Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)

"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941 popular song written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with Billie Holiday, for whom it was written, and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989.[1]

"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
Single by Billie Holiday
B-side"That Ole Devil Called Love"
Released1945 (1945)
RecordedOctober 4, 1944 and November 8, 1944
Genre
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman
Billie Holiday singles chronology
"Trav'lin' Light"
(1942)
"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
(1945)
"Don't Explain"
(1946)

Holiday's version reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and No. 16 on pop in 1945.[2] In July 1946, Charlie Parker recorded a rendition of "Lover Man" while he was intoxicated. Dial Records producer Ross Russell had to hold him up to the microphone during the recording.[3][4] Sonny Stitt played the song many times on alto saxophone in a virtuoso way, in the original key of D flat. Most jazz musicians, nevertheless, play the song in the key of F. Barbra Streisand recorded a version for her album Simply Streisand in 1967, and her version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[5]

Cover versions

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Charts

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Chart (1945) Peak
position
US Rhythm & Blues Records 5
US Cash Box Top 100 16
Chart (1967) Peak
position
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 29

References

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  1. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.org. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  2. ^ "Billie Holiday", Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Archived May 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ Fordham, John (24 September 2009). "50 great moments in jazz: Charlie Parker teams up with Ross Russell". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ^ Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 245–247. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  5. ^ "Barbra Streisand Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Gioia, Ted (2021). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. p. 274. ISBN 9780190087173.
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