A Sleepin' Bee Explained

"A Sleepin' Bee" is a popular song composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Arlen and Truman Capote.^[1] It was introduced in the musical House of Flowers (1954) and performed by Diahann Carroll. While House of Flowers was a flop, "A Sleepin' Bee" became a standard of the American songbook.

Barbra Streisand referred to it as her favorite song, recorded it several times, and performed it in her national television debut in April 1961 on the "Jack Paar Show".^[2]

Mel Tormé's performance of the song in Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley was called "definitive" in The Penguin Guide to Jazz.^[3]

Selected recordings

• Ernestine Anderson - Ernestine Anderson (1958)^[4]
• Julie Andrews - Broadway's Fair Julie (1962)^[5]
• Tony Bennett - on the album Tony Sings for Two (1961)^[6]
• June Christy - Off-Beat (1960)^[7]
• Bill Evans - numerous versions including Trio 64 and Montreaux Jazz Festival^[8]
• Johnny Hartman - I Just Dropped By to Say Hello (1963)^[9]
• Carol Lawrence - on the album Tonight at 8:30 (1960)^[10]
• Carmen McRae - on the album Something to Swing About (1960)^[11]
• Jessye Norman - With a Song in My Heart (1990)^[12]
• Leontyne Price – Leontyne Price and Andre Previn (1967)
• Barbra Streisand - on the album The Barbra Streisand Album (1963)^[13]
• Mel Tormé - on the album Mel Tormé Swings Shubert Alley (1960)^[14]
• Nancy Wilson - Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley (1961)^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: A Sleepin' Bee . greatamericansongbook.net . December 28, 2018.
2. Book: Representation in Western Music. 11 April 2013 . Joshua S. Walden. Cambridge University Press. 73–74. 9781107311015.
3. The Penguin Guide to Jazz, 7th edition (2004), p. 1580.
4. Web site: Ernestine Anderson. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
5. Web site: Broadway's Fair Julie. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
6. Web site: Tony Sings for Two. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
7. Web site: Off Beat. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
8. Web site: Trio 64. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
9. Web site: I Just Dropped by to Say Hello. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
10. Web site: Tonight at 8:30. AllMusic. June 25, 2022.
11. Web site: Something to Swing About. AllMusic. June 25, 2022.
12. Web site: With a Song in My Heart. AllMusic. June 25, 2022.
13. Web site: The Barbra Streisand Album. AllMusic. June 25, 2022.
14. Web site: Swings Shubert Alley. AllMusic.com. June 25, 2022.
15. Web site: Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley. AllMusic. June 25, 2022.