"The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1937 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. Intended for an unproduced Paramount film titled Romance In The Rough, the studio's publishing division Famous Music reregistered and published the song in 1940. It was first recorded by Chick Bullock and his Orchestra on Vocalion. Despite numerous accounts to the contrary, the song was never scheduled for and does not appear in the 1938 Paramount film Romance in the Dark.
It is also heard in the 1940 recording "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ray Eberle, and by many others.
The song is on the Grammy-Award-winning album Come Away with Me by Norah Jones, at Track 14.
Lyrics
It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams come true
I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you'll only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you
Covers
The first big-selling version was recorded on April 28, 1940, by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with a vocal by Ray Eberle (Bluebird). This recording first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on July 20, 1940, and lasted eight weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 5.
Other popular versions around that time were recorded by Kay Kyser's orchestra (vocal: Harry Babbitt, Columbia catalog number 35488), by Dinah Shore with Paul Weston's orchestra (Bluebird), and by Eddy Howard with Lou Adrian's orchestra (Columbia).
In 1953, Bob Manning reached No. 16 on the pop charts with this song
The 1956 Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong album of duets, Ella & Louis, included a version of this song with Fitzgerald soloing vocally while Armstrong soloed both vocally and on trumpet. Accompaniment was provided by the small combo of the Oscar Peterson Trio featuring Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Herb Ellis on guitar, joined by Buddy Rich on drums. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine jazz chart and the top 10 of its pop chart.
German musician Marc Secara recorded the song with the Berlin Jazz Orchestra for the album You're Everything (2008). This was arranged for big band by Steve Gray.