Music like CRY ME A RIVER

"Cry Me a River" is a popular American torch song, written by Arthur Hamilton, first published in 1953 and made famous in 1955 with the version by Julie London.

Arthur Hamilton later said of the song: "I had never heard the phrase. I just liked the combination of words... Instead of 'Eat your heart out' or 'I'll get even with you,' it sounded like a good, smart retort to somebody who had hurt your feelings or broken your heart." He was initially concerned that listeners would hear a reference to the Crimea, rather than "..cry me a...", but said that "..sitting down and playing the melody and coming up with lyrics made it a nonissue."

A bluesy jazz ballad, "Cry Me a River" was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald to sing in the 1920s-set film,Pete Kelly's Blues(released 1955), but the song was dropped. Fitzgerald first released a recording of the song onClap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!in 1961. The song was also offered to Peggy King, but Columbia Records A&R chief Mitch Miller objected to the word "plebeian" in the lyric and its first release was by actress/singer Julie London on Liberty Records in 1955, backed by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass. A performance of the song by London in the 1956 filmThe Girl Can't Help Ithelped to make it a bestseller (reaching no. 9 on US and no. 22 on UK charts). It became a gold record, and in 2016, it was inducted by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry.