Teach Me Tonight is a popular 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 l ...

. 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 (Nove ...

, 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 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 ...

hit in 1954, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 * Helen Grayco — No. 29 in 1954 * The DeCastro Sisters ("It's Love" / "Teach Me Tonight",

Abbott Record Co. Abbott Records was an American record label operated by music promoter and producer Fabor Robison from 1951 to about 1958. Abbott Records released mainly country and western music, rockabilly and — towards the end of its existence — mainstrea ...

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 and No. 51 on the Hot Soul Singles 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, quiet ...

chart. *A cover 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, sou ...

and

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He has ...

(with backing vocals by Stubbs' group

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

) 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 stu ...

''. *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 best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

'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