Laura (1945 song)

"Laura" is a 1945 popular song. The music was composed by David Raksin for the 1944 movie Laura starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, and is heard frequently in the movie. The lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer after the film had made the tune popular. 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 song has become a jazz standard, with more than 400 known recordings.^[1] Some of the best-known versions are by Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Johnston, Emil Newman, David Rose, Billy Eckstine, Charlie Parker, J. J. Johnson, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra^[2] and Julie London (included on her 1955 debut album Julie Is Her Name, Vol. 1). 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.

Other notable recordings

• Dave Brubeck – Jazz at the College of the Pacific (1953)
• Woody Herman – Laura / I Wonder (Shellac) (1945)
• Johnny Johnston
• Emil Newman
• David Rose
• Eric Winstone and His Band Song: Alan Lane. Recorded in London on June 6, 1945. It was released by EMI on the HMV Records label as catalogue number BD 5893
• Eric Dolphy – From In Europe, Vol. 2 (1961)
• Al Hirt – He's the King and His Band (1961)^[3]
• Dorothy Ashby - Soft Winds (1961)
• Sergio Franchi – from his 1963 RCA Red Seal album, Women in My Life^[4]
• Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook (1964)
• Andy Williams – The Academy Award-Winning "Call Me Irresponsible" and Other Hit Songs from the Movies (1964)
• Bill Evans – A Simple Matter of Conviction (1966)
• Harry James - Laura (Harmony HS 11326, 1969)^[5]
• Royce Campbell – The Art Of Chord Solo Guitar
• Billy Eckstine – Everything I Have Is Yours (album) (1995)
• Percy Faith – orchestral version from the album A Summer Place
• Dick Haymes – The Very Best of Dick Haymes (1997)
• Carly Simon – Film Noir (1998)
• Spike Jones – The Best of Spike Jones
• Trini Lopez – From his album The Love Album
• Seth MacFarlane – From his album Music Is Better Than Words
• Charlie Parker – From his album Charlie Parker with Strings
• Frank Sinatra – From his album Where Are You?
• Clifford Brown – From his album Clifford Brown with Strings
• Dexter Gordon – From his album Sophisticated Giant (1977)
• Rosemary Clooney - From her album Sings The Lyrics Of Johnny Mercer (1987)
• Mina – L'allieva (2005)
• Robert Wyatt / Gilad Atzmon / Ros Stephen] – from ......... For the Ghosts Within (2010)

References