"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, for whom it was written, and her version was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1989. Holiday's version reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and No. 16 on pop in 1945. In July 1946,

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

recorded a rendition of "Lover Man" while he was intoxicated. Dial Records producer Ross Russell had to hold him up to the microphone during the recording. Sonny Stitt played the song many times on

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

in a virtuoso way, in the original key of D flat. Most jazz musicians play the song nevertheless in F.

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

recorded a version for her album

Simply Streisand ''Simply Streisand'' (1967) is the ninth studio album released by American singer Barbra Streisand. The album was released simultaneously with '' A Christmas Album'' and was Streisand's first that failed to chart in the Top 10 of the ''Billboard' ...

in 1967, her version peaked #29 at

Billboard Adult Contemporary The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

chart.

Cover versions

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

recorded the song for the Guild label in 1945 with backing by an instrumental ensemble that included

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and

. *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusicDearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City over ...

included a cover of the song on her 1957 debut studio album ''

''. *

José James José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American vocalist who combines jazz and Hip hop music, hip hop. Biography José James attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, ''The Dreamer (Jo ...

recorded a remarkable version of Lover Man, in his 2015 album Yesterday I Had the Blues, The Music of Billie Holiday. *

included a cover of the song in her 1967 album ''

''. *

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

recorded the song in 1972 for the soundtrack for the film '' Lady Sings the Blues,'' in which she portrayed Billie Holiday. *

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

recorded the song in 1983 for her breakthrough sixth solo album ''

I'm in Love Again ''I'm In Love Again'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle in 1983. It was released by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment on November 25, 1983, in the United States. LaBelle's commercial breakth ...

''. *

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue N ...

released a cover of the song in their 1986 debut album. *In 1991, Whitney Houston performed the song as part of the set list during her I'm Your Baby Tonight Tour. Houston also performed the tune in a medley with " My Man" and "

All the Man That I Need "All the Man That I Need" is a song written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by Linda Clifford for her album ''I'll Keep on Loving You'' (1982). In 1990, American singer Whitney Houston had a ...

" at the 1991 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. *

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

and Stéphane Belmondo included the song in their 2016 album ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

''.

Charts

References

External links

"Lover Man..." at jazzstandards.com
{{authority control 1941 songs 1940s jazz standards Billie Holiday songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Jazz compositions in B-flat minor