetcorners, or a bell that was kept on Livingston and Evans' shared office desk. Incidentally, the songwriting team of Livingston & Evans were also responsible for such post-war classics as "To Each His Own" and "Mona Lisa".

Lyrics:

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day

City sidewalks busy sidewalks .
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There's a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you'll hear...

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day

Strings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
home with their treasures

Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa's big scene
And above all this bustle
You'll hear...

Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day

Recorded By:

Perry Como

Dean Martin

Frank Sinatra

Martina McBride

Andy Williams

Mona Lisa

By Ray Evans & Jay Livingston
1950

Best known for the timeless recording by Nat King Cole, this beloved favorite was written for the film Captain Carey, USA, in which Cole introduced it along with the orchestra of exotica maven Les Baxter (and for which it won the Oscar). It's believed that Frank Sinatra was offered the song as well, but turned it down. Nevertheless, the song has become ubiquitous, and although several other artists have recorded it over the years, it remains Cole's version that rises head and shoulders above the rest.

Lyrics:

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you. 
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile. 
Is it only 'cause you're lonely, they have blamed you  
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?
 
Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa? 
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?  
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep.  
They just lie there and they die there.
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa? 
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art?
 
Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?  
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?  
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep.  
They just lie there and they die there.
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?  
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art?  

Recorded By:

Elvis Presley

Don Cherry

Harry James

Doris Day

Willie Nelson

What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?

By Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman
1969

Legrand was one of the most prominent pop composers of the late 1960s and 1970s, and this was one of his finest. Written for the 1969 film, The Happy Ending, it was introduced by Michael Dees. It was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Song that year, but lost out to Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head". This was one of the last of the great Best Song nominees in the classic songbook tradition. It also happened to be my parents' wedding song...

Lyrics:

What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and south and east and west of your life
I have only one request of your life
That you spend it all with me

All the seasons and the times of your days
All the nickels and the dimes of your days
Let the reasons and rhymes of your days
All begin and end with me

I want to see your face
In every kind of light
In fields of dawn
And forests of the night
And when you stand before the candles on a cake
Oh, let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make

Those tomorrow's waiting deep in your eyes
And the world of love you keep in your eyes
I'll awaken what's asleep in your eyes
It may take a kiss or two

Through all of my life
Summer, winter, spring and fall of my life
All I ever will recall of my life
Is all of my life with you.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Barbra Streisand
Sarah Vaughan
Chris Botti & Sting
Dusty Springfield

I'll Remember April

By Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston & Don Raye
1942

Just got back from the new superhero film Captain America, and enjoyed hearing the Woody Herman recording of this song featured in the movie--which takes place during World War II. Introduced by Dick Foran in the Abbott & Costello picture Ride 'Em Cowboy, the melancholy tune became a big hit during the war years. It has since been recorded by countless artists, who favor it for its moody atmosphere and contemplative lyrics.

Lyrics:

This lovely day will lengthen into evening,
We'll sigh good-bye to all we've ever had,
Alone where we have walked together,
I'll remember April and be glad....

I'll be content, you loved me once in April,
Your lips were warm, and love an' spring were new,
But I'm not afraid of autumn, and her sorrow,
For I'll remember,
April and you!

The fire will dwindle into glowing ashes,
For flames and love live such a little while . . .
I won't forget, but I won't be lonely,
I'll remember April, and I'll smile . . .

The fire will dwindle into glowing ashes,
For flames and love live such a little while

I won't forget, but I won't be lonely
I'll remember April, and I'll smile . . .

I won't forget but I won't be lonely, no . . .
I'll remember April, and I'll smile!

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Shirley Bassey
June Christy
Julie London
Frank Sinatra

Swingin' on a Star

By Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke
1944

An infectious classic composed specifically for Bing Crosby to sing in the 1944 film Going My Way, for which is won the Academy Award. The origin of the concept lay in a visit composer Van Heusen paid to Bing's house, during which the crooner rebuked his son comically for not wanting to go to school. Following Going My Way, Crosby would also have a huge hit with the song as a single recording. It would go on to become a truly beloved standard--specifically a favorite among children.

Lyrics:

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?
Or would rather be a mule?

A mule is an animal with long, funny ears.
He kicks up at anything he hears.
His back is brawny, but his brain is weak,
He's just plain stupid, with a stubborn streak.
And by the way, if you hate to go to school,
You may grow up to be a mule!

Or would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?
Or would you rather be a pig?

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face.
His shoes are a terrible disgrace.
He has no manners when he eats his food,
He's fat and lazy, and extremely rude.
So if you don't care a feather or a fig,
You may grow up to be a pig.

Or would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?
Or would rather be a fish?

A fish won't do anything but swim in a brook,
He can't write his name or read a book.
To fool the people is his only thought,
And though he 's slippery, he still gets caught.
But then, if that sort of life is what you wish,
You may grow up to be a fish.

And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo--
Everyday you meet quite a few.
So you see, it's all up to you.
You could be better than you are--
You could be swingin' on a star.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Oscar Peterson
Burl Ives
Maria Muldaur
Tony Bennett

More

By Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero & Norman Newell
1962

An Academy-award winning song with a strange story. It started as an instrumental entitled "Ti Guardero nel Cuore", featured in the exploitation mockumentary Mondo Cane. Later, English lyrics were added by Newell, and the song became a highly popular new standard of the 1960s. Ortolani would later compose the eerily beautiful theme for Cannibal Holocaust, one of the most disturbing films ever made.

Lyrics:

More than the greatest love the world has known,
This is the love I give to you, alone.
More than the simple words I try to say,
I only live to love you more each day.

More than you'll ever know,
My arms long to hold you so.
My life will be in your keeping,
Waking, sleeping, laughing, weeping.

Longer than always is a long, long time.
But far beyond forever, you'll be mine.
I know I never lived before,
And my heart is very sure
No one else could love you more.

Recorded By:

Steve Lawrence
Frank Sinatra
Nat King Cole
Martha & The Vandellas
Della Reese

Key Largo

By Benny Carter, Karl Suessdorf & Leah Worth
1948

Written for the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film of the same name, this smooth, gentle number was introduced by Carter's own band. It would later become a popular tune with the progressive jazz performers who would emerge in the 1950s.

Lyrics:

Key largo,
Alone on Key Largo,
How empty it seems,
With only my dreams

Strange cargo,
They come to Key Largo,
But where is the face
My heart won’t erase?

The moon tide,
Rolling in from the sea,
Is lonely,
and it always will be, till you’re with me.

And I know,
I’ll stay in Key Largo,
Just watching the shore
To find you once more

In Key Largo, find you once more in Key Largo.

Recorded By:

Sarah Vaughan
Benny Carter

As Time Goes By

By Herman Hupfeld
1931

For Standard of the Day's 300th post, I give you one of America's finest songs of all time, and one which is an interesting study in second chances. Hupfeld first wrote it for the Broadway musical Everybody's Welcome, in which it was introduced by Frances Williams. And although Rudy Vallee had a hit with it, it would be considered a relatively minor tune until its inclusion as the central theme of Casablanca some 11 years later. Thanks to its appearance in that classic film, including the iconic performance by Dooley Wilson as Sam, it has become one of the most easily identified songs of all time.

Thanks to all who continue to support SOTD. Here's looking at you, kid.

Lyrics:

You must remember this,
A kiss is still a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo,
They still say, I love you.
On this you can rely,
No matter what the future brings,
As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs,
Never out of date;
Hearts full of passion,
Jealousy and hate;
Woman needs man,
And man must have his mate.
That no one can deny.

It's still the same old story,
A fight for love and glory,
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Tony Bennett
Jimmy Durante
Barbra Streisand
Barry White

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

By Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster
1955

This was Fain & Webster's second composition to win the Oscar, following "Secret Love". It was featured in the film of the same, and later recorded by The Four Aces, who took it to #1 on the charts. A sweeping romantic epic, it is proof that great film songs were still being written even as the era of rock 'n roll was being born.

Lyrics:

Love is a many-splendored thing
It's the April rose that only grows in the early spring
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living
The golden crown that makes a man a king

Once on a high and windy hill
In the morning mist two lovers kissed and the world stood still
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing
Yes, true love's a many-splendored thing

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Andy Williams
Barry Manilow
Ringo Starr
Don Cornell

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM STANDARD OF THE DAY...

Alone

By Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed
1935

The only hit song to ever emerge from a Marx Brothers movie, this Brown/Freed composition was introduced in the film A Night at the Opera by Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones (father of crooner Jack Jones). That same movie would also include a piano rendition by Chico Marx of another recent Brown song, "All I Do Is Think of You". "Alone" would be performed by Judy Garland five years later in the movie "Andy Hardy Meets Debutante".

Lyrics:

Alone,
Alone with a sky of romance above.
Alone,
Alone on a night that was meant for love.

There must be someone waiting
who feels the way I do.
Whoever you are, are you, are you

Alone,
Alone on this night that we two could share.
Alone,
Alone with a kiss that could make me care.

And when you come I promise
to be your very own!
Alone,
Alone with a heart meant for you.

And when you come I promise
to be your very own!
Alone,
Alone with a heart meant for you.

Alone.

Recorded By:

Johnny Hartman
Judy Garland
Tommy Dorsey
Nat King Cole
Allan Jones

I'm in the Mood for Love

By Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
1935

The great McHugh/Fields songwriting team gave us this one, a thinly veiled ode to the libido introduced by Frances Langford in the film Every Night at Eight. It's better known, however, as the quasi-theme song of Alfalfa, who famously sang it in his trademark cracked voice in the 1936 Our Gang short "The Pinch Singer". For the record, this was a favorite of mine as a kid--knew it by heart and could even play it on my uncle's organ. I probably could still figure out the keys if I tried...

Lyrics:

I'm in the mood for love,
Simply because you're near me.
Funny but when you're near me,
I'm in the mood for love.

Heaven is in your eyes,
Bright as the stars we're under,
Oh, is it any wonder,
I'm in the mood for love?

Why stop to think of whether
This little dream might fade?
We've put our hearts together -
Now we are one, I'm not afraid.

If there's a cloud above,
If it should rain, we'll let it.
But for tonight forget it,
I'm in the mood for love.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Julie London
Nat King Cole
Spike Jones
Barbra Streisand

When I Fall in Love

By Victor Young & Edward Heyman
1952

The Robert Mitchum war picture One Minute to Zero yielded this timeless classic, in which Young's melody was included in the score. That same year, Doris Day fully introduced it using Heyman's lyric, and one of the most popular wedding songs of all time was born (my own in-laws used it in 1967!).

Lyrics:

When I fall in love,
It will be forever,
Or I'll never fall in love.

In a restless world like this is,
Love is ended before its begun.
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun.

When I give my heart,
It will be completely,
Or I'll never give my heart.

And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too,
Is when I fall in love with you.

Recorded By:

Johnny Mathis
Nat King Cole
Chris Botti
Chet Baker
Tony Bennett

Moonlight Becomes You

By Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke
1942

This particular Van Heusen/Burke tune comes from one of the classic Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "Road" comedies. In this case, it was Road to Morocco, in which the song was introduced by Crosby himself. To this day, Crosby's version remains the benchmark.

Lyrics:

Moonlight becomes you, it goes with your hair.
You certainly know the right thing to wear.
Moonlight becomes you, I'm thrilled at the sight.
And I could get so romantic tonight.

You're all dressed up to go dreaming,
Now don't tell me I'm wrong.
And what a night to go dreaming--
Mind if I tag along?

If I say I love you, I want you to know
It's not just because there's moonlight,
Although, moonlight becomes you so.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Chet Baker
Willie Nelson
Ella Fitzgerald
Glenn Miller

Tender Is the Night

By Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster
1962

Nominated for the Oscar for Best Song, this song debuted in the movie of the same name, based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and starring the late Jason Robards and Jennifer Jones. It would lose to another classic, Henry Mancini's "Days of Wine and Roses". Bernard Hermann orchestrated it for the film, and Tony Bennett would make the first commercial recording of it, later the same year.

Lyrics:

Tender is the night, so tender is the night.
There's no one in the world except the two of us.
Should tomorrow find us disenchanted,
We have shared a love that few have known.

Summers by the sea, a sailboat in Capri,
These memories shall be these very own.
Even though our dreams may vanish with the morning light,
We loved once in splendor--How tender, how tender is the night.

Recorded By:

Andy Williams
Vic Damone
Johnny Mathis
Billy Eckstine
Les Baxter