One For My Baby

If there’s one song that captures the very essence of croonership, it’s 'One For My Baby'. The ultimate saloon song. A man with a broken heart, talking to his bartender, with nothing but a drink and a fading sense of hope.

Frank Sinatra mastered it originally. But I first heard it, again, through Robbie Williams, on Swing When You’re Winning. And especially in that stunning live performance at the Royal Albert Hall, with just him and a brilliant pianist, in front of a massive orchestra that quietly held its breath. That image never left me.

To get inspired for my own interpretation of this song, I visited the bar where this song was originally written, P.J. Clarke’s in New York City. Frank Sinatra spent a lot of time there, back in the day. And one night, Johnny Mercer sat at that bar and, inspired by his own broken heart, wrote One For My Baby on a napkin.

My version is beautifully carried by a beautiful new string arrangement and a stunning piece of piano playing by Sjoerd van Eijck. To me, this song doesn’t just return to the heart of crooning, but it returns to the very heart of what music is. A story, told by a storyteller.