''I'll See You In My Dreams'' by J.Grandgagnage on tenor sax Sheet music cover, 1924 "I'll See You in My Dreams" is a popular song and

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

, composed by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jon ...

, with lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

, and published in 1924. It was recorded on December 4 that year, by Isham Jones conducting Ray Miller's Orchestra. Released on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1 in the United States. Other popular versions in 1925 were by

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; March 25, 1897 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely-known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

;

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James; with three of these four reaching the Top 10. The song was sung by Jeanne Crain in ''

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...

'' (1946) and was chosen as the title song of the 1951 film '' I'll See You in My Dreams'', a musical biography of Kahn. Popular recordings of it were made by many leading artists, including

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

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

(recorded November 27, 1947),

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, 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, phra ...

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

, Tony Martin,

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 75 ...

Sue Raney Raelene Claire Claussen, known professionally as Sue Raney (born June 18, 1940, in McPherson, Kansas) is an American jazz singer. Raney was signed by Capitol Records in 1957 at age 17. That same year, she recorded her debut album, ''When Your Lov ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

(1958,

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 ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, and Linda Scott. A " Texas Swing" version of the song was recorded by

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

and his Texas Playboys. The song was also recorded by

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

and the

Quintet of the Hot Club of France The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and active in one form ...

, and inspired

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

to record it as a guitar instrumental. Many other guitarists, including

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and

Thom Bresh Thomas Charles Bresh (February 23, 1948 – May 23, 2022), sometimes spelled Tom Bresh, was an American country music guitarist and singer. Active from the 1970s, Bresh charted multiple singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Bio ...

, followed in Travis's footsteps. Michel Lelong, a French guitarist, published the first

tablature Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuel ...

of Travis's arrangement for the American publisher/guitarist Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop during the 1980s, following by Thom Bresh (Merle Travis's son) for Homespun Tapes, and Marcel Dadi for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop. It was recorded by

on his ''Coca-Cola Show'' of 1951-2 and is available on a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

mastered from those same shows, and featuring the same title, ''I'll See You in My Dreams'', released by BMG in 1998.

Pat Boone version

The most recent version of "I'll See You in My Dreams" to become a chart hit is by

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

. It is the title track of his 1962 LP. The song peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number nine on the Adult Contemporary chart. It also became a hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. The record's B-side, "Pictures in the Fire," charted concurrently with "I'll See You in My Dreams," reaching number 77 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 63 on ''Cash Box,'' and number 15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Chart history

Other cover versions

* An early version was recorded by Hawaiian steel guitar originator

Joseph Kekuku Joseph Kekuku‘upenakana‘iapuniokamehameha Apuakehau, Jr. (1874/75 – January 16, 1932), better known as Joseph Kekuku, was a Hawaiian-American musician and the inventor of the steel guitar. He discovered the sound of the steel guitar after t ...

in 1925. * A 1953/54 version by

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...

was released in 1997 on the album ''Rockin' It Country Style''. *In 1955,

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self-proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

included the song on her ''

This Is Anita ''This is Anita'' is a reissue of ''Anita'', a 1956 album by Anita O'Day that was re-released in 1962.Neal Umnphred, ''Goldmine's Price Guide to Collectible Jazz Albums, 1949-69'', Iola, WI: Krause, 1994, pp. 378, 379. It was arranged and conduc ...

'' * In 1963,

The Bachelors The Bachelors were a popular music group from Dublin, Ireland, but based primarily in the United Kingdom. They had several international hits during the 1960s, including eight top-ten singles in the UK between 1963 and 1966. The Bachelors spli ...

recorded their

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''V ...

of the song and this appeared on their first EP, ''The Bachelors''. * In 1976,

Ron Goodwin Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle ...

and His Orchestra recorded the song on their album ''Rhythm and Romance''. * In 1976, British female vocal duo

The Pearls The Pearls were an English 1970s girl group, girl human voice, vocal duet (music), duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons (née O'Brien). They released a total of 12 single (music), singles, the most successful being ...

released a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

version of the song, which was pressed in the US on a 10" promo disc as well as the regular 7" single. * In 1987,

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

and

performed it live as a medley with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

". * In 1999, guitarist

Howard Alden Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. Early life Ho ...

recorded an instrumental version of this song for the soundtrack of the movie ''

Sweet and Lowdown ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film ''La Strada'', the film tells the story of jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (played by Sean Penn) who falls ...

''. * In 2002, Joe Brown performed a version of the song on the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

as the finale of the

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

tribute concert

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a Tributes to the Beatles, memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison ...

. * In 2003, the Portuguese metal band

Moonspell Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, '' Under the Moonspell'', in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, '' Wolfheart'', a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable meta ...

recorded a version that would serve as soundtrack for the short horror movie '' I'll See You in My Dreams'', of which was also recorded a music video. * In 2004,

Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks Daniel Ivan Hicks (December 9, 1941 – February 6, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter and musician, and the leader of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. His idiosyncratic style combined elements of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, blueg ...

recorded a version on the album ''Selected Shorts.'' * In 2005, American singer-songwriter

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "The Way I Am (Ingrid Michaelson song), The Way I Am" and her 2014 single "Girls Chase Boys", both of which achieved success ...

recorded a cover of the song for her debut album ''Slow the Rain''. * In 2010, Australian singer

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer. She has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, yodelling country artist Mary Schneider, on the album ''The Magic of Yodell ...

recorded the song for her Doris Day tribute album ''Melinda Does Doris''. * In 2012, Tiffany Schellenberg recorded the song for the film ''

A Fantastic Fear of Everything ''A Fantastic Fear of Everything'' is a 2012 British horror comedy film starring Simon Pegg, written and directed by Crispian Mills with Chris Hopewell as co-director. It is based on the novella ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' by Bruce Robinson, ...

'', starring

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...

. * In 2013, The National front man

Matt Berninger Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. ...

recorded the song with

Vince Giordano Vince Giordano (born March 11, 1952) is an American saxophonist and leader of the New York-based Nighthawks Orchestra. He specializes in jazz of the 1920s and 1930s and his primary instrument is the bass saxophone. Vince Giordano and the Nightha ...

and the Nighthawks Orchestra for the third volume of the ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'' soundtrack. * Canadian jazz pianist and singer

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...

included the song in her 2017 studio album '' Turn Up the Quiet''. * In 2021 country/novelty singer

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

recorded the song on his studio album ''Slow Dance''.

Film appearances

*1931 -

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

sings two lines of it in '' The Cheat'' *1939 –

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

sang it in ''

Rose of Washington Square ''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con a ...

''."I'll See You in My Dreams"
sung by Alice Faye in ''Rose of Washington Square'' (1939) (audio only) on YouTube *1940 – The song was on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the film '' Kitty Foyle'', which won

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

her only

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

in a Leading Role. Played on the radio at the speakeasy and reprised by the band at the nightclub. It is also danced to by Ginger Rogers and

Dennis Morgan Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner; December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame. According to one ob ...

. *1944 – '' Follow the Boys'' – performed by

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

. *1946 – ''

'' – sung by

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

(dubbed by Louanne Hogan) *1946 – An instrumental version of the song, arranged by Herbert Spencer, was featured prominently in ''

The Razor's Edge ''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. Maugham is th ...

''. An instrumental version opens the

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

cartoon ''

The Milky Waif The ''Tom and Jerry'' series consists of 163 shorts produced and released between 1940 and 2005. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts while one is a made-for-TV short, subsequently released in theatres. 1940–1958: Hanna-Barbera/MGM cartoon ...

''. *1951 – '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' – sung by a chorus during the opening and closing credits, also by

, and it is played at the surprise party *1975 – ''

Hearts of the West ''Hearts of the West'', released in Europe as ''Hollywood Cowboy'', is a 1975 American comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. A remake of 1 ...

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1924 songs 1925 singles 1962 singles 1976 singles Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn Songs with music by Isham Jones Linda Scott songs Pat Boone songs Eddie Cochran songs Doris Day songs The Pearls songs Private Stock Records singles Songs about dreams