Judy Garland & Johnny Mercer - Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Armed Forces Radio 1943)

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington. The song was originally entitled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Duke Ellington and his orchestra on May 4, 1940. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quickly became a hit after Bob Russell wrote its lyrics in 1942.
Two different recordings of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", one by The Ink Spots and the 1940 instrumental by Ellington's band, reached No. 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart in 1943. Both were top-ten pop records, along with a version by Glen Gray. The Duke Ellington version reached No. 8 on the pop chart.
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled Judy at Carnegie Hall.
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 - June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs.
He is best known as a Tin Pan Alley lyricist, but he also composed music, and was a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as songs written by others from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Mercer's songs were among the most successful hits of the time, including "Moon River", "Days of Wine and Roses", "Autumn Leaves", and "Hooray for Hollywood". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Oscar nominations, and won four Best Original Song Oscars.
When Judy was 18 and Mercer was 30, they had become lovers. To the astonishment and dismay of his friends, he decided that she was "the lover I have waited for/The mate that fate had me created for." Ever after, he called her his one great love, "the one who made my dreams come true," as he wrote of her in "I Remember You".
Even Hollywood considered their affair scandalous. Mercer was married and Garland had played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz only a year before; she was scarcely out of childhood. Friends demanded they end their relationship, which may be why "One for My Baby" suggests that the episode is finished. In fact, they remained on-and-off lovers for decades.
The Mercers stayed married until his death but his wife, Ginger, was not pleased. For the rest of her days she wouldn't allow a mention of either Garland or I Remember You in her presence. She pointedly omitted I Remember You from Our Huckleberry Friend: The Life, Times, and Lyrics of Johnny Mercer, which she and Bob Bach edited in 1982. The Garland episode and its ramifications were described in Philip Furia's excellent Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer (St. Martin's Press).
Missed the Saturday dance
Heard they crowded the floor
Couldn't bear it without you
Don't get around much anymore
Thought I'd visit the club
Got as far as the door
They'd have asked me about you
Don't get around much anymore
Darling, I guess
My mind's more at ease
But nevertheless
Why stir up memories?
Been invited on dates
Might have gone, but what for?
Awfully different without you
Don't get around much anymore
(Repeat Lyrics)

[@kurikokaleidoscope]

That's Gold.

[@Weesperbuurt]

Great notes/information/context. I appreciate it.