“A Sunday Kind of Love“ is a collaborative pop song written by the songwriting duo of Barbara Belle and Anita Leonard, along with Stan Rhodes and legendary jazz singer, bandleader, musician Louis Prima.
Prima, beloved by children the world over for his performance as the Monkey King in Disney’s The Jungle Book, is also revered as one of the BIG THREE LOUIS’ of jazz along with OG jazz superstar Louis “Pops” “Satchmo” Armstrong and renowned bandleader, singer Louis Jordan.
First published in 1946, “A Sunday Kind Of Love” is included in the original canon of post World War II popular music.
Over the years the song has become both a pop music and jazz standard, having been successfully recorded by an impressive roster of acts.
Initially the song was recorded by bandleader, pianist Claude “Snowfall” Thornhill and his orchestra on November 11, 1946. They released the track as a 78 RPM single (pictured above) the following January in 1947. Since then the song has become permanently identified with vocalist Fran Warren who was the first singer to record the song.
Louis Prima, one of the songs four composers, went on to release his own recording of the song made with his orchestra in February 1947.
The popularity of a 1957 up-tempo rock n roll version of the song by the racially mixed doo wop vocal group The Del-Vikings (John Lennon was performing a Del-Vikings song the very first time future bandmate Paul McCartney heard him play) increased the song’s reach amongst younger listeners, contributing vastly to the song’s longevity and success.
Despite having world wide acclaim, the beloved song has never made an entry into the Billboard Top 40.
Notable recordings of “A Sunday Kind Of Love” include…
Popular crossover singing star (and Ringo Starr favourite) Frankie Laine with orchestra recorded January 21, 1947, released on Mercury Records.
Jo Stafford with orchestra recorded on February 28, 1947, released on Capitol Records.
Ella Fitzgerald with orchestra recorded March 19, 1947, released on Decca Records.
Dinah Washington on her signature album What A Difference A Day Makes! released on Mercury Records in 1959.
And lastly, 22 year old Etta James with her powerfully moving take on the song featured here:
James released her definitive version of “A Sunday Kind Of Love” in 1960 on her debut album At Last! from Chicago based blues label Chess Records.