"At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Sun Valley Serenade (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US Billboard pop music chart.
In 1960, rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren's original melody; this rendition would go on to become known as the song's standard version over subsequent decades. Etta James' rendition was the title track on James' debut album At Last! (1960) and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Most recently, Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also had chart successes with the song.
"At Last" became R&B singer Etta James's signature song and was the third in a string of successful songs from her Argo Records debut album (Argo LP 4003, mono; LPS 4003, stereo) At Last!. In April 1961, it became her second number two R&B hit single (Argo 5380) and crossed over to pop radio, reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its modest pop chart standing, the song is well-known and is still played regularly on oldies radio stations and has become a musical standard. James' recording also reached the top 40 in Cashbox (#30)[15] and Music Vendor.
James' version, with its passionate vocal and sweeping orchestration, is often used for weddings and wedding receptions.
After one of James' other singles, "Something's Got a Hold on Me", was sampled in two hit singles in 2011 (Avicii's "Levels" and Flo Rida's "Good Feeling"), "At Last" charted in the United Kingdom for the first time at number 69.
Following James' death in 2012, the song again rose in the charts and even reached the top 40.
In 2004 and 2005, MLB on Fox used the song for the end credits of both World Series, showing curses being broken for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, respectively.
In 2009, James' version was inducted to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.