Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)

"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941 popular song written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with Billie Holiday, for whom it was written, and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989.[1]

This article is about the song sung by Billie Holiday. For the Jimi Hendrix song, see Lover Man (Jimi Hendrix song). For other uses, see Lover Man (disambiguation).
"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
Single by Billie Holiday
B-side"That Ole Devil Called Love"
Released1945 (1945)
RecordedOctober 4, 1944 and November 8, 1944
GenreJazz, pop
LabelDecca
Composer(s)Jimmy Davis
Lyricist(s)Ram Ramirez, James Sherman
Billie Holiday singles chronology
"Trav'lin' Light"
(1942)		 "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
(1945)		 "Don't Explain"
(1946)

Holiday's version reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and No. 16 on pop in 1945.[2] In July 1946, Charlie Parker recorded a rendition of "Lover Man" while he was intoxicated. Dial Records producer Ross Russell had to hold him up to the microphone during the recording.[3][4] Barbra Streisand recorded a version for her album Simply Streisand in 1967, her version peaked #29 at Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[5]

Cover versions

Diana Ross recorded the song in 1972 for the soundtrack for the film Lady Sings the Blues, in which she portrayed Billie Holiday.

Patti LaBelle recorded the song in 1983 for her sixth and breakthrough album I'm in Love Again.

In 1991, Whitney Houston performed the song as part of the set list during her I'm Your Baby Tonight Tour. Houston also performed the tune in a medley with "My Man" and "All the Man That I Need" at the 1991 Billboard Music Awards.

Charts
Chart (1945) Peak
position
US Rhythm & Blues Records 5
US Cash Box Top 100 16
Chart (1967) Peak
position
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 29

References
  1. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.org. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  2. Archived May 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Fordham, John (24 September 2009). "50 great moments in jazz: Charlie Parker teams up with Ross Russell". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 245–247. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  5. "Barbra Streisand Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
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