"I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 musical Too Many Girls.
Introduced by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott in the stage musical,[1] early hit versions were recorded by Benny Goodman (vocal by Louise Tobin) and by Jimmy Dorsey (vocal by Bob Eberly).[2]
It was then performed by Trudy Erwin (dubbing for Lucille Ball) and Richard Carlson in the 1940 film adaptation produced by RKO.[3] The song was later interpolated into the score of the 1957 film Pal Joey, sung by Frank Sinatra, and has become a jazz standard.
Recordings
- Artie Shaw - Shadows / I Didn't Know What Time It Was (1939)[4]
- Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker with Strings (1949)[4]
- Peggy Lee – Black Coffee (1953)[4]
- Louis Jordan (1954)
- Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook (1956)
- Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz (1957)[4]
- Billie Holiday – Songs for Distingué Lovers (1957)
- Bobby Darin - Love Swings (1958)
- Benny Golson with Curtis Fuller – Groovin' with Golson (1959)[4]
- Barry Harris – Listen to Barry Harris (1961)[4]
- Art Blakey with Wayne Shorter – Ugetsu (1963)[4]
- Timi Yuro - The Amazing Timi Yuro (1964)
- The Crampton Sisters - their 1964 revival for the DCP label was a Hot 100 entry, peaking at #92.[5]
- McCoy Tyner with Bobby Hutcherson – Time for Tyner (1968)[4]
- Ray Charles - #74 in Canada, March 17, 1969[6]
- Betty Carter – Betty Carter at the Village Vanguard (1970)[4]
- David "Fathead" Newman – Captain Buckles (1971)
- Shirley Horn – All of Me (1987)
- Cassandra Wilson – Blue Skies (1988)[4]
- Chick Corea – Expressions (1994)[4]
- Brad Mehldau – The Art of the Trio Vol. 1 (1997)[4]
- Richard Wyands Trio - Lady of the Lavender Mist (1998)
- Cécile McLorin Salvant – WomanChild (2013)
- Sue Raney - Late in Life (2015)
- Barbra Streisand – The Music...The Mem'ries...The Magic! (2017)
Apart from those listed, there are hundreds more versions of the song.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 513. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 199.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 17, 1969" (PDF).
- ^ "secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
