"The Nearness of You" was featured in the Paramount film Romance in the Dark, which was released in 1938 starring John Barrymore and John Boles. In the film, it was performed by the lead actress Gladys Swarthout of Metropolitan Opera fame.

The first big-selling version was recorded on April 28, 1940 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with a vocal by Ray Eberle (Bluebird catalog number B-10745-A).[2][3] This recording first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 20, 1940 (though this is misleading, as this was Billboard's first chart) and lasted 8 weeks on the chart, peaking at #5.

A well-known bootleg recording exists featuring the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards performing a solo version, accompanying himself on piano. Richards performed the song live during the Stones' 2002-2003 Licks Tour. A performance was captured and released on the 2004 live album Live Licks.

A live performance was given by Norah Jones at the Steve Jobs Memorial/Celebration of Life at the Apple, Inc. corporate headquarters on October 19, 2011.