| "I'll Never Smile Again" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers | |
| Published | November 27, 1939 by Sun Music Co., Inc., New York[1] |
| Released | June 7, 1940 |
| Recorded | April 23, 1940 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 3:12 |
| Label | Victor 26628 |
| Songwriter(s) | Ruth Lowe |
| "I'll Never Smile Again" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Platters | ||||
| from the album Remember When? | ||||
| B-side | "You Don't Say" | |||
| Published | Sun Music, Inc. | |||
| Released | July 7, 1961 | |||
| Recorded | 1961 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ruth Lowe | |||
| The Platters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"I'll Never Smile Again" is a 1939[1] song which became a 1940 Billboard chart-topper by Tommy Dorsey written by Ruth Lowe.[2] It has been recorded by many other artists since, becoming a jazz and pop standard.
The most successful and best-known million selling single version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers.[3] Tommy Dorsey has a solo on trombone during the break and as a coda near the end of the song. This recording was released as a Victor 78, 26628A, in 1940. This version was number one on Billboard's first "National List of Best Selling Retail Records"—the first official national music chart—on July 27, 1940, staying at the top spot for 12 weeks until October 12, 1940.[4] The tune was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.[5] Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra performed the song in the 1941 Paramount Pictures musical Las Vegas Nights. The Dorsey and Sinatra recording was also released as a V-disc in February, 1946 by the U.S. War Department for the armed forces.
Ruth Lowe personally presented the song to Tommy Dorsey.[6][7] Percy Faith performed it first live on radio broadcasts on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Glenn Miller made the first recording and was the first to release it. The composition had its copyright renewed in 1966, and it will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2035.[8]
- ^ a b Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1940). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1940 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 35 Pt 3 For the Year 1940. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
- ^ According to Peter Levinson in the Tommy Dorsey biography, Livin In A Great Big Way, "I'll Never Smile Again" was recorded May 23, 1940.
- ^ "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #2". 1972.
- ^ Hoffmann, Frank (May 23, 2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. London; New York: Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-415-97715-9. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". Grammy.org. The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ Jennings, Peter. Until I Smile At You: How one girl's heartbreak electrified Frank Sinatra's fame! Victoria, BC, Canada: Castle Carrington, 2020
- ^ Jennings, Peter. Ruth's Wonderful Song. Victoria, BC, Canada: Castle Carrington, 2021.
- ^ "Catalog of Copyright Entires Music 1966". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-05-17.