Stories of Standards: “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”

Tune in to Jazz with Victor Cooper – weekdays from 6-9 a.m. MT – for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of this song all week long, starting Monday, July 16!

Stories of Standards is sponsored by ListenUp - If you love music, you’ll love ListenUp.

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” in 1939 for the Broadway musical “Too Many Girls”, a musical comedy about college life which was adapted as a movie the following year with a few cast changes; Lucille Ball was added (and met Desi Arnaz, who had been in the original show), as were Richard Carlson, Ann Miller, and Van Johnson. The song made the charts twice, both times in 1939: Benny Goodman’s recording peaked at #13, while Jimmy Dorsey’s also made #13.  In addition to the 1940 movie, “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” was also used in the 1959 “Pal Joey”, where it was sung by Frank Sinatra, and “A League of Their Own” (1992), sung by James Taylor. Starting with a phrase common at the time for drunk or disoriented, the tune and lyrics beautifully express someone realizing a great change of heart.

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) began writing when nine years old and eventually had two great partnerships: Lorenz Hart from 1919 until Hart’s death in 1943 and Oscar Hammerstein II from 1943 until 1960. Rodgers and Hart progressed from Broadway to Hollywood (1931-1935) back to Broadway. Over the course of his life, Rodgers wrote over 1000 songs and received what is called an EGOT – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony – in addition to a Pulitzer Prize, a distinction shared only by Marvin Hamlisch.

Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) began his career as a lyricist writing for amateur musicals with Richard Rodgers. Their procedure was generally for Hart to write the lyrics first, then for Rodgers to write the melody. Rodgers sometimes found it necessary to visit Hart and play the piano to encourage the production of lyrics. His verses ranged from romantic to cynical to enthusiastic to mournful, all brilliantly expressed. He suffered from depression, alcoholism, and a tragically low self-esteem. He received the Grammy Trustees Award and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical.