“Li’l Darlin” | Stories of Standards

Written in 1957 by composer, arranger and trumpeter Neal Hefti, “Li’l Darlin’” was arranged for the Count Basie band, who  introduced the song.

In Visions of Jazz: The First Century, Gary Giddins said, “In the enduring ‘Li’l Darlin’,’ [Hefti] tested the band’s temporal mastery with a slow and simple theme that dies if it isn’t played at exactly the right tempo. Basie never flinched.”

Tune in to First Take with Chavis and Lando - weekdays from 6-9 am MT – for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of this song all week long!

Jon Hendricks penned a lyric for “Li’l Darlin’” which Lambert, Hendricks & Ross recorded with Basie in 1958. Hendricks & Company recorded the tune in 1982, and vocalists Mark Murphy (1961) and Kurt Elling (2001) also recorded Hendricks’ lyric.

In 1959 Bart Howard, who wrote “Fly Me to the Moon,” copyrighted a new lyric for the Hefti tune, calling it “Don’t Dream of Anybody But Me,” a title which often appends “Li’l Darlin’” in parentheses. Mel Torme sang this version with the Basie band on Judy Garland’s television show. Both Bobby Darin and Mabel Mercer recorded Howard’s lyric in 1960, and Ella Fitzgerald sang it on a 1971 release.

The two lyrics vary in sentiment. Hendricks expresses security in his love relationship, saying “My li’l darlin’ only loves me:” Don’t need no palace paved with gold/Don’t need more cash than banks could hold/When I get to feelin’ a feelin’/For something there ain’t too much of/My sweet l’il darlin’ gives me her love.