Linda Hillshafer
Tune in weekday mornings for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of “
After You’ve Gone.” Rodney Franks presents Stories of Standards Monday through Friday at 7:50 and 8:50 a.m..
Stories of Standards is sponsored by ListenUp.
“After You’ve Gone” was written in 1917 by Turner Layton, with lyrics by Henry Creamer, in order to bring some life to the failing road show “So Long, Letty.” The road show failed, but the song hooked audiences, and took off on a life of its own. Creamer and Layton apparently cut a trial record for Columbia in April 1918 which was rejected, but seems to have been the prototype for the recording by Albert Campbell and Henry Burr, which was released just eleven days later. “After You’ve Gone” is one of the three most frequently recorded pre-1920s jazz songs. While several artists recorded copies within a year, Marion Harris’ recording was the most popular, having gone to number one for three weeks