"If I Could Be with You": Song history, Commentary, Discography, Performances on Video

Welcome to

Cafe Songbook

Internet Home of the
Songs, Songwriters and Performers of
The Great American Songbook

Home \|\| Songs \|\| Songwriters \|\| Performers \|\| Articles and Blogs \|\| Glossary \|\| About Cafe Songbook \|\| Contact/Submit Comment

Search Tips: 1) Click "Find on This Page" button to activate page search box. 2) When searching for a name (e.g. a songwriter), enter last name only. 3) When searching for a song title on the catalog page, omit an initial "The" or "A". 4) more search tips.

Portions of this page have not yet been completed. Thank you for your patience.
If I Could Be with You (one hour tonight)
Written: 1926	Music by: James P. Johnson	Words by: Henry Creamer	Written for: Independent Publication (not written for a Broadway show, revue,movie, etc.)
Page Menu
Main Stage \|\| Record/Video Cabinet \|\| Reading Room \|\| Posted Comments \|\| Credits

On the Main Stage at Cafe Songbook

(This section is currently in preparation.)

(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

Helen Humes, vocal
Count Basie, piano
(Clark Terry, trumpet; Buddy DeFranco, clarinet;
Wardell Gray, tenor sax; Freddie Green, guitar;
Jimmy Lewis, bass; Gus Johnson, drums)

performing

"If I Could Be with You"

(New York City, October, 1950)

More Performances of "If I Could Be with You"
in the Cafe Songbook Record/Video Cabinet
(Video credit )

Cafe Songbook Reading Room

"If I Could Be with You"

Critics Corner || Lyrics Lounge

About the Origins of the Song

back to top of page

Critics Corner (This section is currently in preparation.)

back to top of page

Lyrics Lounge (This section is currently in preparation.)

Click here to read the lyrics, including the verseto "If I Could Be With You" as sung by Frank Sinatra on a radio broadcast (on the album Radio Days, Vol. 2)
Helen Humes on the Main Stage above includes the verse in her rendition.

The complete, authoritative lyrics for "If I Could Be with You'" can be found in:

book cover: "Reading Lyrics" Ed. by Robert Gottlieb and Robert Kimball

Reading Lyrics,
Edited and with an Introduction by Robert Gottlieb and Robert Kimball, New York: Pantheon Books, 2000.

Click here to read Cafe Songbook lyrics policy.

back to top of page

Research Resources:
James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson (pianist, composer)
research resources on the web (listed alphabetically by web source):

Amazon (publications by and about, recordings, videos, sheet music, etc.)
DBOPM (Database Of Popular Music: song list; awards; hit songs; co-writers)
Internet Broadway Database (Broadway productions and song credits)
Internet Movie Database (brief biography, filmography, movie song credits)
The New York Times (articles about or related to the songwriter)
NPR Music (archive of relevant programs often including audio segments)
Songwriters Hall of Fame (biography and song list)
Wikipedia (James P. Johnson article)

back to top of page

James P. Johnson research resources in print (listed chronologically):

ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, New York: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Cattell/Bowker, Fourth edition, 1980 (dates, collaborators, shows/movies, songs, etc., entry p. 252).
David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song, New York: Routledge, 2003 (entry, pp. 224).
David A. Jasen and Gene Jones, Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880-1930, New York: Schirmer Books, 1998 (paperback edition, Routledge, 2005) -- multiple references to Johnson.

Visitor Comments

Submit comments on songs, songwriters, performers, etc.
Feel free to suggest an addition or correction.
Please read our Comments Guidelines before making a submission.
(Posting of comments is subject to the guidelines.
Not all comments will be posted.)

To submit a comment, click here.

Posted Comments on "If I Could Be with You":

No Comments as yet posted

back to top of page

Credits

("If I Could Be with You" page)

Credits for Videomakers of custom videos used on this page:

Helen Humes and Count Basie: telescriptions

Borrowed material (text): The sources of all quoted and paraphrased text are cited. Such content is used under the rules of fair use to further the educational objectives of CafeSongbook.com. CafeSongbook.com makes no claims to rights of any kind in this content or the sources from which it comes.

Borrowed material (images): Images of CD, DVD, book and similar product covers are used courtesy of either Amazon.com or iTunes/LinkShare with which CafeSongbook.com maintains an affiliate status. All such images are linked to the source from which they came (i.e. either iTunes/LinkShare or Amazon.com).

Any other images that appear on CafeSongbook.com pages are either in the public domain or appear through the specific permission of their owners. Such permission will be acknowledged in this space on the page where the image is used.

For further information on Cafe Songbook policies with regard to the above matters, see our "About Cafe Songbook" page (link at top and bottom of every page).

back to top of page

This section is currently incomplete.

The Cafe Songbook
Record/Video Cabinet:
Selected Recordings of

"If I Could Be with You"

(All Record/Video Cabinet entries below
include a music-video
of this page's featured song.
The year given is for when the studio
track was originally laid down
or when the live performance was given.)

Performer/Recording Index
(*indicates accompanying music-video)

Performer 1 (year)
Performer 2 (year)

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Amazon

iTunes

Music-Video:

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

Year
Artist
album: title

Music-Video

Amazon

iTunes

Notes:
(Please complete or pause one
video before starting another.)

back to top of page

back to top of page