I Cover the Waterfront is a 1933 popular song and jazz standard written by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman. It was inspired by Max Miller's 1932 novel I Cover the Waterfront and quickly became a hit in 1933 with early recordings by Abe Lyman and His California Orchestra and Joe Haymes Orchestra, followed by Eddy Duchin's Orchestra. The tune sits in the jazz blues genre and has been recorded by a who’s who of great artists including Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Annette Hanshaw, Frank Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughan. It was tied to a 1933 film of the same name that was re-scored to feature the song, and it later served as the theme for the 1947 Mutual radio program Johnny Modero, Pier 23. The song remains a enduring jazz standard with countless versions across decades and has appeared on albums by Ella Fitzgerald, Annie Lennox, John Lee Hooker, Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau, among others.
