Vincent Miller Youmans' No, No, Nanette was the big hit of the 1925 season, running for 321 performances. His Great Day was the big flop of the 1929 season, running for only 36 performances. But three of the songs from the flop took on a life of their own and one of them, "More Than You Know," became one of the great torch songs of the American songbook. Introduced in the show by Mayo Methot, who later married Humphrey Bogart, the song was first recorded in 1929 by Ruth Etting and soon found its way into the repertoire of big band singers throughout the country. The most popular recording of the song was done by Helen Forrest with the Benny Goodman band in 1940. With its melody of rising and falling phrases and its harmonies of shifting major and minor chords, Youmans' song is simple but deeply affecting and instantly memorable.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.