"This Year's Kisses" is a song by Irving Berlin, who wrote both the music and the lyrics in 1936. It was written for the musical film On the Avenue (1937), where Alice Faye introduced it. The original recording was made by Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra on 28 December 1936 and released as a single in January 1937, with "He Ain't Got Rhythm" on the B-side. Other early recordings were made by Benny Goodman, with a vocal by Margaret McCrae, and by Hal Kemp.
On 25 January 1937 Teddy Wilson recorded the song with Billie Holiday, her first session with Lester Young, a meeting that the critic Gary Giddins regards as the beginning of their musical partnership. Lester Young re-recorded the song in 1956, and later versions were made by June Christy (1956), Ella Fitzgerald (1961) and Nina Simone (1965). It has become a popular standard in the jazz repertoire.
