Harlem Nocturne is a moody jazz standard written in 1939 by Earle Hagen (music) and Dick Rogers (lyrics) for the Ray Noble Orchestra, where both were members. The Ray Noble Orchestra made the first recording and release in 1940, with Jack Dumont on alto sax. The tune was adopted the next year by Randy Brooks as his theme song. As an instrumental, it has been recorded countless times - the Viscounts released a version in 1959 that reached #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted again in 1966 at #39. It was even used as the Mike Hammer TV theme in a version featuring Bud Shank on alto. Harold Faltermeyer contributed a version for Tango & Cash. Notable later covers include Kofi Wilmot’s 1990 Harlem Nocturne, Danny Gatton’s 1993 Cruisin’ Deuces, and the Sonny Moorman Group’s 2009 Live As Hell. Vocal takes exist, such as Mel Tormé’s 1963 Sings Sunday In New York And Other Songs About New York, beginning with “a nocturne for the blues,” and Brian Setzer’s Hollywood Nocturne. The tune is widely performed with hundreds of versions, roughly 500 by some counts.
