Sentimental Journey (song)
Encyclopedia
"Sentimental Journey" is a popular
song
, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown
and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.
as vocalist, had a hit record with the song, Day's first #1 hit, in 1945. The song's release coincided with the end of WWII in Europe and became the unofficial homecoming theme for many veterans. The recording was released by Columbia Records
as catalog number 36769, with the flip side "Twilight Time". The record first reached the Billboard charts on March 29, 1945 and lasted 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1.
The song actually reached the charts after the later-recorded "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
".
About this same time, the Merry Macs had a recording following Brown and Day which featured a bouncy arrangement where the group modulates (or augments) the verse eight times in the last half of the song. A vocal feat for any group attempting to record a song in one take without the benefit of tape editing in that era of modern recording.
In 1951
, Brown's orchestra redid the song, with The Ames Brothers on vocals. This was released by Coral Records
as catalog number 60566, with the flip side "Undecided
".
The song later became something of a standard with jazz
artists and was recorded, among others, by Buck Clayton
with Woody Herman
and by Ben Sidran
. Rosemary Clooney
issued an album Sentimental Journey
(2001) which included the song.
In 1994, Les Brown and His Band of Renown teamed up to back Barry Manilow
on a version of the song for Manilow's album "Singin' With The Big Bands".
In 2010, Bob and Bernice Thorpe sang this song in the popular theatre show, Prop 8 Love Stories.
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...
, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.
History
Les Brown and His Band of Renown, with Doris DayDoris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
as vocalist, had a hit record with the song, Day's first #1 hit, in 1945. The song's release coincided with the end of WWII in Europe and became the unofficial homecoming theme for many veterans. The recording was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as catalog number 36769, with the flip side "Twilight Time". The record first reached the Billboard charts on March 29, 1945 and lasted 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1.
The song actually reached the charts after the later-recorded "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" is a popular song.The music was written by Vic Mizzy and the lyrics by Manny Curtis. The song was published in 1945....
".
About this same time, the Merry Macs had a recording following Brown and Day which featured a bouncy arrangement where the group modulates (or augments) the verse eight times in the last half of the song. A vocal feat for any group attempting to record a song in one take without the benefit of tape editing in that era of modern recording.
In 1951
1951 in music
-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
, Brown's orchestra redid the song, with The Ames Brothers on vocals. This was released by Coral Records
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
as catalog number 60566, with the flip side "Undecided
Undecided
"Undecided" is a popular song written by Sid Robins and Charlie Shavers and published in 1938.The first recording was made by John Kirby and The Onyx Club Boys on October 28, 1938, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 2216, with the flip side "From A Flat to C".It was also recorded by...
".
The song later became something of a standard with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artists and was recorded, among others, by Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
with Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
and by Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...
. Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary 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 –...
issued an album Sentimental Journey
Sentimental Journey (Rosemary Clooney album)
Sentimental Journey: The Girl Singer and Her New Big Band is a 2001 album, by Rosemary Clooney. This was Clooney's last studio recording.-Track listing:# "That Old Black Magic" – 3:33...
(2001) which included the song.
In 1994, Les Brown and His Band of Renown teamed up to back Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
on a version of the song for Manilow's album "Singin' With The Big Bands".
In 2010, Bob and Bernice Thorpe sang this song in the popular theatre show, Prop 8 Love Stories.
Covers
- Paul Fenoulhet with The Skyrockets Dance Orchestra Voc.: Cyril Shane. Recorded in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on October 10, 1945. It was released by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the HMV Records label as catalogue number BD 5908 - Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
recorded this song with Eddie HeywoodEddie HeywoodEddie Heywood was a jazz pianist who was popular in the 1940s. His father, Eddie Heyward, Sr. was also a jazz musician from the 1920s. Heywood, Jr...
and his Orchestra in 1947, it was later released on her DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
album "Ella and Her Fellas" - The PlattersThe PlattersThe Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
covered this song in 1963. - Booker T. & the M.G.'sBooker T. & the M.G.'sBooker T. & the M.G.'s is an instrumental R&B band that was influential in shaping the sound of southern soul and Memphis soul. Original members of the group were Booker T. Jones , Steve Cropper , Lewie Steinberg , and Al Jackson, Jr....
recorded an instrumentalInstrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
cover of this song for their 1966 album And Now!And Now! (Booker T album)And Now! was the third studio album released by southern soul band Booker T & The MGs, released in November 1966. It is notable as the first MGs album featuring bassist Duck Dunn on every track. “My Sweet Potato” was the only track released as a single with the non album cut “Booker Loo” as its...
. - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
covered this song for his 1970 album Sentimental Journey. - Dave DudleyDave DudleyDave Dudley , born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best-known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin'...
brought the song to country music with his top 50 version in 1976. - Nellie McKayNellie McKayNellie McKay , is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums, and for her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera , for which she won a Theatre World Award...
recorded her own arrangement as part of her album Normal as Blueberry Pie - A Tribute to Doris DayNormal as Blueberry Pie - A Tribute to Doris DayNormal as Blueberry Pie – A Tribute to Doris Day is the fourth album from American singer-songwriter, Nellie McKay. Released by Verve Records, it is McKay's first cover album, composed of songs previously recorded by American singer and actress, Doris Day, minus the track "If I Ever Had a Dream",...
. - Japanese folk singer Shiva recorded a Japanese version of this song for his 1973 CBS/Sony album "コスモスによせる".
- Sarah HarmerSarah HarmerSarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...
& Jason EuringerJason EuringerJason Euringer is a Canadian musician.A guitarist/vocalist and bass player, he frequently appears on recordings by artists in the Kingston, Ontario scene, including Weeping Tile, Sarah Harmer and Luther Wright and the Wrongs. Harmer's 1999 album Songs for Clem included a cover credit for Euringer.-...
covered this tune on their 1999 album "Songs for Clem".