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At Last
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"At Last" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Orchestra Wives, starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford. It was first performed in the film and on record by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, vocal by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday. The song was a major hit for Miller, reaching number 14 on the Billboard pop charts in 1942, and it soon became a standard. Nat King Cole recorded it in 1957 on his number one album Love Is the Thing. In 1960, it was covered by blues singer Etta James in a performance that improvised on Warren's melody.
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Encyclopedia
"At Last" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Orchestra Wives, starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford. It was first performed in the film and on record by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, vocal by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday. The song was a major hit for Miller, reaching number 14 on the Billboard pop charts in 1942, and it soon became a standard. Nat King Cole recorded it in 1957 on his number one album Love Is the Thing. In 1960, it was covered by blues singer Etta James in a performance that improvised on Warren's melody. James was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 for her rendition of the song.
Original version
The song was a favorite of Warren's and he would occasionally draw the melody of the first two bars of the song when signing an autograph.
The song became James's signature song and was the third in a string of successful songs from her Chess Records debut album At Last!. Upon the song's release in April 1961, it became her second number 2 R&B hit and crossed over to pop radio, reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its rather low pop chart standing, the song is well-known and is still played regularly on oldies radio stations.
In the decades since its release it has been covered by a number of artists, including Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Jason Mraz, Phoebe Snow, Miles Davis, Martina McBride, Céline Dion, Lou Rawls, Eva Cassidy, Christina Aguilera, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Norah Jones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Scott, The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Cyndi Lauper, Aubrey O'Day, Beyonce Knowles, and Nikki Yanofsky. The Etta James version is perhaps the most famous, and is known to be performed at weddings and wedding receptions because of its romantic lyrics and sweeping orchestration. It was used in the trailer for Wall-E movie.
On January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama danced to various renditions of the song at each of the 10 official balls honoring his inauguration.
Céline Dion version
"At Last" was covered by Céline Dion and included on her 2002 album A New Day Has Come. Her version was produced by Humberto Gatica and Guy Roche, and released as a promotional single in the United States on December 9, 2002. However, there was no music video made for the song. It was also the last single released from the A New Day Has Come album.
"At Last" peaked at number 16 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.
A live version of this song was included on the A New Day... Live in Las Vegas album in 2004, as Dion performed it for four years during her A New Day... show in Las Vegas.
Beyoncé Knowles version
"At Last" was also covered by Beyoncé Knowles and included on the Cadillac Records: Music From the Motion Picture. In the film, Knowles portrays Etta James. Knowles also sang the song at Barack Obama's first dance with his wife Michelle during the Neighborhood Ball on the night of his inauguration as President of the United States (much to the chagrin of Etta James, who remarked to the audience at a concert a week later "that woman...singing my song, she gonna get her ass whupped," and "I can't stand Beyoncé"; though she later told the New York Daily News she "didn't really mean anything" by her comments. The event was telecast live on multiple broadcast and cable television networks. At each of the balls, the Obamas dance song remained "At Last."
Charts
| Etta James - Chart (1961) | Peak
position |
|---|
| U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart | 47 | | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 2 | | Céline Dion - Chart (2002) | Peak
position |
|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 16 | | Beyoncé Knowles - Chart (2008) | Peak
position |
|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 67 | | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 79 |
Cultural references
On the May 10, 2004 series finale of the UPN sitcom The Parkers, Kim Parker (Countess Vaughn) sings the song following the wedding of her mother Nikki Parker (Mo'Nique) and the longtime object of Nikki's affection, Professor Stanley Oglevee (Dorien Wilson). Appropriately, the episode is entitled "At Last".
A brief clip of the song (Etta James) is heard on Strong Arms of the Ma of the TV series, The Simpsons, when Marge rips the jukebox out of the wall at Moe's Tavern.
The Etta James version is in the 1998 film Pleasantvile, appearing in the score behind the decisive scene when the pink 1950's era Buick convertible carries the newly enlightened kids down to the park by the lake in a gentle shower of pink blossoms.
The song was used in FOX's post-game coverage of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series when the Boston Red Sox ended an 86-year championship drought.
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