I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You

By Victor Young, Ned Washington & Bing Crosby
1932

One of Bing Crosby's signature tunes, introduced and even co-written by Der Bingle. At least 20 major versions of the song would be recorded in the next couple of decades. Although less heard these days, it is a Crosby song that instantly conjures of the time from which it originates.

Lyrics:

I need your love so badly,
I love you oh so madly,
But I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you.

I thought at last I found you,
But other loves surround you,
And I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you.

If you'd surrender,
Just for a tender kiss or two,
You might discover
That I'm the lover meant for you,
And I'd be true.

But what's the good of scheming,
I know I'm only dreaming.
For I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Billie Holiday
Mel Torme
Stan Getz
Duke Ellington

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from STANDARD OF THE DAY!

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

By George Bassman & Ned Washington
1932

Although it was introduced by the Washboard Rhythm Kings, this song is best known as the theme for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra. Dorsey adopted the tune as his theme in 1935, and his saxophonist Noni Bernardi arranged it as a fox trot, which would be the form the band would always play it in. After Dorsey passed on in 1957, his former vocalist Frank Sinatra recorded the song as a tribute on his 1961 album I Remember Tommy.

Lyrics:

Never thought I'd fall,
But now I hear love's call.
I'm getting sentimental over you.

Things you say and do
Just thrill me through and through,
I'm getting sentimental over you.

I thought I was happy,
I could live without love.
Now I must admit,
Love is all I'm thinking of.

Won't you please be kind,
And just make up your mind
That you'll be sweet and gentle--be gentle with me!
`Cause I'm getting sentimental over you.

Recorded By:

Maynard Ferguson
Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass
They Might Be Giants
Thelonious Monk
The Ink Spots

The Nearness of You

By Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington
1938

Can it possibly be that this is the first Hoagy Carmichael song covered on Standard of the Day? Apparently so! Carmichael's quiet, sweet ode to love was introduced with a hit record by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with Ray Eberle on vocals. Several years ago, Norah Jones brought new attention to it by including a recording on her acclaimed debut album Come Away With Me.

Lyrics:

It's not the pale moon that excites me,
That thrills and delights me.
Oh no,
It's just the nearness of you.

It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation.
Oh no,
It's just the nearness of you.

When you're in my arms, and I feel you so close to me,
All my wildest dreams come true.

I need no soft lights to enchant me,
If you would only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight,
And to feel in the night
The nearness of you.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Frank Sinatra
Diana Krall
Keith Richards
Les Brown

Stella By Starlight

By Victor Young & Ned Washington
1944

A rare example of a hit love song that was actually written for a horror movie, this song was the theme for the classic ghost story, The Uninvited. Washington's lyrics (which are never sung in the movie) are unique in that because he had trouble fitting the title into the melody, he had to arbitrarily place it in the middle of the refrain, making this a rare example of a standard in which the title is not mentioned in the opening or closing line. Young and his orchestra introduced the song in the film, but Harry James' orchestra was the first to release it on record three years later.

For more on The Uninvited, check out my other blog, The Vault of Horror.

Lyrics:

The song a robin sings,
Through years of endless springs;
The murmur of a brook at eventides;
That ripples through a nook where two lovers hide--

That great symphonic theme,
That's Stella by starlight,
And not a dream.
My heart and I agree,
She's everything on Earth to me.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles
Charlie Parker
Stan Getz
Stan Kenton