First recorded by Fats Waller & His Rhythm (US #5 1935).
Other hit versions by The Boswell Sisters (US #3 1936), Billy Williams (US #3 1957), Willie Nelson (C&W #26/CAN #25 1981).
Also recorded by Connee Boswell (1953), Frank Sinatra (1954 & 1962), Bing Crosby with Bob Scobey’s Frisco Jazz Band (1957), Bill Haley & His Comets (1957).
From the wiki: “‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter’ was composed in 1935 by Fred E. Ahlert and Joe Young, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. The first recording on the song was by Fats Waller & His Rhythm, in a Victor Records recording session on May 8, 1935. It was covered the following year by The Boswell Sisters, reaching #3 on US popular music charts. (Connee Boswell would record a solo version in 1952.)
“The song had a major revival in 1957 in a recording by Billy Williams that peaked at #3, selling a million copies. Bing Crosby also covered ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …’ in 1957 on his album, Bing with a Beat, and it was covered twice by Frank Sinatra – first, in 1954 for the album Swing Easy and, again, in 1962 with the Count Basie Orchestra (Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First).
“Willie Nelson recorded a version for his 1981 album, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the single release charted on the Country music charts in both the US and Canada.”
The Boswell Sisters, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1936):
Connee Boswell, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1953):
Frank Sinatra, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1954):
Billy Williams, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1957):
Bing Crosby with Bob Scobey’s Frisco Jazz Band, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1957):
Bill Haley & His Comets, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1957):
Frank Sinatra with The Count Basie Orchestra, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1962):
Willie Nelson, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down …” (1981):