Night And Day (1947)

As Frank Sinatra gained in popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he frequently tried to convince his boss, Tommy Dorsey, to allow him to record his own sessions. In addition, he wanted to record ballads accompanied by a lush string orchestra. Sinatra felt that a string section provided the perfect cushion for his voice. Finally in 1941 Dorsey agreed and allowed Sinatra to record his own session and have Axel Stordahl write the arrangements. Stordahl had started with Dorsey as a trumpet player and vocalist but had built a solid reputation as a skilled arranger. Sinatra picked four tunes for his January 19, 1942 Hollywood recording session: The Night We Called It a Day (written for him by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis), The Lamplighter's Serenade, The Song Is You, and this arrangement of Cole Porter's Night and Day. Stordahl conducted a studio orchestra with members of the Dorsey band filling out the woodwind and rhythm section chairs. Tommy Dorsey did not attend the session. The 78s were released by Bluebird with the series titled Frank Sinatra with Orchestra Conducted by Axel Stordahl. Night and Day became a hit reaching number 16 on the charts. It was clear from Sinatra's performance of this tune that he was destined for stardom. In 1947, after having achieved international fame, he decided to re-record this same arrangement. This is one of the most important arrangements of the 1940s and also in Frank Sinatra's career. In addition to recording it in the studio twice, he also performed it live on the radio numerous times in the 1940s. This publication has been prepared using the original 1942 parts (which were re-used for the 1947 recording). The vocal key is D.