"Day Dream" is a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by John Latouche and written in 1939. It was first recorded by saxophonist

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

and his ensemble on November 2, 1940. Duke Ellington was credited as co-composer on the label of the original 78 RPM release, though he is not generally considered to be one of the song's creators.

Background

On March 23, 1939, Duke Ellington and his orchestra boarded the SS ''Île de France'' for a spring tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Strayhorn was working for Ellington at the time but was allowed to remain at his

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

residence. Thus, he had nearly seven weeks to work on new compositions and arrangements. "Day Dream" was composed during this time.

Notable recordings

By Johnny Hodges

*''Day Dream / Junior Hop'' (Bluebird 11021, 1940) *''Memories Of Ellington'' (Norgran, 1954) *'' Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra'' (Verve, 1962)

By Duke Ellington

*'' The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943'' (released 1977) *'' Duke Ellington Presents...'' (1956), '' Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session'' (recorded 1963, released 1976) *'' ...And His Mother Called Him Bill'' (1968)

By others

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

– ''

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook Ella may refer to: * Ella (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincorporat ...

'' (1957) *

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

– ''

Jo + Jazz ''Jo + Jazz'' is a 1960 album recorded by Jo Stafford on Columbia Records. The album was also re-released in 1993 by Corinthian Records. For this album, Stafford is backed by a line-up of noted jazz musicians including Conte Candoli, Don Fagerq ...

'' (1960) * Rita Moss – '' Daydream 7" EP (Rozell)'' (1959) *Billy Strayhorn – ''The Peaceful Side'' (1961) *

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

– ''The Danish Radio Big Band and Eclipse'' (1978) * Sarah Vaughan – ''

The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1 ''The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1'' is an album of Duke Ellington standards performed by Sarah Vaughan. It was recorded in 1979 and released on the Pablo label. Track listing # " In a Sentimental Mood" (Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz, Irving ...

'' (1979) * Betty Carter – '' Feed the Fire'' (1993) * June Christy – '' The Misty Miss Christy'' (1956), '' Day Dreams'' (1995) * Chet Baker – ''Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the Film "Let's Get Lost"'' (1998) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

– '' Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool'' (1999) * Allen Toussaint – The Bright Mississippi (2009) *

Jacob Fischer Jacob Fischer (born 1967) is a self-taught Danish jazz guitarist. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Svend Asmussen Quartet and founded his own Jacob Fischer Trio, where he plays alongside Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Janus Templeton on drums. ...

– '' Jacob Fischer...In New York City'' (2014) *

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

- '' Norah Jones Performing Daydream 2002'' (2014) *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

and Kenny Barron – '' The Art of Conversation'' (2014) *

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ...

– ''

Daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...

'' (1997) *

Rita Box Peek Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

– ''Just For You'' (2018)

References

Songs with music by Duke Ellington Songs with music by Billy Strayhorn Songs with lyrics by John La Touche (lyricist) 1940s jazz standards 1940 songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Ella Fitzgerald songs Jo Stafford songs {{pop-standard-stub