| "That Old Black Magic" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Glenn Miller | |
| Length | 3:11 |
| Writer(s) | Harold Arlen (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics) |
"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself, and others. Mercer wrote the lyrics with Judy Garland in mind, who was, on occasion, an intimate partner. Garland recorded the song for Decca Records in 1942.
The Glenn Miller recording was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 1523. It charted in 1943, spending 14 weeks on the Billboard magazine charts, peaking at position #1. [1]
The Margaret Whiting recording (with the Freddie Slack Orchestra, which got top billing on the label) was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 126. It charted in 1943, spending 1 week at #10 on the Billboard chart. [1]
Ella Fitzgerald recorded this on her 1961 Verve double-album "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook".
Frank Sinatra recorded the song twice: once as a ballad for Columbia, and again in 1961 in a lightly swinging arrangement for Capitol (featured on Come Swing With Me.) Sinatra also sang a slightly altered version of the song titled, "That Old Jack Magic" at the inaugural gala he held for John F. Kennedy the night before Kennedy was inaugurated as the thirty-fifth President of the United States.
A 1950 recording on Mercury Records by Billy Daniels gave him the moniker "The Old Black Magic Man" for the rest of his career.
The Sammy Davis, Jr. recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 29541. It charted in 1955 and spent 6 weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at position #16.[1] Sammy Davis, Jr. performs "That Old Black Magic" during a guest appearance on the television series I Dream of Jeannie.
Marilyn Monroe famously sang the song in her film Bus Stop, in 1956. Her character Cheree is singing the song (somewhat out of key) to an audience who is not listening and talking loudly, until Don Murray quiets them all down.
In 1963 Jerry Lewis also sang his unforgettable version as Mister Love in his film The Nutty Professor.
The duet recorded by Louis Prima and Keely Smith was released as a single in 1958 on the Capitol label. It reached a peak of eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
The said duet version was rearranged and used as background music in the swimsuit competition in the semifinals of the Miss Universe 1996 beauty pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bobby Rydell had his version released as a single on Cameo in 1961. It reached number twenty-one on the Hot 100.
Johnny Mercer recorded his version in 1974 for his album My Huckleberry Friend.
The tune was featured as background music in the movie, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
It was featured twice on Star Trek: Voyager. It was sung by Seven of Nine during a simulation of World War II on the first part of the episode "The Killing Game". The second time it was performed by The Doctor and Harry Kim and his jazz band called 'Harry Kim and the Kimtones' in the episode "Virtuoso". A recording by Judy Garland featured in the film "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (2005). The music of the song appears in the film All About Eve (1950).
| Preceded by "I've Heard That Song Before" by Harry James |
number-one single according to Billboard magazine May 29, 1943 |
Succeeded by "I've Heard That Song Before" by Harry James |