Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a version reaching number two on the US Billboard pop music chart. In , rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren's melody. James' version was the title track on her debut album At Last! Studio head Darryl Zanuck reportedly said, "There are too many big ones in this.
Let's save one for the next. Unreleased recordings of the song had been made in by Glenn Miller. The song entered the US Billboard pop music chart called ""Songs with the Most Radio Plugs" at the time on August 1, at number 17, [4] and peaked at number two on August 29, Despite its modest pop chart standing, the song is well-known and is still played regularly on oldies radio stations.
The James version reached the top 40 in Cashbox 30 [15] and Music Vendor. James' version, with its passionate vocal and sweeping orchestration, is often chosen for weddings and wedding receptions. Following James' death in , it rose into the top However, there was no music video made for the song. It was also the last single released from the album.
While commenting about the song, Dion revealed, "I can see beginning my show and looking into everyone's eyes and singing this song. This is my hello. A live version of this song was included on the A New Day She has performed the song on several television programs. The song was critically acclaimed.
However, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone commented that "she doesn't have the pipes for material defined by Etta James. I'm not sure if she thought [I would be good] as her. I'm very, very nervous I actually spoke with her and she told me, 'I loved you from the first time you sung.
It gave me the confidence and the push to challenge myself a little more with my music. She's entirely too polished and restrained. Her phrasing doesn't come close in terms of inventiveness or inspiration, and her emotional conviction is lacking, to say the least. This was somewhat echoed by Robert Fontenot of About.
The only major drawback to her performance is that she lacks the pained vocal chops to convincingly pull off James's songs or make them her own She told Entertainment Tonight : "To sing 'At Last' while they have their first dance is a dream come true.
I could not be more honored and excited that they have asked me to be part of this moment in history. On that night, the song's expression of a romantic promise fulfilled clearly spoke to the hope that political promises would be fulfilled, not to mention the notion that, at last, an African-American had assumed this nation's highest honor. Etta James, who was not happy at all, remarked to the audience at a concert from the stage of Seattle's Paramount Theatre a week later:.
You guys know your president, right? You know the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my president. He might be yours; he ain't my president. But I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song — she's going to get her ass whupped. Like I said, she ain't mine.
She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day, gonna be singing my song that I've been singing forever. At each of the balls, the Obamas' dance song remained "At Last". World Tour — During the performance, footage of her performing the song at Obama's inauguration, video images of civil rights era footage, and snippets from her performance of the song in the movie Cadillac Records were all shown on the screens behind her.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Song popularized by Etta James. For other uses, see At Last disambiguation. Billboard Hot [19] 67 U. Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs [69] August 29, Retrieved March 29, April 20, Archived from the original on April 20, Retrieved December 2, August 1, November 21, Recording Information, p. Retrieved July 26, Hot Country Songs — Record Research, Inc.
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Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, March 11, Irish Singles Chart. Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 9, Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "At Last" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 12, Select singles in the Format field.
Select Platinum in the Certification field. Celine Dion Web. Retrieved August 17, RFI France. Archived from the original on October 1, Retrieved August 22, Retrieved August 16, Slant Magazine.
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