The song of the day for Thursday, March 17, 2022, is “Sweet Lorraine.”

About Today

Today we are honoring Nat “King” Cole, who was born on March 17, 1919.

About This Song

“Sweet Lorraine” was written in 1928 by Cliff Burwell and Mitchell Parish. It was originally a vaudeville song; the Rudy Valle recording made the song quite popular and a nice, up-tempo jazz number. Nat “King” Cole had a major hit with this song in 1940.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Sweet Lorraine” in 1965 in Chicago. Bennett was working with cornettist Bobby Hackett at the Palmer House. Nat “King” Cole had passed away just the month before and they wanted to do a recording of “Sweet Lorraine,” one of Cole’s early hits. Hackett played the ukulele for the recording and a friend of his, Joe Marsala, played clarinet. The recording was included on If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set.

“Sweet Lorraine,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set is available on Apple Music.

We were very pleased to find a video of Nat Cole and his trio performing “Sweet Lorraine.”

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 2, 2020, is “Sweet Lorraine.”

About This Song

“Sweet Lorraine” was written by Cliff Burwell and Mitchell in 1928, It was originally a vaudeville song; the Rudy Valle recording made the song quite popular and a nice, up-tempo jazz number. Nat King Cole had a major hit with this song in 1940.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Sweet Lorraine” in 1965, though it was not part of the rest of the sessions for If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. In March 1965, Tony Bennett and Bobby Hackett were appearing live in Chicago and decided to record this song in tribute to Nat King Cole, who had died a month earlier. Hackett played the ukulele (not the cornet, which was his instrument) and Hackett’s friend, Joe Marsala, played clarinet.

“Sweet Lorraine,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from Apple Music.