"P.S. I Love You" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

with music by Gordon Jenkins and lyrics by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

. published in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. The original hit version in 1934 was recorded by Rudy Vallée, released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. It was revived in 1953 by The Hilltoppers and in the 1960s by

The Vogues The Vogues are an American vocal rock and roll group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original lineup consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor), and Chuck Blasko (seco ...

, and again in 1984 by country music singer

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

. A number of other versions have also been recorded. The lyrics describe somebody writing a love letter to his partner.

Recorded versions

* The Angels released a version in 1960 while they were still called The Starlets. The version went to number 106 in the U.S. *

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

- ''

Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Johnny Mercer ''Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Johnny Mercer'' is a 1986 album by Rosemary Clooney, of songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Most of the album features Clooney singing with a small swing group directed by pianist John Oddo, though Clooney p ...

'' (1988) * James Darren - ''Gidget Goes Hawaiian / James Darren Sings the Movies'' (1961). *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

- ''

Triplicate Triplicate typically refers to a document created three times simultaneously, as with carbonless copy paper. Triplicate may also refer to: *Del Norte Triplicate, a newspaper in Crescent City, California *Triplicate (horse), a race horse owned by ...

'' (2017) *

The Four Vagabonds The Four Vagabonds was an American male vocal group. Active for twenty years (1933–1953), they form a bridge between vocal quartet jive of the 1930s and the rhythm and blues vocal groups that thrived after World War II. The Vagabonds The Four ...

- Apollo 1057 (1947); reissued Lloyds 45-102 (1953) *

(1984)- his final Top 10 country hit, and one of only two he did not write *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

* The Hilltoppers * Don Burke and the

Four Hits and a Miss Six Hits and a Miss was an American swing-era singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word "hit", and denotation of a young woman). Th ...

with Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra *

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 ...

recorded the song for

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

on September 3, 1954, in Los Angeles with Her Orchestra, consisting of Harry Edison on trumpet, Willie Smith on alto saxophone,

Bobby Tucker Bobby Tucker (born Robert Nathaniel Tucker; January 8, 1923 – April 12, 2007). was a pianist and arranger during the jazz era from the 1940s into the 1960s. He is most famous for being Billie Holiday's accompanist from 1946 to 1949 and Bil ...

on piano,

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

on guitar,

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

on bass and

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...

on drums. The song is featured on the 1999 reissue of '' Lady Sings the Blues''. *Bent Jædig * Diana Krall * Nancy LaMott *

Ketty Lester Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, 1934) is an American singer and actress known for her 1961 hit single "Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U.S. and the UK. She is also known for her role as Hester-Sue Terh ...

- ''Love Letters'' (1962) *

Anne Lloyd ''for other persons named "Anne Lloyd" see'' Ann Lloyd (disambiguation) Anne Lloyd Vincent, known professionally as Anne Lloyd (November 25, 1923 – August 27, 1999) was a clear-voiced and charismatic American singer best known for her children' ...

with Larry Clinton Orchestra - Bell 1004 (1954) * Susannah McCorkle - ''

Ballad Essentials ''Ballad Essentials'' is an album by Susannah McCorkle, released in 2002. Reception Music critic Ronnie D. Lankford of Allmusic praised the album and wrote "For those less familiar with the great vocalist's work, ''Ballad Essentials'' serves as a ...

'' (2002) * Nellie McKay for the 2007 '' P.S. I Love You'' film soundtrack *

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

for the 1991 '' For the Boys'' film soundtrack *

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 ...

- '' Close to You'' (1957) *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

- ''I Cry By Night'' (1962). *

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 June 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

and His Band - Alan Kane, vocal - UK Decca F.5241 (1934) * Dodie Stevens * Mel Torme - for his album '' That's All'' (1965) * Rudy Vallée and His Connecticut Yankees - Victor 24723 (1934) * Bobby Vinton, included in his 1967 album Please Love Me Forever *

* Jimmy Witherspoon - for his album '' Blues for Easy Livers'' (1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:P.S. I Love You (1934 Song) Songs about letters (message) 1934 songs 1960 singles Songs written by Gordon Jenkins Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer Billie Holiday songs Tom T. Hall songs The Angels (American group) songs