"I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, with music written by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and lyrics by Don George and published in 1944.
Quick Facts Song, Published ...
Close
- A competing recording by Harry James and his Orchestra,[5] with lead vocals by Kitty Kallen, reached No. 1 for two weeks in January 1945. James' version also reached No. 7 on Billboard's Second Annual High School Survey in 1945.[6]
- Oscar Alemán (1946)
- Gerry Mulligan, on Gerry Mulligan with Chet Baker (1955)
- Count Basie and Joe Williams, on The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (1956)
- Mel Tormé, on Mel Tormé At The Crescendo (1957)
- Connie Francis (1958)
- Peggy Lee, on Things Are Swingin' (1958)
- Johnnie Ray (1958)
- Joanie Sommers, on Positively the Most! (1960)
- Mary Stallings and Cal Tjader, on Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings (1961)
- Bobby Darin (1962); featured in the 1996 feature film Swingers.
- Frank Sinatra (1962), on "Sinatra And Swingin' Brass"
- Ella and Basie!, a 1963 Verve Records release with arrangements by Quincy Jones.
- Clare Fischer, on Songs for Rainy Day Lovers (1967)
- Bob Dorough with Bill Takas, on Beginning to See the Light (1976)
- Billy Eckstine has recorded the song on several occasions, including versions with Billy May, with Quincy Jones, with Bobby Tucker and with Gil Askey.
- Kate Ceberano, on Kate Ceberano and her Septet (1986)
- Natalie Cole, on Take a Look (1993)
- Peggy Lee, on Spotlight on Peggy Lee (1995)
- Dee Dee Bridgewater, on Prelude to a Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album (1996)
- Rosemary Clooney, on Out of This World (2000)
- The Hi-Lo's, on A Musical Thrill (2006)
- Royce Campbell, on Get Happy (2007)
- Joe Jackson, on his Ellington tribute album, The Duke (2012)
- Karen Souza, on Velvet Vault (2017)
- Seal, on Standards (2017)
Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 185.
Smith, Kathleen E.R. (28 March 2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 167. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.