Laura, starring Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, Dana Andrews, and Vincent Price has enjoyed great popularity and is considered one of the best-scripted and wittiest examples of the 1940’s and 1950’s film noir wave. In 1946 “Laura” made it to number one on the Hit Parade for 14 weeks and five years later Stan Kenton and His Orchestra made it to #12, featuring Art Pepper’s alto sax. Dick Haymes (with Victor Young and His Orchestra, #9).Jerry Wald and His Orchestra (Dick Merrick, vocal, #8).Johnnie Johnston (with Paul Baron and His Orchestra, #5).Woody Herman and His Orchestra ( Woody Herman, vocal, #4).In 1945 five separate recordings of “Laura” appeared on the pop charts with the Woody Herman and His Orchestra’s rendition becoming a million-seller hit: Olman provided Mercer with the music and advised him that the title had to be “Laura.” After a few weeks, Mercer grew to love the song and completed the lyrics. Although Mercer had seen the film, he confessed that he really didn’t remember the tune. Shortly after Laura was released, Abe Olman of Robbins Music asked Johnny Mercer to write lyrics for Raksin’s theme. By Sunday, with nothing satisfactory on paper, he read a “Dear John” letter from his wife, and the haunting melody seemed to write itself. Raksin was given the weekend to come up something new. According to author William Zinsser in his book, Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs, director Otto Preminger had chosen Duke Ellington’s “ Sophisticated Lady” as a theme for Laura, but composer David Raksin felt it did not suit the character. The first 10 notes of the song are sometimes “quoted” during jazz solos, especially since Dizzy Gillespie did it during his “Perdido” solo at the famous Massey Hall concert in 1953.Ĭonceived amidst conflict, the title theme for the 1944 Twentieth Century Fox film Laura was composed almost as an afterthought. Johnson, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra and Julie London (included on her 1955 debut album Julie Is Her Name, Vol. Some of the best-known versions are by Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Johnston, Emil Newman, David Rose, Billy Eckstine, Charlie Parker, J. The song became a jazz standard and has been recorded over 400 times. Laura is the face in the misty light, footsteps that you hear down the hallThe laugh that floats on the summer night that you can never quite recallAnd you see Laura on a train that is passing through, those eyes how familiar they seemShe gave your very first kiss to you, that was Laura but she’s only a dream. According to Mercer, he had not yet seen the movie when he wrote the lyrics but was aware that it was a romantic, somewhat haunting story. The lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer after the film made the tune popular.
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