"It's Always You" is a song written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film '' Road to Zanzibar''. In the film it was sung by Bing Crosby to

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour's character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard. The song is notable as it was the first that Crosby recorded by the Burke and Van Heusen team. They subsequently produced many hits for Crosby over the following years including the Oscar winner "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

". Burke had been writing for Crosby with Jimmy Monaco and it was planned that they would write the songs for "Road to Zanzibar". However Monaco fell ill and Van Heusen replaced him. Crosby recorded the song for Decca Records for commercial release on December 3, 1940 with

John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...

and his Orchestra. The success of the song was adversely affected by a strike of the broadcasting networks against ASCAP. Various recordings of the song were reissued in March 1943 when the dispute ended and the Famous Music Company, the publisher of the sheet music, launched a simultaneous drive. The song was also recorded by Frank Sinatra with the

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Band on January 15, 1941 and it charted in July 1943 when it was reissued reaching the No. 3 position. Glenn Miller, Chet Baker in 1956, and

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

made recordings of it too. June Christy included the song in her album ''

Fair and Warmer! ''Fair and Warmer!'' is a 1957 studio album by June Christy. The songs were arranged by Pete Rugolo, and players on the record include trumpeter Don Fagerquist, trombonist Frank Rosolino, altoist Bud Shank, and tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper (who ...

'' (1957) and Frank Sinatra recorded it again on May 3, 1961 and it was issued as a single by Reprise.

References

{{authority control 1941 songs Frank Sinatra songs Songs with music by Jimmy Van Heusen Songs with lyrics by Johnny Burke (lyricist) Songs written for films