"Comin' Home Baby" is a song originally written as an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

by Ben Tucker and first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet for their album '' 2 Feet in the Gutter'' in 1961, and shortly thereafter by

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

on his live album '' Herbie Mann at the Village Gate''.

Lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

were added by

Bob Dorough Robert Lrod Dorough (December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018) was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, and composer. He became famous as the composer and performer of songs in the TV series ''Schoolhouse Rock!'', as well as for his wor ...

, and the vocal version became a US Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

from his album '' Comin' Home Baby!'' in 1962. The song has since been covered numerous times.

Original instrumental recordings

The tune was first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet on 6 October 1961, and issued on '' 2 Feet in the Gutter''. It was composed by Dave Bailey's bassist, Ben Tucker. The original musicians were Frank Haynes (tenor saxophone), Bill Hardman (trumpet), Billy Gardner (piano), Ben Tucker (bass), and Dave Bailey (drums). The tune was then recorded six weeks later by

, live at the Village Gate, with Tucker again on bass. Mann's recording on his live album '' Herbie Mann at the Village Gate'', produced by

Nesuhi Ertegun Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International. Early life Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...

and released by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1962, became popular and drew wider attention to the tune.

Mel Tormé version

Tucker then persuaded his friend, lyricist

(later of ''

Schoolhouse Rock! ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, music videos) which aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network AB ...

'' fame), to write a lyric for the tune, and producer Nesuhi Ertegun persuaded singer

, who had recently joined the Atlantic label, to record it. Tormé was initially reluctant to record the song, and later wrote that: "It was a minor-key

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

tune with trite repetitious lyrics and an 'answer' pattern to be sung by

the Cookies The Cookies were an American R&B girl group active in two distinct lineups, the first from 1954 to 1958 which later became the Raelettes, and the second from 1961 to 1967. Several of the members of both lineups were members of the same fami ...

, a girl trio that had once worked for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

". The recording took place in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 13 September 1962. Despite Tormé's reservations, his version of the song, with an

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

by Claus Ogerman, became his biggest hit since the early 1950s. It spent eleven weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at number 88 the week of November 3, 1962 and peaking at number 36 the week of December 29, 1962. It reached no.13 on the UK singles chart. It was also the title track of his album '' Comin' Home Baby!'' (with added

exclamation mark The exclamation mark (also known as exclamation point in American English) is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show wikt:emphasis, emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks ...

). Tormé's recording was nominated as Best Male Solo Vocal Performance and Best Rhythm and Blues Performance at the 1963 Grammy Awards.Grammy awards 1963
. Retrieved 19 February 2014

Michael Bublé version

"Comin' Home Baby" was recorded by Canadian

crooner A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by better microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to acce ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

, and released as the fifth and final single from his 2007 third studio album, '' Call Me Irresponsible''. The single was released on April 25, 2008, exclusively in Germany. It features vocals from the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning vocal harmony group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

. No video was filmed for the song, and there was little to no promotion, causing the release to not appear in any major charts worldwide. The digital download package features a new remix of the track from Frank Popp. A physical version of the single was also made available in Germany.

Track listing

* German CD single # "Comin' Home Baby" (Frank Popp Remix) - 3:09 # "Comin' Home Baby" (Album Version) - 3:27

References

{{authority control 1961 songs 2008 singles Mel Tormé songs Michael Bublé songs Boyz II Men songs 143 Records singles Reprise Records singles