Today’s Song of the Day is “Lover Man,” originally recorded by Billie Holiday.
- “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) is a poignant love song written in 1941 by Jimmy Davis, Roger “Ram” Ramirez, and James Sherman.
- In her 1956 autobiography Lady Sings the Blues, Holiday reveals that Davis wrote “Lover Man” while in the Army and brought it straight to her. Before they could record the song, the Army shipped Davis back to Europe, and Holiday never saw him again.
- Though first published in 1942, a dispute between the musician’s union and record companies delayed the song’s recording until 1944.
- Holiday loved the song so much that she decided she didn’t want to record it with an ordinary six-piece band. She begged her friend Milt Gabler at Decca Records to arrange for an orchestra to join her in the recording studio, and the rest is history.
- Artists who’ve recorded versions of the song include Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, and Patti LaBelle.
- Sarah Vaughan recorded the song in 1945, backed by an instrumental ensemble that included Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
- Billie Holiday’s rendition of “Lover Man” reached number 5 on the R&B Chart in 1945 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989.
Lyrics:
I don’t know why but I’m feeling so sad
I long to try something I never had
Never had no kissing
Oh, what I’ve been missing
Lover man, oh, where can you be
The night is cold and I’m so alone
I’d give my soul just to call you my own
Got a moon above me
But no one to love me
Lover man, oh, where can you be
I’ve heard it said
That the thrill of romance
Can be like a heavenly dream
I go to bed with a prayer
That you’ll make love to me
Strange as it seems
Someday we’ll meet
And you’ll dry all my tears
Then whisper sweet
Little things in my ear
Hugging and a kissing
Oh, what we’ve been missing
Lover man, oh, where can you be
I’ve heard it said
That the thrill of romance
Can be like a heavenly dream
I go to bed with a prayer
That you’ll make love to me
Strange as it seems
Someday we’ll meet
And you’ll dry all my tears
Then whisper sweet
Little things in my ear
Hugging and a kissing
Oh, what we’ve been missing
Lover man, oh, where can you be