Young at Heart (song)
Encyclopedia
"Young at Heart" is a pop standard, a ballad
with music by Johnny Richards and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
. The song was written and published in 1953
, with Leigh contributing the lyrics to what was originally a Richards instrumental called "Moonbeam." Frank Sinatra
was the first performer to record the song, which became a million-selling hit in 1953 (and spilling over with popularity into 1954
). The song was such a hit that a movie that Sinatra was filming at the same time with Doris Day
was renamed to the song title, and the song was included in the opening and closing credits
of the movie, which was released as Young at Heart. The song has also been used on the soundtracks of other films, including It Could Happen to You
, The Front
, Sweet Dreams, and Space Cowboys
(in a rendition by Willie Nelson
).
Other performers who have recorded versions of "Young at Heart" include Jimmy Durante
, Connie Francis
, Perry Como
, Tony Bennett
, Shawn Colvin
, Rosemary Clooney
, Bobby Vinton
, Tom Waits
, Bing Crosby
, Barry Manilow
, Landon Pigg
and Vonda Shepard
. The Cure
incorporated verses from "Young At Heart" during concert performances of "Why Can't I Be You?
" (widely available on bootlegs). Wild Man Fischer
recorded an eccentric version that was included on The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
.
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
with music by Johnny Richards and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh was an American lyricist for Broadway, movies, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come."-Biography:...
. The song was written and published in 1953
1953 in music
-Events:*February 6 – Contralto Kathleen Ferrier, already terminally ill with cancer, leaves Covent Garden Opera House on a stretcher after being taken ill on the second night of her run in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice....
, with Leigh contributing the lyrics to what was originally a Richards instrumental called "Moonbeam." 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...
was the first performer to record the song, which became a million-selling hit in 1953 (and spilling over with popularity into 1954
1954 in music
-Events:*January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York...
). The song was such a hit that a movie that Sinatra was filming at the same time with Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
was renamed to the song title, and the song was included in the opening and closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
of the movie, which was released as Young at Heart. The song has also been used on the soundtracks of other films, including It Could Happen to You
It Could Happen to You (film)
It Could Happen to You is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It is the story of New York City police officer who wins the lottery and splits his winnings with a waitress . The movie bears a striking resemblance to an actual event as documented by Snopes...
, The Front
The Front
The Front is a 1976 film drama about the Hollywood blacklist during the age of live television. It is written by Walter Bernstein, directed by Martin Ritt and stars Woody Allen and Zero Mostel....
, Sweet Dreams, and Space Cowboys
Space Cowboys
Space Cowboys is a 2000 science fiction film directed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood also stars in the film alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as four older "ex-test pilots" who are sent into space to repair an old Soviet satellite...
(in a rendition by 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...
).
Other performers who have recorded versions of "Young at Heart" include Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
, Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, 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....
, 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 ."...
, Landon Pigg
Landon Pigg
Landon Pigg is a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor from Nashville, Tennessee.- Early years :Pigg was born in Nashville, Tennessee. When Pigg was a child, his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and he and two of his siblings, Cari-Ann and Gabriel, sang commercial jingles...
and Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.-Biography:Vonda Shepard was born in New...
. The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
incorporated verses from "Young At Heart" during concert performances of "Why Can't I Be You?
Why Can't I Be You?
Why Can't I Be You? is a 1987 single by The Cure from their album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.-History:The German CD single was the first for the band...
" (widely available on bootlegs). Wild Man Fischer
Wild Man Fischer
Larry Wayne Fischer , better known as Wild Man Fischer, was an American songwriter in the outsider genre. He was notable for being responsible for Rhino Records' first release, Go To Rhino Records...
recorded an eccentric version that was included on The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records is a compilation album released by Rhino Records in 1983. It features mostly novelty songs, parodies and cover versions of popular songs, performed very poorly...
.