Harlem River Drive (song)

"Harlem Nocturne" is a jazz standard written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939. The song was adopted by bandleader Randy Brooks the next year as his theme song.

"Harlem Nocturne" has been frequently recorded. Artists include Johnny Otis, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, British band Ken Mackintosh, Bill Haley and His Comets (performed live), The Lounge Lizards, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Earl Bostic, King Curtis, The Cherokees, Anton Szandor LaVey, Herbie Fields, Willy Deville, David Sanborn, Alicia Keys,  Michael Lington, Sonny Moorman, The Ventures, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and guitarist Danny Gatton The haunting version by The Viscounts has the distinction of being a tune released twice by the same band and rising high on the Billboard charts each time: first in 1959, when it peaked at #53, and again in 1966, peaking at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1990, pianist Kofi Wilmot gained popularity in the instrumental world for his cover from the album of the same name "Harlem Nocturne."

It was also the theme song for the television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer

Though vocal renditions of tunes known originally as instrumentals are rare, this song inspired several vocalists to sing it. Mel Tormé recorded a version with lyrics for his 1963 album Songs of New York, beginning a nocturne for the blues, and in 2009, Sylvia Brooks recorded a different one arranged by Jeff Colella, on her Dangerous Liaisons CD, starting deep music fills the night, which already has been covered.