Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a traveling circus. By age 10 he was taking trumpet lessons from his father. His father had him on a very strict practicing schedule every day. He was given one page to learn out of the Arban's book (a trumpet drill book) every day and could not do anything until he learned that page.
In 1931 the family settled in Beaumont, Texas and James began playing with local dance bands. James joined the nationally popular Ben Pollack in 1935. At the start of 1937 he left Pollack to join Benny Goodman's orchestra, where he stayed through 1938.
In February of 1939 Harry James debuted his own big band in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He continued touring with the band into the 1980s. His was the first "name band" to employ vocalist Frank Sinatra, in 1939. In 1943 he married actress Betty Grable.
His first wife was ex B.Goodman singer.,Louise Tobin.
You can hear his trumpet playing in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn, dubbing Kirk Douglas. His recording of "I'm Beginning to See the Light" appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip (2000). James recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies.
In 1983, James was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but he continued to work, playing his last professional job on 26 June 1983 in Los Angeles just nine days before his death in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Exactly Like You
Harry James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not a real one, just a dream
A wonderful vision of us as a team
Can you imagine how I feel now
Love is real now, it's ideal
You're just what I wanted
And now it's nice to live
Paradise to live
I know why I've waited
Know why I've been blue
Prayed each night for someone
Exactly like you
Why should we spend money
On a show or two
No one does those love scenes
Exactly like you
You make me feel so grand
I want to hand the world to you
I hope you'll understand
Each foolish little scheme I'm schemin'
And dream I'm dreamin'
Now I know why mother
Taught me to be true
She meant me for someone
Exactly like you
In Harry James's song "Exactly Like You," the singer sings about his past imaginary sweetheart that he dreamed of as a perfect partner. He emphasizes that this ideal does not only involve physical appearances but also an emotional connection - a "vision of us as a team." He expresses excitement and content now that he has found someone that fits his ideal perfectly, and the singer emphasizes his new love is real and ideal. It is like paradise to live.
The second verse of the song explains why the singer waited while being blue. Knowing exactly what he was looking for, he prayed for that someone who is 'exactly like you'. The singer emphasizes the worthlessness of spending money to watch a love story because he has found someone who embodies his dream. He again emphasizes that no one does those "love scenes" better than his partner. For him, she's a world-class actor, superstar, and he wants to give his everything to make her happy, "You make me feel so grand / I want to hand the world to you." He admits to being foolish and scheming due to his love, and ends on the explanation that his mother taught him to be true, and he believes that he was meant for someone exactly like his current partner, completing the love story.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to have a perfect sweetheart
I once had an imaginary girl in my dreams who was perfect in every sense, but not real.
Not a real one, just a dream
The girl in my dreams was only a figment of my imagination.
A wonderful vision of us as a team
In my dreams, the girl and I made a perfect team and were inseparable.
Can you imagine how I feel now
Now that I have found you, it is hard for me to imagine how I managed to live without someone like you by my side.
Love is real now, it's ideal
Love is not just an idea anymore, it is a tangible reality that is perfect in every way.
You're just what I wanted
You are the person who matches my ideal partner, and you are everything I ever wanted in a partner.
And now it's nice to live
Life has become beautiful and enjoyable now that I have found you.
Paradise to live
Life with you has become a paradise for me, and I do not want it to end.
I know why I've waited
I now understand why I had to wait so long to find someone like you - it was worth the wait.
Know why I've been blue
All the sadness and loneliness I have felt in the past years make sense now that I have you.
Prayed each night for someone
I used to pray every night for someone who matches my ideal partner.
Exactly like you
I was asking for someone who is exactly like you, and my prayers have finally been answered.
Why should we spend money
Why should we waste money on movies or shows when our love story is more beautiful than anything on screen?
On a show or two
We do not need to go to movies or shows when being together is enough for us.
No one does those love scenes
No movie or show can depict our love story as beautifully as we live it in reality.
Exactly like you
Our love story is unique, and no movie or show can ever depict it as perfectly as we live it in reality.
You make me feel so grand
You bring out the best in me and make me feel like I am on top of the world.
I want to hand the world to you
I would give you anything you want and go to any extent to make you happy.
I hope you'll understand
I hope you realize how much I love you, and how much you mean to me.
Each foolish little scheme I'm schemin'
You make me feel young again, and I have foolish dreams and schemes that I want to achieve with you by my side.
And dream I'm dreamin'
With you by my side, my dreams have become a reality, and I dream of a beautiful future with you.
Now I know why mother
Now that I have found you, I understand why my mother always told me to find someone like you.
Taught me to be true
My mother taught me to be a good person and true to myself, which helped me find someone as beautiful and true as you.
She meant me for someone
My mother always believed that I was meant to be with someone as wonderful as you.
Exactly like you
Everything about you is perfect and matches my ideal partner - just like I prayed for someone exactly like you.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: FIELDS DOROTHY, JIMMY MCHUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jan Procházka
on All or Nothing at All
trumpet boogie