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

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 with music by Fred E. Ahlert

Fred E. Ahlert

Frederick Emil Ahlert was an American composer and songwriter. He received a degree from Fordham Law School, but instead of pursuing a legal career he began work as an arranger, initially for Irving Aaronson and his Commanders and then for composer and band-leader Fred Waring...

 and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook

Great American Songbook

The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...

.

The first big hit version (#5 on the Billboard magazine charts) was by Fats Waller

Fats Waller

Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...

 recorded on May 8, 1935

1935 in music

-Events:*February 26 - Georges Bizet's Symphony in C is performed for the first time, under Felix Weingartner, in Basel, Switzerland*April 8 - Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 5 is premiered in Washington, D.C....

 (Victor 25044), reaching further heights in the charts (#3) for the Boswell Sisters

Boswell Sisters

The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Martha Boswell , Connee Boswell , and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell , noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation...

 in the following year (January 6, 1936

1936 in music

-Events:*January 4 – Billboard magazine publishes its first music hit parade*March 28 – Inaugurational concert of the São Paulo City Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ernst Mehlich...

 - Decca 671 B (60302-A)).

Charlie Gracie (mostly known for his 1957 #1 hit "Butterfly

Butterfly (1957 song)

"Butterfly" is a popular song written by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann and published in 1957. The song is credited to Anthony September as songwriter in some sources...

" 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."

The song was recorded by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

 for his 1954 album Swing Easy, Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....

 for his 1957 LP Bing With A Beat

Bing With A Beat

Bing With A Beat was Bing Crosby's seventh long play album, but his first recorded with RCA Victor.Bing With A Beat is a 1957 concept album where all the songs feature "hot" jazz and dixieland arrangements by Matty Matlock, played by Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band...

and again by Sinatra in 1962 for his collaborative album with Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

, Sinatra-Basie.

The song had a major revival in 1957

1957 in music

-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....

 in a recording (on April 3) by Billy Williams

Billy Williams (singer)

Billy Williams was an African-American singer, who had a successful cover recording of Fats Waller's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" in 1957. The record sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc...

, which reached #3 on the Billboard magazine charts (a reported million-seller).

Among other versions are recordings by Nat "King" Cole, Scatman Crothers

Scatman Crothers

Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...

, Gregory Isaacs

Gregory Isaacs

Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....

, Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

, Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

, Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

 , Linda Scott

Linda Scott

Linda Scott is a former pop singer who was active in the early to mid 1960s. Her biggest hit was the 1961 million-selling single, "I've Told Every Little Star"...

, and Shakin' Stevens

Shakin' Stevens

Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...

. Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...

 recorded a rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 version of the song in 1957.

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....

 also covered this song on her debut album Dreamland

Dreamland (Madeleine Peyroux album)

Dreamland is the first album by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Madeleine Peyroux; it was released in 1996.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Madeleine Peyroux — guitar, vocals*James Carter — bass clarinet, tenor saxophone...

 (1996).

American Public Media's business-news program, Marketplace

Marketplace (radio program)

Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...

, uses a portion of Waller's version to open its weekly letters-from-listeners segment.