"When You're Smiling" is a song by Larry Shay, Mark Fisher, and Joe Goodwin (June 6, 1889 - July 31, 1943), and made famous by Louis Armstrong, who recorded it at least three times, in 1929, 1932, and 1956. Duke Ellington also recorded it several times earlier in his career.
Many other recordings exist, for example those by Studies in Swing No.3, Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Patti Page. Cliff Bruner brought it to the country charts in 1939. It was adopted by Leicester City F.C. as the club anthem, and can be heard at many of the team's games. In 1961, Judy Garland performed the song at the Judy at Carnegie Hall concert. Dean Martin also sang it, sometimes parodying it as "When You're Drinkin'". One of the best recordings is by Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra along with Billie Holiday performing this classic in 1938 (January 6th) in New York City for Brunswick/Columbia : Teddy Wilson on piano, Benny Morton on trombone, Buck Clayton on trumpet, Lester Young on tenor sax, Freddie Green on guitar, Walter Page on bass and Jo Jones on drums.
In the film The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Judith, played by Maggie Smith sings the song to herself after a night of drinking.
In the popular sitcom Seinfeld episode The Jimmy, Mel Torme dedicates the song to Kramer, who is invited as a VIP to the show because earlier in the episode, he goes to the dentist and gets Novacaine, which ends up causing him to speak in a strong lisp and forces him to drool. He is also wearing vertical leap training shoes, and all together, looks like a mentally challenged person.
It has also been sung by Rachel Berry (Lea Michelle), a character on the TV Series Glee, in the episode entitled "Mattress".
It was re-released by Jersey Budd, a singer from Leicester who created a version along with members of the Leicester City FC squad at the end of the 2009-10 season.
The version recorded by Louis Armstrong was featured in an advertisement for Apple's new iPhone 4 in 2010.
The Louis Prima version is featured in the video game Mafia 2.
The Louis Prima version is featured in the movie Find me Guilty, directed by Sidney Lumet.
In the Nickelodeon TV series The Backyardigans, the song's tune was used in an episode titled "It's Great To Be A Ghost!".
An instrumental in the style of the Hot Club of France is on the 2009 album 'Small Hotel' by John Etheridge and Sweet Chorus.