"ANGEL EYES" (1947)

Composer Matt Dennis wasn’t happy with the title of the song that he and his lyricist, Earl Brent, had just written: "Have Another Beer on Me’’ didn’t sound right. Brent changed the song’s title to "Angel Eyes" and a saloon ballad to rival "One for My Baby" was born.
Although one of the most covered jazz standards now, "Angel Eyes" had some bad breaks when it was first recorded. Dennis credited Ella Fitzgerald with popularizing the song. He recalled "I wrote it in 1947 and had a hell of a time getting it going, even with monumental starts. First, Herb Jeffries did it, but the (record) company folded. Then Nat Cole did it and I was in seventh heaven, but it got lost because it was on the flip side of a hit called ‘Return to Paradise.’ Finally, Ella (Fitzgerald) recorded it for (producer) Norman Granz. She's done it four times since. I'm thrilled because she's always included it in her shows." Fitzgerald first recorded the song in 1952 with Sy Oliver and his Orchestra and often described it as one of her favorite songs; another favorite of hers was "Something to Live For." A New York Times article speculated, "Because both songs are sad, they hint at feelings that Fitzgerald kept mostly to herself, since she infused everything she performed with a sense of joy and almost heavenly confidence." Dennis himself was another early performer of "Angel Eyes"; he recorded it for the soundtrack of the 1953 film Jennifer, a creepy gothic thriller starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff.
"Angel Eyes" was the only hit produced by the songwriting team of Dennis and Earl Brent. Dennis, along with his chief collaborator, lyricist Thomas Adair, wrote several other jazz standards, including "Let’s Get Away From It All," "Everything Happens to Me," Violets for Your Furs," and "The Night We Called It a Day." Alex Wilder in American Popular Songs has this to say about Dennis: "He was, in fact, much more than a composer. He was a pianist, a singer, and I first began to hear about him when Tommy Dorsey hired him as an arranger-composer, an assignment I have never heard of again, except for Billy Strayhorn’s work with Duke Ellington." The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, in which Frank Sinatra was the vocalist, recorded many Dennis compositions. Although lyricist Brent now is known primarily for writing the lyrics to "Angel Eyes," in the 1940s he wrote songs for many film scores.
After Frank Sinatra had become a solo performer, he recorded "Angel Eyes" on his legendary 1958 album Frank Sinatra Sings For Only the Lonely. His rendition has been called the definitive version of the song, and today the song is most closely associated with him. He excelled at singing drinking songs and claimed, "Being a saloon singer, that’s my racket." His treatment of "Angel Eyes" displayed the master in peak form. Instead of beginning "Angel Eyes" at the chorus, as do most singers, he began at the release, "So drink up all you people", which proved to be very effective and moving. In 1971 Sinatra announced his retirement at age 55, and began his series of farewell concerts. He closed these concerts with "Angel Eyes", exiting the stage after singing the last line, "Excuse me while I disappear." Despite this dramatic finale, Sinatra didn’t stay retired, returning to the stage in 1973 and continuing to perform and record until 1995.