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It’s Always You (Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke) as performed by Chet Baker (Jazz Lead sheet music Fake Book).
“It’s Always You” is a song written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film Road to Zanzibar. In the film it was sung by Bing Crosby to Dorothy Lamour as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour’s character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard.
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The song is notable as it was the first that Crosby recorded by the Burke and Van Heusen team. They subsequently produced many hits for Crosby over the following years including the Oscar winner “Swinging on a Star”. Burke had been writing for Crosby with Jimmy Monaco and it was planned that they would write the songs for “Road to Zanzibar”.
However, Monaco fell ill and Van Heusen replaced him. Crosby recorded the song for Decca Records for commercial release on December 3, 1940, with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra.
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The success of the song was adversely affected by a strike of the broadcasting networks against ASCAP. Various recordings of the song were reissued in March 1943 when the dispute ended and the Famous Music Company, the publisher of the sheet music, launched a simultaneous drive.
The song was also recorded by Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Band on January 15, 1941, and it charted in July 1943 when it was reissued, reaching the No. 3 position.
Glenn Miller, Chet Baker in 1956, and Vera Lynn made recordings of it too. June Christy included the song in her album Fair and Warmer! (1957) and Frank Sinatra recorded it again on May 3, 1961, and it was issued as a single by Reprise.
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Chet Baker
Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the “Prince of Cool”.
Chet Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals: Chet Baker Sings (1954) and It Could Happen to You (1958). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described the promise of Baker’s early career as “James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one”.
His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame. Chet Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Awards and honours
Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame induction, 1987
DownBeat magazine Jazz Hall of Fame, 1989
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 1991
Grammy Hall of Fame Award for Chet Baker Sings (1956), inducted 2001[56]
Chet Baker Day proclaimed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and the Oklahoma House of Representatives, 2005
Chet Baker Jazz Festival in his honor in Yale, Oklahoma, October 10, 2015
Forlì Jazz Festival in honor of Chet Baker (30 years after his death), in Forlì, Italy, May 2–19, 2018Chet Baker Discography
Chet Baker, Bill Evans _ The Complete Legendary Sessions.
Chet Baker & Bill Evans. The Complete Legendary Sessions. This collection of fifteen songs, by Chet Baker on trumpet, and Bill Evans on Piano, was recorded over four days back in 1958 and 1959.
Tracklist:
01. Alone Together 00:00 02. How High The Moon 06:52 03. It Never Entered My Mind 10:29 04. ‘Tis Autumn 15:11 05. If You Could See Me Now 20:29 06. September Song 25:46 07. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To 28:52 08. Time On My Hands 33:25 09. You And The Night And The Music 37:59 10. Early Morning Mood 42:05 11. Show Me 51:07 12. I Talk To The Tree 57:38 13. Thank Heaven For Little Girls 01:03:29 14. I Could Have Danced All Night 01:08:03 15. Almost Like Being In Love 01:11:45