Black Coffee (1948 song)

"Black Coffee" is a song. The music was written by Sonny Burke (based on the 1938 piece "What's Your Story Morning Glory" composed by Mary Lou Williams), the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was published in 1948. Sarah Vaughan charted with this song in 1949 on Columbia. Peggy Lee first released her version in 1953, and in 1956 it was included on her debut album Black Coffee. It was included in the soundtrack for the 1960 Columbia Pictures feature Let No Man Write My Epitaph, recorded on Verve by Ella Fitzgerald, also in 1960. The version by Ella Fitzgerald was a favourite song of Polish Nobel Prize laureate Wisława Szymborska who chose it as the song to be performed at her funeral.^[1]

Cover versions

Other versions of "Black Coffee" were performed by:

• Martha Hayes on her album A Hayes Named Martha (1956)
• Ray Charles on his album The Great Ray Charles (1957)
• Bobby Darin on his album This Is Darin (1960)^[2]
• Julie London – Around Midnight (1960), The Ultimate Collection (2005)
• Chris Connor – Double Exposure (with Maynard Ferguson) (1961)
• Earl Grant on his albums Midnight Sun (1962) and In Motion (1968)
• Rosemary Clooney on her album Thanks for Nothing (1964)
• Sonny Criss – This Is Criss (1966)
• Ruth Brown on the Thad Jones Mel Lewis album The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis (1968)^[3]
• Petula Clark on her album The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
• The Pointer Sisters on the album That's a Plenty (1974)
• Roseanna Vitro on her debut album Listen Here (1984)
• Janis Siegel on the album At Home (1987)
• k.d. lang on the album Shadowland (1988)
• Carmen McRae on the album Sarah: Dedicated to You (1991)
• Sinéad O'Connor on the album Am I Not Your Girl? (1992)
• Diane Schuur on her covers album In Tribute (1992)
• Elkie Brooks on her album Round Midnight (1993)
• Patricia Kaas on her album Café Noir (1996)
• Martina Topley-Bird and Tricky on the album Nearly God (1996)
• Alexia Vassiliou on her album In a Jazz Mood (1996)
• Nana Mouskouri on her live album Nana Swings (2003)
• Kimiko Itoh on her album Once You've Been in Love (2004)^[4]
• Barbara Lusch on Spotify (2004)
• Marianne Faithfull for her album Easy Come, Easy Go (2008)
• Anita Eccleston on her album Anita Eccleston Jazz EP (2011)^[5]
• Caroll Vanwelden on her album Don't Explain (2013)

References