Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day

Photo of Oren Levine playing an electric piano and singing. He wears a ball cap and headphones. Text at top center reads 'Tunes on Tuesday June 16, 2026 Day By Day'

Why this tune?

This week’s tune “Day By Day” is a popular song from 1945 written by Alex Stordahl and Paul Weston with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford recorded it first soon after it was written. Sinatra returned with another version in 1961. The song has remained a popular standard in the jazz repertoire, with almost 250 versions to date by a wide range of pop and jazz musicians from Shirley Horn to Sun Ra.

I’m taking a big leap by singing it. I usually sing only songs I wrote, but I’m adding some standards to my repertoire as part of my voice training in preparation for my October recording session in LA. My voice teacher Lillian suggested the rubato opening verse, which I think works well with the simple but sincere lyric.

Tunes On Tuesday Reel

Check it out!

Frank Sinatra

Shirley Horn

Sun Ra

Published by Oren Levine

Jazz pianist and songwriter from Washington, DC.

Discover more from Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading