It's Always You

Last updated
"It's Always You"
It's Always You sheet music.jpg
Single by Bing Crosby
B-side
  • "You Lucky People, You"
  • (Burke/Van Heusen)
Released1941
Recorded3 December 1940
Genre Pop
Length3:14
Label Decca DLA2253-B
Songwriter(s) Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke

"It's Always You" is a song written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film Road to Zanzibar . In the film it was sung by Bing Crosby [1] to Dorothy Lamour as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour's character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard.

The song is notable as it was the first that Crosby recorded by the Burke and Van Heusen team. They subsequently produced many hits for Crosby over the following years including the Oscar winner "Swinging on a Star". Burke had been writing for Crosby with Jimmy Monaco and it was planned that they would write the songs for "Road to Zanzibar". However Monaco fell ill and Van Heusen replaced him. [2] Crosby recorded the song for Decca Records for commercial release on December 3, 1940 with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra. [3] The success of the song was adversely affected by a strike of the broadcasting networks against ASCAP. Various recordings of the song were reissued in March 1943 when the dispute ended and the Famous Music Company, the publisher of the sheet music, launched a simultaneous drive. [4]

The song was also recorded by Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Band on January 15, 1941 [5] and it charted in July 1943 when it was reissued reaching the No. 3 position. [6] Glenn Miller, [7] Chet Baker in 1956, and Vera Lynn made recordings of it too. June Christy included the song in her album Fair and Warmer! (1957) and Frank Sinatra recorded it again on May 3, 1961 [8] and it was issued as a single by Reprise. [9]

Related Research Articles

"Love and Marriage" is a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It is published by Barton Music Corporation (ASCAP).

<i>Road to Rio</i> 1947 film by Norman Z. McLeod, Jack Rose

Road to Rio is a 1947 American semimusical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose, the film is about two inept vaudevillians who stow away on a Brazilian-bound ocean liner and foil a plot by a sinister hypnotist to marry off her niece to a greedy fortune hunter. Road to Rio was the fifth of the "Road to …" series.

"All the Way" is a song published in 1957 by Maraville Music Corporation. The music was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

"It Could Happen to You" is a popular standard with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was written in 1943 and was introduced by Dorothy Lamour in the Paramount musical comedy film And the Angels Sing (1944).

"South of the Border " is a popular song describing a trip to Mexico, written by Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr and published in 1939 for the film of the same name starring country star Gene Autry.

"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

"Sunday, Monday or Always" is a 1943 popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke.

"Moonlight Becomes You" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was written for the Paramount Pictures release Road to Morocco (1942) and published in 1942 in connection with the film. Vic Schoen wrote the arrangement.

"But Beautiful" is a popular song with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen, the lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was published in 1947.

<i>Dixie</i> (film) 1943 film by A. Edward Sutherland

Dixie is a 1943 American biographical film of songwriter Daniel Decatur Emmett directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Filming in Technicolor, Dixie was only a moderate success and received mixed reviews. Contrary to rumor, it has not been withdrawn from circulation due to racial issues but is simply one of hundreds of vintage Paramount Pictures from the 1930s and 1940s now owned by Universal and not actively marketed. The movie was broadcast several times in the late 1980s on American Movie Classics channel. The movie produced one of Crosby's most popular songs, "Sunday, Monday, or Always".

"Like Someone in Love" is a popular song composed in 1944 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was written for the 1944 film Belle of the Yukon, where it was sung by Dinah Shore. It was a hit for Bing Crosby in March 1945, reaching #15, and has since become a jazz standard.

<i>Nothing but the Best</i> (album) 2008 greatest hits album by Frank Sinatra

Nothing but the Best is a 2008 compilation album by American singer Frank Sinatra. All the tracks on this album are recordings made when Sinatra was on his own Reprise label, thus the first track, "Come Fly with Me" is not the 1957 Capitol version. Other notable differences are "Strangers in the Night" has an extended fade out and the first two cymbal notes are cut from the beginning of the "Theme from New York, New York".

Pale Moon (song)

"Pale Moon" is a popular song composed by Frederic Knight Logan with lyrics by Jesse G. M. Glick. The song was written in 1920.

"Paradise" is a 1931 song by Nacio Herb Brown, with lyrics by Nacio Herb Brown and Gordon Clifford. It was first sung by Pola Negri in RKO Pictures' 1932 film A Woman Commands, and has since been heard in many other films, including a memorable performance by Gloria Grahame, in the 1949 Nicholas Ray film A Woman's Secret.

"Personality" is a popular song with lyrics by Johnny Burke and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It was written for the 1946 film Road to Utopia, and Dorothy Lamour performed it in the movie. The lyrics are humorous, employing the word "personality" as an obvious euphemism for a woman's voluptuous figure. Van Heusen said that he wrote the song with a limited vocal range to accommodate Lamour.

"The Second Time Around" is a song with words by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It was introduced in the 1960 film High Time, sung by Bing Crosby with Henry Mancini conducting his orchestra, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It lost out to "Never on Sunday".

<i>The Road to Hong Kong</i> (soundtrack) 1962 soundtrack album by Bing Crosby

The Road to Hong Kong is a soundtrack album issued by Liberty Records from the film of the same name. The film starred Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Joan Collins and Robert Morley with cameos from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Sellers and David Niven. Robert Farnon conducted the music for the film. All the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics). Robert Farnon wrote four orchestral pieces for the soundtrack and these are annotated in the listing.

<i>Selections from Road to Utopia</i> 1946 studio album by Bing Crosby

Selections from Road to Utopia is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1946 featuring songs that were presented in the American musical comedy film Road to Utopia. However, the song "Road to Morocco" came from the film of the same name and was not actually used in Road to Utopia. Another song - "Goodtime Charlie" - was sung by Crosby and Bob Hope in the film but was not commercially recorded. The songs "Would You?" and "Personality" were sung by Dorothy Lamour in the film, not Crosby.

<i>Songs from Mr. Music</i> 1950 studio album by Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Dorothy Kirsten

Songs from Mr. Music is a Decca Records studio 78rpm album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and Dorothy Kirsten of songs from the film Mr. Music.

<i>Road to Bali</i> (album) 1952 studio album by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Peggy Lee

Road to Bali is a Decca Records studio album by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Peggy Lee of songs featured in the film Road to Bali released in 1952. All of the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics). The songs were featured on a 10” vinyl LP numbered DL 5444 and in a 3-disc 45rpm box set numbered 9-375.

References

  1. "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #4". 1972.
  2. Reynolds, Fred (1986). The Crosby Collection 1926-1977. Gateshead, UK: John Joyce & Son. p. 183.
  3. "A Bing Crosby Discography". A Bing Crosby Discography. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  4. "The Billboard". Billboard: 25. March 13, 1943.
  5. "Frank Sinatra discography". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  138. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  7. "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  8. "Frank Sinatra Discography". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  9. "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved August 14, 2017.