Young at Heart (Frank Sinatra song)
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“Young at Heart” | |
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Song by Frank Sinatra | |
Published | 1953 by Sunbeam Music |
Released | January 1954 |
Recorded | December 1953 |
Genre | Traditional pop, vocal pop |
Label | Capitol Records |
Composer(s) | Johnny Richards |
Lyricist(s) | Carolyn Leigh |
“Young at Heart” is a pop standard ballad with music by Johnny Richards and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh.
Development and first release
The song was written and published in 1953, with Leigh contributing the lyrics to what was originally a Richards instrumental called “Moonbeam”. Frank Sinatra was the first performer to record the song, which became a million-selling hit in late 1953 (and spilling over with popularity into 1954) where it reached the No. 2 spot in the Billboard chart.
The song was such a hit that a movie Sinatra was filming at the same time with Doris Day was renamed to match the song title, and the song was included in the opening and closing credits of the movie.
Recordings
Although Frank Sinatra was the first performer to record the song, many other performers who have recorded versions of “Young at Heart” include
- Bing Crosby (charting briefly in 1954 at the number 24 spot),
- Rosemary Clooney (on her album While We’re Young),
- Perry Como (on his 1960 album For the Young at Heart)
- Connie Francis (1961)
- Jimmy Durante (1963)
- Barry Manilow (on his album The Greatest Songs of the Fifties)
- Michael Bublé (on his album To Be Loved)
- Willie Nelson (on his 2018 album My Way)
- David Saks (2023)
- Cyrille Aimée
- Ally McBeal – Young at Heart
- Young At Heart – 101 Strings Orchestra! (Lyrics) (1953) Beautiful 4K Music Video!
On the 1988 TV Special, Magic in the Magic Kingdom, George Burns sang “Young at Heart” during a musical break.
In 2016, at age 90, Dick Van Dyke recorded a duet with his wife, Arlene, at Capitol Records Studio in Los Angeles, filmed for the HBO special on aging If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, starring Carl Reiner and featuring Mel Brooks, Norman Lear, Stan Lee, Betty White and others over 90 years old. Van Dyke was recorded using Frank Sinatra’s microphone.
Wild Man Fischer recorded an eccentric version that was included on The Rhino Brothers Present the World’s Worst Records.
The song has also been used on the soundtracks of other films, including
- The Front (1976),
- Sweet Dreams (1985),
- City Slickers (1991) (Jimmy Durante version),
- It Could Happen to You (1994),
- Space Cowboys (2000) (in a rendition by Willie Nelson)
- 2016 Summer Olympics featurette from Gatorade
The Cure incorporated verses from “Young at Heart” during concert performances of “Why Can’t I Be You?” (widely available on bootlegs).
Music
- “Young at Heart” (Frank Sinatra song), a 1953 pop standard written by Johnny Richards and Carolyn Leigh, covered by many performers
- “Young at Heart” (Amy Meredith song)
- “Young at Heart” (Bananarama song), also covered by The Bluebells
- Young at Heart (Doris Day and Frank Sinatra album), a soundtrack album from the 1954 film
- Young at Heart (Howard McGhee and Teddy Edwards album), a 1979 jazz album
- Young at Heart (James Young album), a 1966 comedy album
- Young at Heart, a 1960 album by Ray Conniff
- Young at Heart/Wise in Time, a 1974 album by Muhal Richard Abrams
- Young@Heart, an American chorus group
Film
- Young at Heart (1954 film), a film starring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day
- Young at Heart (1987 film), a film that received an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
- Young at Heart (1995 film), a television movie starring Olympia Dukakis
- Young@Heart (film), a 2008 documentary film about the group Young@Heart
Television
- “Young at Heart” (2point4 children), an episode of 2point4 children
- “Young at Heart” (American Dragon: Jake Long), an episode of American Dragon: Jake Long
- “Young at Heart” (The Honeymooners), an episode of The Honeymooners
- “Young at Heart” (The X-Files), an episode of The X-Files
- Young at Heart (1960 TV series), a UK music television series presented by Jimmy Savile
- Young at Heart (1980 TV series), a UK sitcom starring John Mills
Young at Heart (1955 film)
Young at Heart | |
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| |
Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
Screenplay by | Lenore J. Coffee, Julius J. Epstein, Liam O’Brien (adaptation) |
Story by | Fannie Hurst |
Based on | Sister Act 1937 story in Hearst’s International Cosmopolitan by Fannie Hurst |
Produced by | Henry Blanke |
Starring | Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore |
Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
Edited by | William H. Ziegler |
Music by | Ray Heindorf |
Production company | Arwin Productions |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | December 1954, January 20, 1955 (New York City) |
Running time | 117 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.5 million (US) |
Young at Heart is a 1954 American musical film starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra, and directed by Gordon Douglas. Its supporting cast includes Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Alan Hale Jr., and Dorothy Malone. The picture was the first of five films that Douglas directed involving Sinatra, and was a remake of the 1938 film Four Daughters.
Plot
When songwriter Alex Burke enters the lives of the musical Tuttle family, each of the three daughters falls for him. The family lives in the fictional town of Strafford, Connecticut. His personality is a match for Laurie Tuttle, and they are seemingly made for each other.
When a friend of Alex’s, Barney Sloan, comes to the Tuttle home to help with some musical arrangements, complications arise. Barney’s bleak outlook on life couldn’t be any more contradictory to Alex’s, and Laurie tries to change his negative attitude. Meanwhile, Laurie’s two other sisters, Fran, who is engaged to Bob, and Amy, have feelings for Alex.
The family welcomes Barney into their lives, but a feeling of genuine self-worth escapes him, though he is falling in love with Laurie. Alex proposes to Laurie, and she accepts, which causes Fran to finally marry Bob, and devastates Amy. Aunt Jessie is seemingly the only one who knows Amy loves Alex.
When Laurie goes to see Barney about attending the wedding, he tells her he loves her, and that Amy loves Alex, but Laurie doesn’t believe him until she goes home and sees Amy crying. She then leaves Alex at the altar, and elopes with Barney.
At Christmas, Laurie and Barney go home for the holiday. Laurie tells Amy how much she loves Barney, and that she is pregnant, though she hasn’t told him yet. Amy has since fallen in love with Ernie.
Alex is also there for the holiday, and has found success. With a black cloud perpetually hanging over his head, Barney decides to go with Bob to take Alex to the train. He drops Bob off at the store, and after dropping Alex at the train, he decides to kill himself, feeling that Laurie would be better off with Alex, as he would be a better provider.
Barney drives into oncoming traffic during a snowstorm, with his windshield wipers off. He survives, and, with a newfound affirmation of life, finally writes the song he had been working on, finding his self-esteem in the arms of Laurie and their new baby.
Cast
- Doris Day – Laurie Tuttle
- Frank Sinatra – Barney Sloan
- Gig Young – Alex Burke
- Ethel Barrymore – Jessie Tuttle
- Dorothy Malone – Fran Tuttle
- Elisabeth Fraser – Amy Tuttle
- Robert Keith – Gregory Tuttle
- Alan Hale Jr. – Robert Neary
- Lonny Chapman – Ernest “Ernie” Nichols
Score and soundtrack
When this film was released, the conductor Ray Heindorf was not given credit, because of the new ruling at that time that stated that he had to be credited as a “Music Supervisor and conducted by” policy, which he disliked. This is one of the Warner musicals that bears no credit to any composer or conductor.
Songs from the soundtrack were released as an album by Frank Sinatra and Doris Day, also titled Young at Heart. An abridged EP entitled Frank Sinatra Sings Songs from “Young at Heart” peaked at #11 on Billboard‘s “Best Selling EP’s” chart while the single reached #2 and was considered Sinatra’s comeback single after several years away from the top of the pop singles chart. So popular was the song “Young at Heart” that the film was also titled Young at Heart, having had no title until the song’s success. The song’s popularity led to its being used not only for the title, but also for music over the opening and closing credits.
Young at Heart (Doris Day and Frank Sinatra album)
Young at Heart | |
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Soundtrack album by Doris Day and Frank Sinatra | |
Released | November 1, 1954 |
Genre | Traditional pop |
Label | Columbia |
Doris Day chronology | |
Calamity Jane (1953)Young at Heart (1954)Love Me or Leave Me (1955) | |
Frank Sinatra chronology | |
Swing Easy (1954)Young at Heart (1954)In the Wee Small Hours (1955) |
Young at Heart was a 10″ LP album [1] released by Columbia Records as catalog number CL-6331, on November 1, 1954, containing songs sung by Doris Day and Frank Sinatra from the soundtrack of the movie Young at Heart. The UK version, released by Philips Records as catalog number BBR 8040, featured 5 Doris Day songs (excluding “Just One of Those Things“) and 3 Sinatra tracks (replacing “Someone to Watch Over Me” with “You Can Take My Word For It Baby” and “I’m Glad There Is You“, which were not featured in the film).
On May 31, 2004 the album was reissued, combined with You’re My Thrill, as a compact disk by Sony BMG Music Entertainment. (In fact, though the CD was entitled “You’re My Thrill/Young at Heart,” the four added tracks that were added to “You’re My Thrill” when it was retitled “Day Dreams” were included, as well as four extra tracks not included in either album originally.)
Track listing
- Young At Heart (Main Title)
2. “Till My Love Comes to Me” (Paul Francis Webster, based on Mendelssohn’s “On Wings of Song”) (Doris Day)
3. “Ready, Willing and Able” (Floyd Huddleston, Al Rinker, Dick Gleason) (Doris Day)
4. “Hold Me in Your Arms” (Ray Heindorf, Charles Henderson, Don Pippin) (Doris Day)
5. “Someone to Watch Over Me” (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) (Frank Sinatra)
6. “Just One of Those Things” (Cole Porter) (Doris Day)
7, “There’s A Rising Moon” (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) (Doris Day)
8. “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) (Frank Sinatra)
9. “You My Love” (Mack Gordon/Jimmy Van Heusen) (Doris Day)
Watch the movie
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