Once Upon a Summertime

For the albums, see Once Upon a Summertime (Blossom Dearie album) and Once Upon a Summertime (Chet Baker album).

"Once Upon a Summertime" is the title of the American version (with lyrics from Johnny Mercer) of a French song written by Michel Legrand, Eddie Barclay and Eddy Marnay.

The French original is La valse des lilas.^[1]

Notable recordings

• Blossom Dearie – Once Upon a Summertime (1958), Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's (1966)
• Tony Bennett – I Wanna Be Around (1963)
• Miles Davis – Quiet Nights (1963)
• Sarah Vaughan – Star Eyes (1963)
• Monica Zetterlund and Bill Evans – Waltz for Debby (1964)
• Carmen Mcrae – Second To None (1964)
• Astrud Gilberto – Look to the Rainbow (1966)^[2]
• Barbra Streisand – Je m'appelle Barbra (1966)
• Oscar Peterson – Walking the Line (1970)
• June Christy – Impromptu (1977) with the Lou Levy Sextet
• Chet Baker – Once Upon a Summertime (1977)
• Maria Farantouri – 17 Songs (1990)
• Betty Carter – It's Not About the Melody (1992)
• Betty Carter with Vienna Art Orchestra - Quiet Ways: Ballads (1997)^[3]

References

1. Versions and release dates of "La valse des lilas" and "Once Upon a Summertime", Secondhandsongs.com
2. Look to the Rainbow – Astrud Gilberto – AllMusic
3. "Discography 90s". Vao.at. Retrieved 26 April 2021.