I'll Never Smile Again

"I'll Never Smile Again" is a 1940 song written by Ruth Lowe.[1] It has been recorded by many other artists since, becoming a standard.

"I'll Never Smile Again"
Single by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
Released1940
RecordedApril 23, 1940
GenreJazz
Length3:12
Songwriter(s)Ruth Lowe

The most successful and best-known million selling single version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers.[2] This recording was released as a Victor 78, 26628A, in 1940. This version was number one on Billboard's first "National List of Best Selling Retail Records" — the first official national music chart — on July 27, 1940, staying at the top spot for 12 weeks until October 12, 1940.[3] The tune was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.[4]

Cover versions
  • The song appears on the 1954 Dave Brubeck Quartet live album Jazz at the College of the Pacific.
  • Sarah Vaughan recorded the song on the 1955 In the Land of Hi-Fi.
  • Billy Holiday recorded the song in 1959, the last year of her life, on the posthumous album Last Recording.
  • The Platters brought the song back to the top 40 in 1961, where their version went to #25 on the Hot 100 and #17 on the Hot R&B Sides chart.[5]
  • Al Hirt released a version in 1962 on his Trumpet and Strings[6]
  • Bill Evans on the 1963 Interplay[7]
  • Frank Sinatra included it on his 1959 No One Cares album. He also re-recorded the song in 1965 for the double album A Man and His Music, complete with faithful reproduction of the celeste and choral accompaniment which characterized the 1940 recording.
  • Italian-American crossover artist, Sergio Franchi covered this song on his 1967 RCA Victor album, From Sergio - With Love.[8]
  • The song was also covered by popular Australian rock group Daddy Cool — they scored an Australian Top 20 hit with their version, which was released as a single in July 1972, shortly before the group broke up; they also performed it at their farewell concert in Melbourne, Australia in August 1972, which was recorded and subsequently released as a double-album in 1973.

See also
  • List of number-one singles of 1940 (U.S.)

References
  1. According to Peter Levinson in the Tommy Dorsey biography, Livin In A Great Big Way, "I'll Never Smile Again" was recorded May 23, 1940.
  2. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633231/m1/#track/4
  3. Hoffmann, Frank (May 23, 2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. London; New York: Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-415-97715-9. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  4. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". Grammy.org. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 463.
  6. Al Hirt, Trumpet and Strings Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  7. Bill Evans, Interplay. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  8. http://www.discogs.com Archived 2012-04-21 at the Wayback Machine Sergio Franchi

Sources
  • Peter J. Levinson, Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way: a Biography (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2005). ISBN 978-0-306-81111-1
  • Robert L. Stockdale, Tommy Dorsey: On The Side (Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1995). ISBN 978-0-8108-2951-0


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