I DIDN´T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS
Music: Richard Rodgers- Lyrics: Lorenz Hart
Year: 1939
Origin of the song
Marcy Westcott and Richards Kollmar sang ‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was’ during the second act of the musical Too Many Girls, released in the Imperial Theatre of New York on 18 October 1939 and which was performed two hundred and fourty nine times. The director was George Abbot and the leading artists Marcy Westcott, Diosa Costello, Eddie Bracken, and Desi Arnaz.
Before the play was released in theatres, Benny Goodman’s orchestra, with the singer Louise Tobin, had recorded this song on 13 September 1939 for the Columbia label and it reached the sixth position in the top charts.
The success of this musical in Broadway fostered its adaptation to the big screen. RKO Radio Pictures produced the film Too Many Girls (1940), directed by George Abbott and starring Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, and Ann Miller. Trudy Erwin dubbed Lucille in the songs. During the filming, Lucille met the Cuban drummer Desi Arnaz, who she married little after the film’s premiere.
Rodgers and Hart were the authors of about thirty musical shows, some as popular as A Connecticut Yankee (1927), Present Arms (1928), Ever Green (1930), Jumbo (1935), Babes in Arms (1937), The Boys from Syracuse (1938), and Pal Joey (1940).
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF
ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
Benny Goodman Orchestra |
1939.09.13 |
1939.10.28 |
13 |
6 |
Louise Tobin (voc) |
|
1939.10.20 |
1939.12.23 |
2 |
13 |
Bob Eberle (voc) |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF THE RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1949.06.28 |
Marjorie Hyams (vib), George Shearing (p), Chuck Wayne (g), John Levy (b), Denzil Best (d) |
|
|
1949.11.30 |
Charlie Parker (as), Stan Freeman (p), Ray Brown (b), Buddy Rich (d), Jimmy Carroll Orchestra |
|
|
1950.10.?? |
Dave Brubeck (p), Ron Crotty (b), Cal Tjader (d) |
|
|
1954.04.22 |
Art Tatum (p) |
|
|
Ruby Braff & Ellis Larkins |
1955.10.14 |
Ruby Braff (cnt), Ellis Larkins (p) |
|
1956.02.12 |
Roy Eldridge (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Lester Young (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), Freddie Green (g), Gene Ramey (b), Jo Jones (d) |
|
|
1957.10.13 |
Sonny Clark (p), Paul Chambers (b), Philly Joe Jones (d) |
|
|
1959.08.28 |
Curtis Fuller (tb), Benny Golson (ts), Ray Bryant (p), Paul Chambers (b), Art Blakey (d) |
|
|
1963.06.16 |
Freddie Hubbard (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Wayne Shorter (ts), Cedar Walton (p), Reggie Workman (b), Art Blakey (d) |
|
|
Buster Williams Quintet |
1989.03.09 |
Buster Williams (b), Wayne Shorter (ts, ss), Shunzo Ohno (tp), Herbie Hancock (p), Al Foster (d) |
|
Sweet Basil Trio |
1991.02.15 |
Cedar Walton (p), Ron Carter (b), Billy Higgins (d) |
|
1996.09.04 |
Brad Mehldau (p), Larry Grenadier (b), Jorge Rossy (d) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1939.09.13 |
Benny Goodman (cl, dir), Jimmy Maxwell, Ziggy Elman, Johnny Martel (tp), Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, Ted Vesley (tb), Toots Mondello, Buff Estes (as), Bus Bassey, Jerry Jerome (ts), Fletcher Henderson (p), Charlie Christian (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Nick Fatool (d), Louise Tobin (voc) |
|
|
1954.06.28 |
Anita O'Day (voc), Bud Lavine (p), Monty Budwig (b), John Poole (d) |
|
|
1956.08.29 |
Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Buddy Bregman Orchestra |
|
|
1957.01.04 |
Billie Holiday (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Ben Webster (ts), Jimmy Rowles (p), Barney Kessel (g), Red Mitchell (b), Alvin Stoller (d) |
|
|
1958.01.20 |
Dorothy Dandridge (voc), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Alvin Stoller (d) |
|
|
1988.02.?? |
Cassandra Wilson (voc), Mulgrew Miller (p), Lonnie Plaxico (b), Terri Lyne Carrington (d) |
|
|
1989.06.21 |
Carmen McRae (voc), Rob Bruynen, Jon Eardly, Andy Haderer (tp), Henning Berg, Roy Deuvall, Dave Horler, Bernt Laukamp (tb), Olivier Peters, Harald Rosenstein, Heiner Viberny (as), Rolf Römer (ts), Paul Peuker (bars), Eric Gunnison (p), Milan Lulic (g), Scott Colley (b), John Von Ohlen (d), John Clayton Jr. (dir) |
On cinemas
The song 'I Didn’t Know What Time It Was' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL
TITLE |
TITLE IN
SPAIN |
YEAR OF
PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Too Many Girls |
Demasiadas chicas |
1940 |
Lucille Ball (dubbed by Trudy Erwin) and Richard Carlson; Eddie Bracken |
|
Pal Joey |
Pal Joey |
1959 |
Frank Sinatra |
|
A League of Their Own |
Ellas dan el golpe |
1992 |
James Taylor |
|
In the Line of Fire |
En la línea de fuego |
1993 |
|