“Trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker’s vocal rendition from 1954 helped bring the number into a wider sphere than just jazz fans.” - Chris Tyle

Rank 43 Music Harry Warren Lyrics Mack Gordon   “There Will Never Be Another You” was one of the bright spots in Twentieth Century-Fox’s 1942 film Iceland. John Payne serenaded costar Sonja Henie with the song, and Joan Merrill sang it backed by Sammy Kay and His Orchestra.     More on John Payne       More on Joan Merrill   A modest hit at the time, “There Will Never Be Another You” appeared on the pop charts by: Woody Herman and His Orchestra (1942, #23) Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra (1943, Nancy Norman, vocal, #20) Chris Montez (1966, #33)   Chart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954   With the production of Iceland, Twentieth Century-Fox was hoping to repeat the success of Sun Valley Serenade. Although the film company employed the same director, H. Bruce Humberstone, and cast the same leads, Sonja Henie and John Payne, the lavish production did not measure up to its predecessor. The film was even described as a “Wheezy old bore” by Clive Hirschhorn, author of Hollywood Musicals. Audiences, too, were indifferent, apparently not enamored of the lightweight plot revolving around a marine and a Reykjavik girl. On the positive side, the skating sequences are some of Henie’s best and the musical score, although uneven, had its own captivating moments, including “There Will Never Be Another You,” “You Can’t Say No To A Soldier” and “It’s a Lover’s Knot.”     More on Harry Warren       More on Mack Gordon

More information on this tune... Allen Forte Listening to Classic American Popular Songs Yale University Press; Book & CD edition Hardcover: 219 pages (In six pages the author covers the history of the song, analyzes both the music and lyric, and includes the song lyric. The book also has a companion CD.) See the Reading and Research page for this tune for additional references. - Jeremy Wilson

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with “There Will Never Be Another You.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and CD Recommendations sections.

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“There Will Never Be Another You” has historically lent itself very well to performances by singers and players with the ability to swing light-heartedly. Chet Baker’s trumpet and vocals share the stage on his classic 1954 recording (Young Chet), swinging gently with his West Coast rhythm section. Count Basie’s 1956 version with the vocals of Joe Williams (The Greatest! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards) has a very different feel from Baker’s, but shares the trait of lighthearted swing.

Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator

At first blush, lyricist Mack Gordon’s sentiment in “There Will Never Be Another You” sounds complimentary and romantic, at least by virtue of its hook phrase. The verse tells a different tale, one emotionally mixed, of two lovers parting. The refrain describes the “other” nights, lovers, songs, seasons, and lips that lie in store, though “There Will Never Be Another You.”

The lyrics are unusual for a Tin Pan Alley song; the pure sweet sentiment seems out of place in the context of an impending breakup. In a 1940’s Hollywood film score, however, it makes perfect sense, the parting only a temporary diversion to create drama – with a happy ending being less than an hour away.

With its A-B1-A-B2 form, the enduring strength of “There Will Never Be Another You” is Harry Warren’s unusual melody. In general, each A section comprises two long sequences of ascending quarter notes. The B sections more or less invert the idea containing, in the main, three descending sequences of quarter notes. The overall feeling then is that of rising and falling, moderated by brief changes of direction, with no true bridge. -JW

Musical analysis of “There Will Never Be Another You”
Original Key	Eb major
Form	A – B1 –A – B2
Tonality	Major throughout
Movement	Primarily scale-wise in both directions; few skips and only one upward leap in the entire piece
Comments     (assumed background)
This melody’s careful construction is what makes it memorable: a sequence of two virtually identical phrases, the second one played diatonically a third higher than the first, is followed by two more phrases that roughly mirror the opening ones. This is a fairly easy tune to learn and memorize and is one of the first tunes learned by the novice jazz performer. The harmonic progression of the first twelve measures is reminiscent of the “B” section of “Laura Lee” (a.k.a. “Love Me Tender”). Composer Warren, of course, uses chord substitutions – m7 and m7(b5) for secondary dominants – but the basic sequence (I – III7 – vi – I7 – IV –iv – I) is still intact. The last four measures of “B1” consist of a II7 – V7 turnaround returning to “A”, while “B2” uses IV – iv – I – iii – VI7 on its way out, skipping the ii7-V7 modulation and going directly back to I for the final four measures. The chords written in The Real Book are: Ebma7 – D7 – G7 – C7 in mm. 5-6 of “B2”; however, the melody here implies that Warren’s original changes were Ebma7 – Bb7(+5) – Eb6 – C7(+5) before ending on a ii7 – V7 – I cadence.
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

After Woody Herman’s initial recording of this tune in 1942, it dropped out of sight until being picked up again vibraphonist Lionel Hampton’s big band in 1950. That same year, talented saxophonist Sonny Stitt would record a version on tenor sax. (After the death of Charlie Parker, Stitt concentrated on alto.) One of the players who inspired Stitt (especially on tenor), Lester Young, laid down a recording of his own with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952.

The piano genius Art Tatum’s version for Verve in 1953 includes the seldom-heard verse. Trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker’s vocal rendition from 1954 helped bring the number into a wider sphere than just jazz fans. Indeed, the tune’s popularity continued with many subsequent jazz recordings.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

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Lionel Hampton Lionel Hampton 1950 Classics 1193 Sonny Stitt The Complete Prestige Sessions 1949-1950 Jazz Factory 22826 Lester Young, Oscar Peterson Trio Lester Young with Oscar Peterson Trio Verve Chet Baker Chet Baker: Young Chet Blue Note Records 36194 Original recording, 1956, Pacific Jazz Art Tatum Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Vo. 2 Pablo 2405433

“There Will Never Be Another You” was included in these films:

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• Iceland (1942, 1-John Payne, 2-Joan Merrill, Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra)
• I’ll Get By (1950)
• The World According to Garp (1982)
• The Cemetery Club (1993, Etta Cox)
• The Devil’s Own (1997)
• That Old Feeling (1997, Keely Smith)
• Kissing Jessica Stein (2002, Ernestine Anderson)
• Anything Else (2003, Lester Young)

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