"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" is a pop song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, published in 1951. It was first intended for a Paramount Pictures film built around Betty Hutton, provisionally titled The Mack Sennett Girl or Keystone Girl. That film was never made, and the song lay in Paramount's files until it was rediscovered. It was then used in the 1951 film Here Comes the Groom, and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The first recording was made by Dean Martin on 9 April 1951 for Capitol Records, with Dick Stabile's orchestra, and issued as a single in July 1951. Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman recorded it for Decca in June 1951, and their version reached Billboard's Best Seller chart in September 1951, peaking at number 11. Later versions include those by Frankie Laine and Jo Stafford, Harry James with Rosemary Clooney, Mavis Rivers, Frank Sinatra, Crosby with Fred Astaire, Crystal Gayle and Bette Midler.
