Comin’ Home Baby! is a 1962 studio album by Mel Tormé
Comin’ Home Baby
“Comin’ Home Baby” is a song originally written as an instrumental by Ben Tucker and first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961, and shortly thereafter by Herbie Mann. Lyrics were added by Bob Dorough, and the vocal version became a US Top 40 hit for American jazz singer Mel Tormé in 1962. The song has since been covered numerous times.
The tune was first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet on 6 October 1961, and issued on 2 Feet in the Gutter. It was composed by Dave Bailey’s bassist, Ben Tucker. The original musicians were Frank Haynes (tenor saxophone), Bill Hardman (trumpet), Billy Gardner (piano), Ben Tucker (bass), and Dave Bailey (drums).
The tune was then recorded six weeks later by Herbie Mann, live at the Village Gate, with Tucker again on bass. Mann’s recording, produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and released by Atlantic Records in 1962, became popular and drew wider attention to the tune.
Tucker then persuaded his friend, lyricist Bob Dorough (later of Schoolhouse Rock! fame), to write a lyric for the tune, and producer Nesuhi Ertegun persuaded singer Mel Tormé, who had recently joined the Atlantic label, to record it. Tormé was initially reluctant to record the song, and later wrote that: “It was a minor-key blues tune with trite repetitious lyrics and an ‘answer’ pattern to be sung by the Cookies, a girl trio that had once worked for Ray Charles”. The recording took place in New York City on 13 September 1962.
Despite Tormé’s reservations, his version of the song, with an arrangement by Claus Ogerman, rose to no.36 on the Billboard pop chart in November 1962, becoming his biggest hit since the early 1950s; it reached no.13 on the UK singles chart. It was also the title track of his album Comin’ Home Baby! (with added exclamation mark). Tormé’s recording was nominated as Best Male Solo Vocal Performance and Best Rhythm and Blues Performance at the 1963 Grammy Awards.
“Comin’ Home Baby” was recorded by Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, and released as the fifth and final single from his third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible. The single was released on April 25, 2008, exclusively in Germany. It features vocals from the Grammy Award-winning vocal harmony group Boyz II Men. No video was filmed for the song, and there was little to no promotion, causing the release to not appear in any major charts worldwide, with the exception of Germany, where the song peaked at #17. The digital download package features a new remix of the track from Frank Popp. A physical version of the single was also made available in Germany.
Released 1962 Recorded July 11–September 13, 1962 Genre Vocal jazz Length 54:31 Label Atlantic Producer Nesuhi Ertegun
Track listing
“Comin’ Home Baby!” (Bob Dorough, Ben Tucker) – 2:41 “Dat Dere” (Oscar Brown, Jr., Bobby Timmons) – 2:58 “The Lady’s in Love with You” (Burton Lane, Frank Loesser) – 3:01 “Hi-Fly” (Jon Hendricks, Randy Weston) – 3:13 “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (Irving Berlin) – 2:23 “Walkin'” (Richard Carpenter) – 2:59 “Moanin'” (Hendricks, Timmons) – 3:03 “Sing You Sinners” (Sam Coslow, W. Franke Harling) – 2:27 “Whisper Not” (Leonard Feather, Benny Golson) – 2:49 “On Green Dolphin Street” (Bronislaw Kaper, Ned Washington) – 2:56 “Sidney’s Soliloquy” (Jimmy Wisner) – 2:30 “Right Now” (Herbie Mann, Carl Sigman) – 2:12
Personnel
Recorded July 11 – September 13, 1962, in Los Angeles:
Mel Tormé – Vocals, drums Shorty Rogers – Arranger and conductor Claus Ogerman – Arranger and conductor on “Comin’ Home Baby!” and “Right Now” Joe Burnett – Trumpet Ollie Mitchell – Trumpet Al Porcino – Trumpet Ray Triscari – Trumpet Milt Bernhart – Trombone Harry Betts – Trombone Kenny Shroyer – Trombone John Kitzmiller – Tuba Bud Shank – Woodwind Buddy Collette – Woodwind Bob Cooper – Woodwind Bill Hood – Woodwind Gene Estes – Vibraphone Mike Wofford – Piano Joe Mondragon – Bass Larry Bunker – Drums The Cookies – Background vocals Nesuhi Ertegun – Producer (“supervised by”) Bones Howe and Tom Dowd – Recording engineers Nat Hentoff – Liner Notes
