Tenderly

By Walter Lloyd Gross & Jack Lawrence
1946

Back in the early '40s when it was known simply as "Walter's Melody", Gross would play this tune privately and for club audiences. But in 1946, singer Margaret Whiting introduced him to Jack Lawrence, lyricist for such hits as "If I Didn't Care" and "All or Nothing at All". Lawrence put words and a new title to the song, and after Gross asked Sarah Vaughan to make the first recording of it, the two men had a hit on their hands. It was one of Vaughan's earliest hits as a solo artist.

Lyrics:

The evening breeze caressed the trees,
Tenderly.
The trembling trees embraced the breeze,
Tenderly.

Then you and I came wandering by,
And lost in a sigh were we.

The shore was kissed by sea and mist,
Tenderly.
I can't forget how two hearts met,
Breathlessly.

Your arms opened wide and closed me inside.
You took my lips, you took my love,
So Tenderly.

Recorded By:

Chet Baker
Rosemary Clooney
Nat King Cole
Jackie Gleason
Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald