The song of the day commemorates Arthur “Dooley” Wilson’s performance of “As Time Goes By.”

Song Facts

• Dooley Wilson sings this iconic song while playing Sam, the piano player in Rick’s Cafe Americain in Casablanca. This is the song Rick demands he sings: “Play it, once, Sam.” (Side note: Humphrey Bogart never did say, “Play it again, Sam.”)
• “As Time Goes By” expresses the main theme of the movie, the importance of love. Parts of the song are repeated during the most emotional scenes, becoming a major motif of the movie.
• The song was written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931 for the Broadway musical. “Everybody’s Welcome.” Rudy Vallee recorded it that year. It became a modest hit.
• Wilson was not a pianist. He was an actor who sang and played drums. The director artfully got around Wilson’s lack of real piano-playing ability by recording skilled pianist Elliot Carpenter. Wilson watched and imitated Carpenter’s hand movements during the filming of the scene.
• Dooley Wilson was part of the noted black cultural movement in the early 20th century called the “Harlem Renaissance.” He performed in the Lafayette Theatre as a singer and toured Europe with his own band, the Red Devils, in the 1920s.
• He mastered the craft of acting during the Great Depression in the Negro Theatre Unit, directed by John Houseman. He won a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1940.
• Wilson also played Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s best friend in “Stormy Weather” in 1943.
• Dooley Wilson died in 1953.

Lyrics:

(Musixmatch)

You must remember this

A kiss is just a kiss

A sigh is just a sigh

The fundamental things apply

As time goes by

And when two lovers woo

They still say “I love you”

On that you can rely

No matter what the future brings

As time goes by

Moonlight and love songs

Never out of date

Hearts full of passion

Jealousy and hate

Woman needs man, and man must have his mate

That no one can deny

It’s still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by

Moonlight and love songs

Never out of date

Hearts full of passion

Jealousy and hate

Woman needs man, and man must have his mate

That no one can deny

It’s still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by