Teach Me Tonight is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song that has become a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...

. The music was written by

Gene De Paul Gene Vincent de Paul (June 17, 1919 – February 27, 1988) was an American pianist, composer and songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II. He was married to Billye Louise Files (Novem ...

, the lyrics by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

. The song was published in 1953.

Early recordings

Five versions charted in 1954 and 1955: *Janet Brace was apparently first, making the Billboard chart on October 23, 1954, and eventually reaching No. 23
First recording from 1953
*

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

— No. 15 in 1954 *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

— a No. 4 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit in 1954, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 * Helen Grayco — No. 29 in 1954 *

The DeCastro Sisters The DeCastro Sisters were an American singing group. They originally consisted of Peggy DeCastro (1921–2004), Cherie DeCastro (1922–2010) and Babette DeCastro (1925–1992). When Babette retired in 1958, a cousin, Olgita DeCastro Marino (1931 ...

("It's Love" / "Teach Me Tonight", Abbott Record Co. 3001) — No. 2 in 1955. In addition, a 1959, re-recording entitled, "Teach Me Tonight Cha Cha" went to No. 76 on the Hot 100.

Other recordings

*In 1982,

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

included his version on " Breakin' Away" In the US, this version went to No. 70 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and No. 51 on the

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. In addition, it went to No.19 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. *A

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of the recording by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

and Levi Stubbs (with backing vocals by Stubbs' group

the Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

) appears on Wonder's 1965 album ''

Up-Tight ''Up-Tight'' (shown as ''Up-Tight Everything's Alright'' on the cover) is a 1966 album by American singer Stevie Wonder, released by Motown on the Tamla label. It was his fifth studio release. Production ''Up-Tight'' was recorded at Motown's s ...

''. *A 2020 version appears on

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

's American Standards album.

References

External links

"Teach Me Tonight" at jazzstandards.com
Songs with music by Gene de Paul Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn 1953 songs The DeCastro Sisters songs Abbott Records singles Jo Stafford songs Dinah Washington songs Helen Grayco songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub