"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. It was popularized by

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

, who recorded it in 1935 at the height of his fame. It is one of several songs from the Harlem Renaissance featured in the Broadway musical '' Ain't Misbehavin'''. The lyrics are addressed to a lover and say that the singer is going to write a letter and pretend that it is a love letter from the lover. American Public Media's business-news program, ''Marketplace'', uses a portion of

's version to open its weekly letters-from-listeners segment.

Recordings

The song had a major revival in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

in a Coral recording (on April 3) by Billy Williams with orchestra directed by Dick Jacobs. It reached #3 on the ''Billboard'' magazine charts. A reported million-seller, it was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. This version is included on the soundtrack of 1998 film You've Got Mail. The song was recorded by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

for his 1954 album '' Swing Easy'', by

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 ...

for his 1957 LP '' Bing with a Beat'' and again by Sinatra in 1962 for his collaborative album with

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, '' Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First''. Among other versions are recordings by The Boswell Sisters, Connee Boswell,

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, Scatman Crothers, Gregory Isaacs,

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, Linda Scott, Shakin' Stevens, Al Bowlly,

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Ella Mae Morse, and The Mills Brothers. Don Cherry, best known for "Band of Gold", his 1955 mega hit, released a version of 'Letter' in 1957 on a Coronet 78 (an Australian label), working with Ray Conniff and his Orchestra. On the flip side was So Rare. Charlie Gracie (mostly known for his 1957 #1 hit "

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

" on Cameo Record label #105—45rpm) recorded "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Cadillac Record label #141—45 rpm). The flip side of the record was a song written by Gracie, "Boogie Woogie Blues". Gracie's version was released in 1953.

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

recorded a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

version of the song in 1957. Fabian recorded his version of the song in 1960 on Chancellor Records. In 1973

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Hitching; 28 October 1927) is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec D ...

included the song as her opening song on the album ''I Am a Song'' and sang on stage during her subsequent tour. Comedian Larry Storch recorded and released the song on Roulette records. New Jersey entertainer Uncle Floyd (aka Floyd Vivino) has covered this song in his live performances as well as recording it.

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 19, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

also covered this song on her debut album '' Dreamland'' (1996).

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...

released a version in 2002. In 2012

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

covered it on his album of standards, '' Kisses on the Bottom'' and chose one of its lines as the title.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter Songs about letters (message) 1935 songs 1957 singles Songs with lyrics by Joe Young (lyricist) Songs with music by Fred E. Ahlert Bill Haley songs Charlie Gracie songs Willie Nelson songs Linda Scott songs Paul McCartney songs