Its melody is based on the 1890 piano piece Rêverie by the French classical composer Claude Debussy.
The tune went on to be recorded by many others and those with charted versions in 1938 were Bing Crosby (recorded October 14, 1938,[1] reaching #3 in the charts), Mildred Bailey (#10), Glenn Miller (#11) and Eddy Duchin (#13).
), as well as bands led by Paul Whiteman, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Stan Kenton, Nelson Eddy, Esquivel, and Ray Conniff.
The original Bea Wain recording of "My Reverie" was used in the 2002 film One Hour Photo and in the 2011 television miniseries Mildred Pierce.
In James A. Michener's 1971 novel The Drifters, characters discuss Bea Wain and her recording of "My Reverie" in two separate chapters of the book.