"It's Been A Long, Long Time" is a 1945 popular song that
became a major hit at the end of World War II. The lyrics are
written from the perspective of a person welcoming home his or
her spouse or lover at the end of the war.
The music was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy
Cahn. A recording by Harry James with vocal by Kitty Kallen
reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on November 24, 1945.
An alternate version by Bing Crosby accompanied by The Les Paul
Trio was also working its way up the charts. It replaced the
James' version at #1 on December 8, 1945. Crosby's lasted a
week at #1, ousted by Sammy Kaye's "Chickery Chick." The Harry
James recording then returned to the top spot on December 22
for another week.
In 1945 it was standard practice in the record industry for
labels to release "competing" versions of hit songs. Other
recordings of "It's Been A Long, Long Time" that charted in
1945 were recorded by Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra (with
vocal by Irene Daye) and Stan Kenton & His Orchestra (vocal
by June Christy).
Crosby's version features some memorable guitar by Les Paul,
who recalled in an interview printed in
Mojomagazine: "Bing was a sucker for guitar and that
particular song was a case of you don't have to play a lot of
notes, you just have to play the right notes."
The song quickly became a pop standard, with well received
versions recorded by June Haver & Dan Dailey (1950), Perry
Como (1956), Al Hibbler (1956), Peggy Lee(1959), Keely Smith
(1959), Louis Armstrong (1964), and Tom Jones (1966). Frank
Sinatra did not make a studio recording of the song, but sang a
version on his radio show that has appeared on many Sinatra
compilation albums.
Other artists who have recorded it include Guy Mitchell,
Sammy Cahn, Shelley Fabares, Sammy Kaye, The Ink Spots, Tina
Louise, Jimmy Roselli, Brook Benton, Rosemary Clooney, Chet
Atkins (with Les Paul on their album Chester and Lester) and
Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner on his 1991
album,
Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back.