Memories of You

This article is about the song. For the album by Bette Midler, see Memories of You (album).

"Memories of You"
Song
Published	1930
Genre	pop song, jazz standard
Composer(s)	Eubie Blake
Lyricist(s)	Andy Razaf

"Memories of You" is a popular song about nostalgia^[1] with lyrics written by Andy Razaf and music composed by Eubie Blake and published in 1930.

Song history

The song was introduced by singer Minto Cato in the Broadway show Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1930. A 1930 version recorded by Louis Armstrong featuring Lionel Hampton is the first known use of the vibraphone in popular music.

The Armstrong recording in 1930 was reviewed by Times magazine's monthly record review alongside opera records and Western art music records of composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Ravel.^[2]

A version of the song recorded by The Four Coins from the biopic The Benny Goodman Story reached #22 on the Billboard magazine chart in 1955.

Doc Severinsen and the NBC Orchestra performed an instrumental version on the final episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, on May 22, 1992. The song played over a five-minute montage showing brief silent clips of some of Carson's favorite guests, seen interacting with him through the years. This was also the final song on the final album Frank Sinatra recorded for Capitol Records, Point of No Return, from 1962.

Between 1970 and 2019 the song was used as the theme song for the popular NRK radio program Nitimen. That version was an uptempo version by Werner Müller (musician) and his orchestra from 1964.

Other recordings

• Louis Armstrong – 1930^[3] with his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra^[4]
• Garland Wilson – solo piano recording February 2, 1932. (OKeh 41556)
• Casa Loma Orchestra – 1937^[3]
• Benny Goodman with Lionel Hampton and Charlie Christian – 1939^[3]
• Art Tatum – The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vol. 5 – 1953^[3]
• The Four Coins – Orchestra Under the Direction of Don Costa – (1955)
• Benny Goodman with Rosemary Clooney – Date with the King (1955)^[3]
• Judy Garland – Judy (1956)^[5]
• Thelonious Monk – The Unique (1956) and It's Monk's Time (1964) ^[3]
• Charles Mingus – East Coasting (1957)^[3]
• Frank Sinatra – Point of No Return (1961)^[6]
• Al Hirt – Horn A-Plenty (1962)^[7]
• Ella Fitzgerald – "Hello Dolly" with Frank Devol 1964
• Werner Muller and his orchestra – Werner Muller on Broadway (1964)
• Jaki Byard with Roland Kirk – The Jaki Byard Experience (1968)
• Eubie Blake – Jazz Piano Masters (1972)^[3]
• Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter (1986)
• Tom Varner – The Window Up Above, American Songs 1770–1998 (1998)
• Jessica Williams – More for Monk (2002)^[3]
• Kenny Barron – The Traveler (2008)
• Fred Hersch – Alone at the Vanguard (2010)^[3]
• Ellery Eskelin – Trio New York (2011)^[8]
• Dr. John – Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch (2014)

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards

References

1. Browne, Ray Broadus; Ambrosetti, Ronald J. (1993). Continuities in Popular Culture: The Present in the Past & the Past in the Present and Future. Popular Press. ISBN 9780879725938.
2. Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 366. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
3. Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 262–264. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
4. Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
5. "www.discogs.com". www.discogs.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
6. "Frank Sinatra - Point Of No Return". Discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
7. "Horn A-Plenty - Al Hirt". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
8. "Ellery Eskelin – Trio New York". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved January 25, 2024.

External links

• "Memories of You" at Jazz Standards