“Stella by Starlight” is a jazz standard with music by Victor Young and lyrics by Ned Washington. Young’s melody originated as thematic material for the main title and soundtrack of the 1944 Paramount Pictures film The Uninvited, where it appeared instrumentally in the underscore and as source music. Washington added the lyrics in 1946. Al Hirt is identified as the original performer, with an original recording dated 1944; he later released a version on his 1961 album The Greatest Horn in the World.
The tune became one of the most widely recorded jazz standards. Harry James and His Orchestra reached No. 21 on the pop chart with a May 1947 recording, while Frank Sinatra, with Axel Stordahl and His Orchestra, also reached No. 21 two months later. Charlie Parker made the first jazz recording in January 1952, using a large studio orchestra with strings. Notable later interpretations include recordings by Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Joe Pass, Keith Jarrett, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, and Nat King Cole.
