At Last

"At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Sun Valley Serenade (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US Billboard pop music chart. In 1960, rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren's original melody. Etta James' rendition was the title track on her debut album At Last! (1960) and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Most recently, Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also had chart successes with the song. Glenn Miller original renditions Prior to release of Sun Valley Serenade, "At Last" was performed in the film by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by John Payne and Lynn Bari, dubbed by Pat Friday. Studio head Darryl Zanuck reportedly said: "There are too many big ones in this. Let's save one for the next." The "At Last" vocal by Payne and Bari was thus deleted from the film, although instrumental versions remained, including in the Black Ice Ballet finale. The vocal version was included in the movie Orchestra Wives (1942), which also featured the Glenn Miller orchestra. It was sung by Ray Eberle and Bari, again dubbed by Friday. Unreleased recordings of the song were made in 1941 by Glenn Miller. A new version was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in Hollywood on May 20, 1942, and released by RCA Victor Records as a 78 single, backed with the A-side "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo". The song entered the US Billboard pop music chart (called "Songs with the Most Radio Plugs" at the time) on August 1, 1942, at number 17 and peaked at number two on August 29, 1942. It spent a total of 17 weeks on the chart and later became a musical standard.