Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

E.Y. “Yip” Harburg was born on April 8, 1896 in New York. He was one of the great American lyricist, working with composers including Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne and Burton Lane.

In honor of his birthday, our song of the day is one of our favorites that he wrote with Harold Arlen, Last Night When We Were Young.

About This Song

Arlen and Harburg wrote Last Night When We Were Young in 1935. It was to be featured by Lawrence Tibbett as a solo number in the film Metropolitan, but that vocal version was cut from the film, though the melody was used as background music. Frank Sinatra’s recording of Last Night When We Were Young in his 1954 album In The Wee Small Hours is widely considered to be one of Sinatra’s masterpieces. The song was much-loved by Judy Garland as well.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded Last Night When We Were Young for his 1992 tribute album to Sinatra, Perfectly Frank. His is a great version of a great song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1qgQmCZ3fUkG2dNSYI6OvN
Last Night When We Were Young, as well as the full Perfectly Frank album, is available from iTunes.