Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)

"Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)", also known as "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", is a popular song published in 1944 with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn.^[1]

Background

Although it has been interpreted as referring to the separation of romantic partners during wartime,^[2][3] Cahn said that song actually refers to show business people who are not working on Saturday night.^[1][4]

1945 recordings

Charted versions in 1945 were by Frank Sinatra^[5] (recorded November 14, 1944, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 36762),^[6] (No. 2 in the charts), Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra (vocal by Nancy Norman) (No. 6), Frankie Carle and His Orchestra (vocal by Phyllis Lynne) (No. 8), Woody Herman and His Orchestra (vocal by Frances Wayne) (No. 15) and by The King Sisters (No. 15).^[7]

Other versions

• Frank Sinatra - recorded November 29, 1957 for Capitol Records^[8]
• Julie London - for her album For the Night People (1966)
• Rosemary Clooney - for her album For the Duration (1991)
• Barry Manilow - Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998)

Popular culture

• Sinatra also sang the song in the short The All-Star Bond Rally (1945).^[9]

References

1. Cahn, Sammy (2002). Sammy Cahn's Rhyming Dictionary. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. xxxix. ISBN 9781575606224. I can go out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but if you're in show business, Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week.
2. Holloway, Diane (2001). American History in Song: Lyrics from 1900 to 1945. Authors Choice Press. p. 428. ISBN 9780595193318. For the first few months of the year [1945], songs of loneliness still abounded until servicemen returned to the states.
3. Coley, Jack (September 2, 2009). "A cultural tour of the World War II era". Alexander City Outlook.
4. Lasser, Michael (2014). America's Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years. Routledge. p. 199. ISBN 9781135094522. Cahn explained that Saturday night is for 'civilians,' but people in the business who aren't working stay home.
5. Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #14 - All Tracks UNT Digital Library". University of North Texas. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
6. "Columbia Records in the 36500 to 36999 series". 78discography.com.
7. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research. p. 575. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
8. "Frank Sinatra Discography". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
9. "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.