You Go to My Head is a 1938 pop and jazz standard composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. It was first recorded as a February 24, 1938 single by Larry Clinton and His Orchestra with Bea Wain on vocals, and it quickly became a hit, reaching number 3 on the charts. The tune is in E-flat major and is praised for its intricate harmonic movement that shifts from a bright major opening toward a feverish, near minor mood, with a memorable closing coda. Gillespie’s lyric begins You go to my head and you linger like a haunting refrain. Over the years it has been recorded by many artists including Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra; it has appeared in films Laura and The Big Sleep, and the Armstrong-Peterson version features in Corrina, Corrina. Notable live and cover versions include Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall in 1961 and Bryan Ferry charting in the UK with a 1975 single.
