There's No You

By Hal Hopper & Tom Adair
1944

A lush, gorgeous composition that helped catapult Jo Stafford's solo career. After leaving the Pied Pipers vocal group and becoming Capitol Records' first solo vocalist in '44, Stafford (or her arrangers) chose this beautiful song to be one of her very first recordings. Perfectly suited to her range and style, it became an instant standard thanks to her and has been recorded by numerous artists over the years since.

Lyrics:

I feel the autumn breeze, it steals 'cross my pillow
As soft as a will-o'-the-wisp and in its song
There is sadness because there's no you

The lonely autumn trees, how softly they're sighing
'Cause summer is dying, they know that in my heart
There's no gladness because there's no you

The park that we walked in, the garden we talked in
How lonesome they seem in the fall
Stormy clouds hover and falling leaves cover
Our favorite nook in the wall

In spring we'll meet again, we'll kiss and recapture
That summertime rapture we knew and from that day
Never more will I say, "There's no you"

Recorded By:

Duke Ellington
Frank Sinatra
Louis Armstrong
Coleman Hawkins
Stacey Kent

Hit That Jive, Jack

By John Alston & Skeets Tolbert

1940

A red-hot little jazz number of the 1940s that continues to live on with hepcats everywhere to this day. Tolbert introduced it with his relatively obscure jazz ensemble, but it was with the Nat Cole Trio the following year that it got sent into the stratosphere. In recent years, it has become a very popular number with throwback hot jazz acts.

Happy 8th Birthday to my son--Hit that jive, Jack!

Lyrics:

Hit that jive Jack 
Put it in your pocket till I get back  
Going downtown to see a man  
And I ain't got time to shake your hand
 
Hit that jive Jack  
Put it in your pocket till I get back  
Time and time waits for no man  
And I ain't got time to shake your hand
 
Standing on a corner  
All full of jive  
But you know that you're my boy  
So I'm forced to give you five
 
Hit that jive Jack  
Put it in your pocket till I get back  
Going downtown to see a man  
And I ain't got time to shake your hand

Recorded By:

Nat King Cole
Diana Krall
John Pizzarelli
Joe Carroll
Boyd Bennett

Because of You

By Arthur Hammerstein & Dudley Wilkinson
1940

A warm, earnest love song that didn't really become anything of note until a young Tony Bennett recorded it in 1951. It became Bennett's first number-one hit, and immediately also became a standard as a result of that success. It was also featured in the 1951 film, I Was an American Spy. Bennett's version featured his trademark warm legato vocal style, and remains a favorite of enthusiasts of traditional pop.

Lyrics:

Because of you there's a song in my heart
Because of you my romance had its start
Because of you the sun will shine
The moon and stars will say you're mine
Forever and never to part

I only live for your love and your kiss
It's paradise to be near you like this
Because of you my life is now worth while
And I can smile
Because of you

Recorded By:

Johnny Desmond
Gloria DeHaven
Louis Armstrong
Chris Montez
Johnny Iris

Trade Winds

By Charles Tobias & Cliff Friend
1940

The prolific Tin Pan Alley tunesmith Tobias (pictured) put this one together with occasional collaborator Friend (the duo would enjoy a hit two years later with the World War II anthem, "We Did It Before and We Can Do It Again"). None other than Bing Crosby snatched up the song and immediately made a hit out of it. Very popular in the early 1940s, it can even be heard in several Warner Bros. cartoons of the period.

Lyrics:

Down where the trade winds play,
Down where you lose the day,
We found a new world where paradise starts,
We traded high way down where the trade winds play.

Music was everywhere,
flowers were in her hair,
Under an awning of silvery boughs,
We traded vows the night that I sailed away.

Oh trade winds, what are vows that lovers make,
Oh trade winds, are they only made to break,

When it is may again,
I’ll sail away again,
Though I’m returning, it won’t be the same,
She traded her name way down where the trade winds play.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Martin Denny
Lou Rawls
Billy Vaughan
Tommy Dorsey

I Hear Music

By Burton Lane & Frank Loesser

1940

A major hit from an obscure musical film entitled Dancing on a Dime. It was introduced in the movie by Robert Paige, Peter Lind Hayes, Frank Jenks and Eddie Quillan. But it became much more of a standard a bit later, when it was taken by post-war jazz performers. It remains one of Loesser's catchier tunes, and perhaps his finest collaboration with Lane (right).

Lyrics:

I hear music,
Mighty fine music.
The murmur of a morning breeze up there,
The rattle of the milkman on the stair.

Sure that's music,
Mighty fine music.
The singing of a sparrow in the sky,
The perking of the coffee right near by.

That's my favorite melody,
You my angel, phoning me.

I hear music,
Mighty fine music.
And anytime I think my world is wrong,
I get me out of bed and sing this song.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Carmen McRae
Gene Krupa
Bobby McPherrin

It Never Entered My Mind

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1940

Rodgers & Hart were at the height of their powers when they put out Higher and Higher in 1940, and this was one of the big hits from that show--a melancholy, clever, and simply gorgeous ballad that typifies their intimate style and knack for simple, hypnotic compositions. It was introduced on-stage by long-time Bob Hope partner Shirley Ross (pictured). Frank Sinatra's rendition on the classic Capitol album In the Wee Small Hours is particularly sublime.

Lyrics:

I don't care if there's powder on my nose.
I don't care if my hairdo is in place.
I've lost the very meaning of repose.
I never put a mudpack on my face.
Oh, who'd have thought
that I'd walk in the daze now?
I never go to shows at night,
but just to matinees now.
I see the show
and home I go.

Once I laughed when I heard you saying
that I'd be playing solitaire,
uneasy in my easy chair.
It never entered my mind.

Once you told me I was mistaken,
that I'd awaken with the sun
and order orange juice for one.
It never entered my mind.

You have what I lack myself
and now I even have to scratch my back myself.

Once you warned me that if you scorned me
I'd sing the maiden's prayer again
and wish that you where there again
to get into my hair again.
It never entered my mind.

Recorded By:

Sarah Vaughan
Frank Sinatra
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
June Christy

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

By Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke
1940

First recorded by the Tommy Dorsey band, this was actually the first hit record from Dorsey's new boy singer Frank Sinatra. An extremely popular jazz standard, it was covered by just about every big band of the era, and continues to be popular with modern jazz vocalists. A sweet and pleasant standard if ever there was one.

Lyrics:

A country dance was being held in a garden.
I felt a bump and heard an "Oh, beg your pardon"
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams
All around a pug-nosed dream.

The music started and was I the perplexed one.
I held my breath and said "May I have the next one?"
In my frightened arms, polka dots and moonbeams
Sparkled on a pug-nosed dream.

There were questions in the eyes of other dancers,
As we floated over the floor.
There were questions, but my heart knew all the answers,
And perhaps a few things more.

Now in a cottage built of lilacs and laughter,
I know the meaning of the words "Ever after"
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams
When I kiss the pug-nosed dream.

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Bill Evans
Sarah Vaughan
Count Basie
Lester Youn

I Could Write a Book

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1940

Written for the original stage version of Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst. It did not make it into the Frank Sinatra film version, however. It also was used to great effect in the 1997 Woody Allen movie Deconstructing Harry. I was inspired to focus on this song today thanks to a gorgeous rendition by the remarkable Emma Wallace, which can be found here.

Lyrics:

If they asked me, I could write a book
About the way you walk, and whisper,
And look.
I could write a preface
On how we met
That the world will never forget.

And the simple secret of the plot
Is just to tell them;
That I love you, a lot.
Then the world discovers,
As my book ends,
How to make two lovers of friends.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Harry Connick Jr.
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
Mel Torme

I Concentrate on You

By Cole Porter
1940

A Porter tune that is typically dripping with class and sophistication. This quiet and moving ballad was written for the film Broadway Melody of 1940, in which it was introduced by Douglas McPhail. This same show featured such other Porter classics as "Begin the Beguine".

Lyrics:

Whenever skies look gray to me,
And trouble begins to brew,
Whenever the winter winds become too strong,
I concentrate on you.

When fortune cries nay, nay to me,
And people declare you're through,
Whenever the blues become my only songs,
I concentrate on you.

On your smile, so sweet, so tender,
When at first my kiss you do decline,
On the light in your eyes when you surrender,
And once again our arms intertwine.

And so, when wise men say to me
That loves young dream never comes true,
To prove that even the wise men can be wrong,
I concentrate on you.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Fred Astaire
Patricia Barber
Lena Horne

It's a Blue World

By Chet Forrest & Bob Wright 1940

Forrest & Wright were a winning songwriting combo for many years, and this was one of several times they were nominated for the Oscar while working at MGM. This particular song was written for Tony Martin to sing in the musical picture, Music in My Heart. Thirteen years later, The Four Freshmen would record a major hit with it.

Lyrics:

It's a blue world without you,
It's a blue world alone.
My days and nights
That once were filled with heaven,
With you away how empty they have grown.

It's a blue world from now on,
It's a through world for me.
The sea, the sky, my heart and I
We're all an indigo hue,
Without you, it's a blue, blue world.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ella Fitzgerald
Glenn Miller
Mel Torme
Julie London

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1940

Originally intended as a blatant expression of female sexuality, from the original production of Pal Joey. It was introduced in its original form by Broadway vet Vivienne Segal, but in later recorded versions it was sanitized to appeal to the more conservative record-buying public at the time. Much of the outright sexuality of the original lyrics were toned down. However, I'm proud to bring you the original words in their entirety here.

Lyrics:

After one whole quart of brandy,
Like a daisy, I awake.
With no Bromo Seltzer handy,
I don't even shake.
Men are not a new sensation;
I've done pretty well, I think.
But this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink

I'm wild again,
Beguiled again,
A simpering, whimpering child again.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Couldn't sleep,
And wouldn't sleep
Until I could sleep where I shouldn't sleep.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Lost my heart, but what of it?
My mistake, I agree.
He's a laugh, but I like it,
Because the laugh's on me.

A pill he is,
But still he is
All mine, and I'll keep him until he is
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered like me.

Seen a lot,
I mean, a lot.
But now I'm like sweet seventeen a lot.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

I'll sing to him,
Each spring to him,
And worship the trousers that cling to him.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

When he talks he is seeking
Words to get off his chest.
Horizontally speaking,
He's at his very best.

Vexed again,
Perplexed again.
Thank God I can't be over-sexed again.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Barbra Streisand
June Christy
Jack Jones

Taking a Chance on Love

By Vernon Duke, John Latouche & Ted Fetter
1940

An infectiously rhythmic melody by Duke (pictured) and clever lyrics make it easy to understand how this song became a standard shortly after being introduced by Ethel Water and Dooley Wilson in the all-black musical Cabin in the Sky. Three years after the film's release, Benny Goodman's orchestra (Helen Forrest vocal) scored a number-one hit with it.

Lyrics:

Here I go again,
I hear those trumpets blow again.
All aglow again,
Taking a chance on love.

Here I slide again,
About to take that ride again.
Starry eyed again,
Taking a chance on love.

I thought that cards were a frame-up
I never would try.
Now I'm taking that game up,
And the ace of hearts is high.

Things are mending now,
I see a rainbow blending now.
We'll have a happy ending now.
Taking a chance on love.

Here I slip again,
About to take that trip again.
I got that grip again,
Taking a chance on love.

Now I prove again
That I can make life move again.
I'm in a groove again,
Taking a chance on love.

I walk around with a horseshoe,
In clover I lie.
And brother rabbit of course you
Better kiss your foot good-bye.

On the ball again,
I'm riding for a fall again.
I'm gonna give my all again,
Taking a chance on love.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra
Les Brown
Dave Brubeck
Rosemary Clooney

Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe

By Harold Arlen & E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
1940

The same duo that composed the score for The Wizard of Oz wrote this song the following year for another MGM musical, this time the first all-black musical committed to the silver screen. It was written for Ethel Waters, the dependable, matronly protagonist who must secure Eddie "Rochester" Anderson from the temptations of the beguiling Lena Horne.

Lyrics:

It seem like happiness is just a thing called Joe.
He's got a smile that makes the lilacs want to grow.
He's got a way that makes the angels heave a sigh
When they know little Joe's passing by.

Sometimes the cabin's gloomy and the table's bare,
But then he'll kiss me and it's Christmas everywhere.
Troubles fly away and life is easy go.
Does he love me good? That's all I need to know.
Seems like happiness is just a thing called Joe.

Recorded By:

Rosemary Clooney
Peggy Lee
Bette Midler
Ella Fitzgerald
Nancy Wilson

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

By Manning Sherwin, Jack Strachey & Eric Maschwitz
1940

This popular British standard refers to a tree-filled park in the upscale Mayfair section of London. It became a very popular tune in the UK after being introduced by Judy Campbell in the show New Faces, and subsequently recorded by Ray Noble and Vera Lynn.

Lyrics:

That certain night,
The night we met,
There was magic abroad in the air.
There were angels dining at the Ritz,
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

I may be right, I may be wrong,
But I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

The moon that lingered over Londontown,
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown.
How could he know that we two were so in love?
The whole darn world seemed upside down.

The streets of town were paved with stars,
It was such a romantic affair.
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

When dawn came stealing up, all gold and blue,
To interrupt our rendezvous,
I still remember how you smiled and said,
"Was that a dream? Or was it true?"

Our homeward step was just as light
As the tap dancing feet of Astaire,
And like an echo far away,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

Recorded By:

Nat King Cole
Bobby Darrin
Mel Torme
Blossom Dearie
Frank Sinatra

I Hear Music

By Burton Lane & Frank Loesser
1940

This catchy tune was one of a number of Burton's compositions for Dancing on a Dime, a rare musical from Paramount Pictures. It was sung in the picture by Robert Paige, Peter Lind Hayes, Eddie Quillan and Frank Jenks. To my knowledge, the film has never been released on video, and probably hasn't been seen since it used to run on TV in the late 1950s and 1960s. Nevertheless, the popular standard has survived.

Lyrics:

I hear music;
Mighty fine music--
The murmur of a morning breeze up there,
The rattle of the milkman on the stair.

Sure thats music;
Mighty fine music--
The singing of a sparrow in the sky,
The perking of the coffee right nearby.

Thats my favorite melody--
You my angel, phoning me.

I hear music;
Mighty fine music--
And anytime I think my world is wrong,
I get me out of bed and sing this song.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Chris Connor
Blossom Dearie
Bobby McFerrin