"It's Always You" is a song written by

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

(music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film ''

Road to Zanzibar ''Road to Zanzibar'' is a 1941 Paramount Pictures semi-musical comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second of seven pictures in the popular "''Road to …''" series made by the trio. It takes place in the ...

''. In the film it was sung by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

to Dorothy Lamour as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour's character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard. The song is notable as it was the first that Crosby recorded by the Burke and Van Heusen team. They subsequently produced many hits for Crosby over the following years including the Oscar winner " Swinging on a Star". Burke had been writing for Crosby with Jimmy Monaco and it was planned that they would write the songs for "Road to Zanzibar". However Monaco fell ill and Van Heusen replaced him. Crosby recorded the song for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

for commercial release on December 3, 1940 with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra. The success of the song was adversely affected by a strike of the broadcasting networks against

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

. Various recordings of the song were reissued in March 1943 when the dispute ended and the Famous Music Company, the publisher of the sheet music, launched a simultaneous drive. The song was also recorded by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

with the Tommy Dorsey Band on January 15, 1941 and it charted in July 1943 when it was reissued reaching the No. 3 position.

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

in 1956, and Vera Lynn made recordings of it too.

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a sol ...

included the song in her album '' Fair and Warmer!'' (1957) and Frank Sinatra recorded it again on May 3, 1961 and it was issued as a single by Reprise.

References

{{authority control 1941 songs Frank Sinatra songs Songs with music by Jimmy Van Heusen Songs with lyrics by Johnny Burke (lyricist) Songs written for films