As Time Goes by ( song ) - wikipedia As Time Goes by ( song ) For the 1999 J - pop song, see Hiroko Shimabukuro. `` As Time Goes By '' Song by Frances Williams Written 1931 Published 1931 Songwriter ( s ) Herman Hupfeld `` As Time Goes By '' is a song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became most famous in 1942 when part of it was sung by the character Sam ( Dooley Wilson ) in the movie Casablanca. The song was voted No. 2 on the AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film ( only surpassed by `` Over the Rainbow '' by Judy Garland ). The song has since become the representative song of Warner Bros. and was also the title and theme song of the 1990s British romantic comedy series As Time Goes By. The AFI listed it among its `` top 100 '' movie songs. National Public Radio included it in its `` NPR 100 '', a 1999 list of the most important American musical works of the 20th century as compiled by NPR 's music editors. Background Herman Hupfeld wrote `` As Time Goes By '' for the 1931 Broadway musical Everybody 's Welcome. In the original show, it was sung by Frances Williams. It was recorded that year by several artists, it was sung by Rudy Vallée and Binnie Hale, and orchestra recordings were made by Jacques Renard and Fred Rich. In terms of popularity at the time, it was a modest hit. Elisabeth Welch included it in her cabaret act as soon as it was released. The song was re-introduced in 1942 in the film Casablanca. It was sung by Sam ( Dooley Wilson ) ; Sam 's piano accompaniment was played by pianist Elliot Carpenter. The song is heard throughout the film as a leitmotif. Wilson was unable to record his version of the song at the time due to the 1942 -- 44 musicians ' strike, so Brunswick reissued the Jacques Renard 1931 recording, and Victor re-issued Vallée 's 1931 recording, giving Vallée a number - one hit in 1942. Hupfeld lived his whole life in Montclair, New Jersey, and was a regular customer at the Robin Hood Inn, a tavern built in 1922 on Valley Road, then part of Upper Montclair. He spent many hours at the piano and wrote several of his songs in this tavern, now the Valley Regency. A plaque on the second floor of the Valley Regency Catering Facility in Clifton, New Jersey, commemorates the song. He wrote over one hundred songs, including `` Let 's Put Out the Lights and Go to Sleep, '' and the popular Great Depression song `` Are You Making Any Money ? '' Composition and lyrics The original song in the film as sung and played by `` Sam '' was recorded in D - flat major, but it has since been played in several keys, commonly C major, but also B - flat major, as in Frank Sinatra 's recording, and others keys including A major and E-flat major. In Casablanca, Wilson sings the song as written ( `` You must remember this... '' ), but does not sing the Prelude ( `` This day and age we 're living in... '' ). The omitted lines refer to Albert Einstein. Although referenced as `` Prelude '', the section omitted in Casablanca is actually in the middle of the song. References Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs ''. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 06. Jump up ^ `` NPR 's 100 ''. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 12 - 30. Jump up ^ Buhler, James ; Caryl Flinn ; David Neumeyer ( 2000 ). Music and cinema. Wesleyan University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8195 - 6411 - 5. Jump up ^ Zinsser, William ( 2000 ). Easy to Remember : The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs. Jaffrey, New Hampshire : David R. Godine. p. 165. ISBN 1 - 56792 - 325 - 9. Jump up ^ Jasen, David A. ( 2003 ). Tin Pan Alley : an encyclopedia of the golden age of American song. New York : Taylor & Francis. p. 216. ISBN 0 - 415 - 93877 - 5. Jump up ^ Gilliland, John ( 1994 ). Pop Chronicles the 40s : The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s ( audiobook ). ISBN 978 - 1 - 55935 - 147 - 8. OCLC 31611854. Tape 1, side A. Jump up ^ Hall, Roger ( 2015 ). A Guide to Film Music : Songs and Scores. PineTree Press, 6th edition. p. 23. Jump up ^ Randy Wayne ( Nov 20, 2015 ). `` As Time Goes By and Albert Einstein. Do the Fundamental Things Still Apply ? ''. The Lansing Star. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 23. Jump up ^ Peter Galison ( 2015 - 02 - 12 ). `` EMC2x : The Einstein Revolution ''. HarvardX - courses.edx.org. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 12. Jump up ^ Peter Galison ( 22 January 2015 ). `` HAREMC2XT115 - V000200_100 ''. HarvardX - YouTube. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 12. Jump up ^ ' As Time Goes By ' ( Binnie Hale, 1932 ) -- via YouTube. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=As_Time_Goes_By_(song)&oldid=813549527 '' Categories : 1931 songs Songs about old age Songs written by Herman Hupfeld Jazz songs Casablanca ( film ) Songs written for films Jazz compositions in D major Tiny Tim ( musician ) songs Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2012 Talk About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Čeština Deutsch Español Français Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Português Русский Suomi Svenska ไทย Edit links This page was last edited on 4 December 2017, at 01 : 00. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who sings as time goes by in casablanca
Answer: the character Sam (Dooley Wilson)