I Hadn't Anyone Till You

"I Hadn't Anyone Till You" is a popular song written by Ray Noble in 1938.[1] It has been recorded by many artists and is regarded as a standard.

Tony Martin sang it with the Ray Noble band in 1938, reaching number four in the charts over a period of twelve weeks.[1] A Tommy Dorsey version (with a vocal by Jack Leonard) the same year reached number ten.[1]

Alec Wilder wrote of the song, "It is a smooth, direct, slightly rhythmic ballad of no great range and unmistakably a song of its time, the late thirties. It makes a move in the second half of the B section (the design is A-B-A-C/A) into the key of A major from the parent key of F major, which adds that dash of color needed in a song of so direct and unpushy a nature. It is a song with both sophistication and a flavor of the past."[2]

Other recordings

• Billie Holiday - for the album Velvet Mood (1956)
• Bobby Darin - included in his album It's You or No One (1963)
• Brenda Lee - for her album All Alone Am I (1963)
• Caterina Valente - for the album Strictly U.S.A. (1963).[3]
• Connee Boswell - recorded June 15, 1938.[4]
• Hadda Brooks - performs the song in the motion picture, In a Lonely Place (1950).
• Dinah Shore - for her album Somebody Loves Me (1959).[5]
• Doris Day - included in her album Day by Day (1957).[6]
• Ella Fitzgerald - a single release (1949)[7] and for the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" (1960)
• Frank Sinatra - for his album Sinatra and Strings (1962)
• Jeri Southern - for the album The Southern Style (1955).[8]
• Joni James - The Mood Is Romance (1961).[9]
• Judy Garland - for her album Judy in Love (1958)
• Julie London - For the Night People (1966)
• Lena Horne - Lena on the Blue Side (1962)
• Margaret Whiting - for her album Margaret Whiting Sings for the Starry-Eyed (1956).[10]
• Mel Torme - a single release in 1950.[11]
• Patti Page - So Many Memories (1954).[12]
• Sarah Vaughan - Snowbound (1962)
• Steve Lawrence - Swing Softly with Me (1959).[13]
• Vic Damone - a single release in 1950.[14]

References

1. Jazzstandards.com
2. Wilder, Alec. "American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900-1950" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972)
3. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
4. "Connee Boswell Discography". guymcafee.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
5. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
6. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
7. "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
8. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
9. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
10. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
11. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
12. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
13. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
14. "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.