In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
Encyclopedia
"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" is a 1955
popular
song
composed by David Mann
, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard
. It was introduced as the title track of Frank Sinatra
's 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours
.
It was composed by Mann and Hilliard during a post-midnight session at Hilliard’s New Jersey
home. Mann was about to depart for New York
when Hilliard insisted he remain to try some impromptu songwriting. Mann reluctantly agreed and eventually came up with the tune, to which Hilliard quickly wrote a lyric.
1955 in music
-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
composed by David Mann
David Mann (songwriter)
David Mann was an American songwriter of popular songs...
, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard
Bob Hilliard
Bob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
. It was introduced as the title track of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours
In the Wee Small Hours
In 2003, the album was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also the first album reviewed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery. In 2007, Time Magazine selected it as one of The All-TIME 100 Albums...
.
It was composed by Mann and Hilliard during a post-midnight session at Hilliard’s New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
home. Mann was about to depart for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
when Hilliard insisted he remain to try some impromptu songwriting. Mann reluctantly agreed and eventually came up with the tune, to which Hilliard quickly wrote a lyric.
Recordings
- Johnny MathisJohnny MathisJohn Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, on the album Wonderful WonderfulWonderful Wonderful (album)Wonderful Wonderful is the second studio album by Johnny Mathis released in 1957 on the Columbia Record label, in stereo and monoaural.The album was issued in the UK by Fontana Records with alternative artwork...
(1957) - Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, on the album Lonely StreetLonely Street (album)Lonely Street is an album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in late 1959 by Cadence Records. This, his fifth LP of new material for the label, is described by William Ruhlmann on AllMusic.com as "an album full of songs of lost love and loneliness that found Williams using more...
(1959) - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
, on the album Around MidnightAround Midnight-References:...
(1960) - Johnny HartmanJohnny HartmanJohn Maurice Hartman was an American bass jazz singer who specialized in ballads and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and was briefly a member of...
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(1963). - Carly SimonCarly SimonCarly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, on the soundtrack to the 1993 romantic comedyRomantic ComedyRomantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
, Sleepless In SeattleSleepless in SeattleThe film was originally to have been scored by John Barry, but when he was given a list of 20 songs he had to put in the film, he quit.#As Time Goes By - Jimmy Durante #A Kiss to Build a Dream on - Louis Armstrong #Stardust - Nat King Cole...
. - Rosemary ClooneyRosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
- At Long LastAt Long LastAt Long Last is a 1998 studio album by Rosemary Clooney, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra.This was Clooney's first recording with the Basie band...
(with the Count Basie OrchestraCount Basie OrchestraThe Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
) (1998) - Daniel MattoDaniel MattoDaniel Matto is an Australian singer-songwriter of Italian descent.Before making his North American debut in the summer of 2006 at the Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax, Canada, Matto performed throughout eastern Australia in clubs and festivals in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and in New Zealand...
- on his 2010 release I'm Old Fashioned. - Ronnie MilsapRonnie MilsapRonnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
, on his 2004 album Just for a ThrillJust for a ThrillJust for a Thrill was the twenty-third studio album of country music artist Ronnie Milsap. It was released in 2004 under Image Records, his first for the label. The album consisted of fourteen recordings of pop and jazz standards....
. - Dave Van Norden, featured in The MatadorThe MatadorThe Matador is a 2005 American dark comedy film written and directed by Richard Shepard and starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the American box office...
(2005). - Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, on her 2001 album, Clock Without HandsClock Without HandsReleased in July 2001, Clock Without Hands is Nanci Griffith's fourteenth studio album. It was named after Carson McCullers' final novel , and is a particularly personal collection of songs, including "Last Song For Mother" , a moving tribute to her late mother...
. - Jamie CullumJamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
, on his album Pointless NostalgicPointless NostalgicPointless Nostalgic is Jamie Cullum's second album but his first major release on a record label. It was released in 2002 through Candid Records.-Track listing:# "You and the Night and the Music" – 4:09...
. - Chris BottiChris BottiChristopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
, on his album Slowing Down the WorldSlowing Down the WorldSlowing Down the World is the third studio album by trumpet player Chris Botti. It was released by GRP Records on June 22,1999. Botti himself provided vocal on "Same Girl".-Track listing:-Personnel:* Chris Botti - Trumpet, Keyboards, Vocal...
(1999), featuring Sting on vocals. - John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
with Chris BottiChris BottiChristopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
on The Late Show with David Letterman on Thanksgiving Day, 2008. - Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
has covered the song twice. On her 1991 retrospective, Just For the Record, Barbra sang a medley of "When You Gotta Go" and "Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (from a 1969 live performance). In 2009, Streisand recorded a new, studio version of "Wee Small Hours" for her album, Love is the AnswerLove Is the Answer (album)Love Is the Answer is an album of jazz standards by Barbra Streisand released on September 29, 2009. The album was produced by Diana Krall and features Krall on piano. Orchestral arrangements are by Johnny Mandel, Anthony Wilson and Alan Broadbent. A deluxe edition contains a bonus disc featuring...
, produced by jazz artist Diana KrallDiana KrallDiana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
. - Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
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album Gently - Kurt EllingKurt EllingKurt Elling is an American jazz vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church...
, on his 2007 release Nightmoves, as a medley with "Leaving Again" (Keith JarrettKeith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
).