Tangerine is a 1941 popular song with music by Victor Schertzinger and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was published in 1941 and introduced to broad audiences in the 1942 Paramount film The Fleet's In, sung and associated with the era's Latin-flavored romance.
- The first recording was Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra in December 1941; the most famous early version was Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly, released January 1942 on Decca 4123, which spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard chart.
- The song tells of a South American beauty and its alluring dance, a theme tied to wartime fascination with Latin America.
- A disco instrumental version by the Salsoul Orchestra in 1976 revived the tune, reaching the US top 20 (Hot 100 #18, Easy Listening #11, Dance/Disco #6).
- Tangerine has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Oscar Peterson, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Chet Baker, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Connick Jr.
- It has appeared in films and media such as Double Indemnity (1944), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and even in television and advertising references.
