Laura is a 1945 popular song composed by David Raksin with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It originated as the haunting main theme for the 1944 film Laura, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews; Emil Newman gave the first performance of the theme in 1944, and the tune was later released in 1945 with Mercer’s lyrics under the title Laura. Mercer wrote the lyrics after the film gained popularity, though he had not yet seen the movie when writing. The song has become a jazz standard with more than 400 recordings by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Parker, Nat King Cole and Julie London, among others. Julie London included Laura on her 1955 debut album Julie Is Her Name, and the piece remains a staple in both vocal and instrumental jazz, often noted for its evocative Laura Theme and as a key example of film score becoming enduring popular music.
