Black Coffee (1948 song)

For the All Saints song, see Black Coffee (All Saints song).

"Black Coffee" is a song. The music was written by Sonny Burke, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was published in 1948. Sarah Vaughan charted with this song in 1949 on Columbia. Peggy Lee first released her version in 1953. It was included in the soundtrack for the 1960 Columbia Pictures feature Let No Man Write My Epitaph, recorded on Verve by Ella Fitzgerald, also in 1960. The version by Ella Fitzgerald was a favourite song of Polish Nobel Prize laureate Wisława Szymborska who chose it as the song to be performed at her funeral.

Cover versions

Other versions of "Black Coffee" were performed by:

• Ray Charles on his album The Great Ray Charles (1957)
• Chris Connor - Double Exposure (with Maynard Ferguson) (1961)
• Earl Grant on his albums Midnight Sun (1962) and In Motion (1968)
• Rosemary Clooney on her album Thanks for Nothing (1964)
• Petula Clark on her album The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
• The Pointer Sisters on the album That's a Plenty (1974)
• Janis Siegel on the album At Home (1987)
• k.d. lang on the album Shadowland (1988)
• Carmen McRae on the album Sarah: Dedicated to You (1991)
• Sinéad O'Connor on the album Am I Not Your Girl? (1992)
• Elkie Brooks on her album Round Midnight (1993)
• Martina Topley-Bird and Tricky on the album Nearly God (1996)
• Alexia Vassiliou on her album In a Jazz Mood (1996)
• Patricia Kaas on her album Cafe Noir (1996)
• Nana Mouskouri on her live album Nana Swings (2003)
• Marianne Faithfull for her album Easy Come, Easy Go (2008)
• Barbara Ireland on her album Turning Back Time - Classic Songs To Kiss By (2010)
• Anita Eccleston on her album Anita Eccleston Jazz EP (2011)
• Bobby Darin on his album This is Darin (1960)