If I Didn't Care

"If I Didn't Care" is a song written by Jack Lawrence that was originally sung and recorded by The Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny in 1939. The Ink Spots recording became the 10th best selling single of all time with over 19 million copies sold making it one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.^[1] According to Lawrence, he mailed the song before showing it to some of his friends. His friends' reaction to the song was almost unanimously negative, but he remained positive on it and later it became one of his biggest successes.^[2]

It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame and was number 271 on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 2018, the Ink Spots' recording of the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."^[3]

History

In the 1950s, both The Hilltoppers and Connie Francis charted with the song. In 1974, a version recorded by David Cassidy peaked at No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart in May that year.^[4] Another notable cover came from The Platters (No. 30, 1961). Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album On the Sentimental Side (1962). In 1970, the soul group The Moments (later known as Ray, Goodman & Brown) had a hit with the tune that reached No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also covered by Madness for their 1999 album Wonderful. In 1999, Bryan Ferry covered the song as a B-side to his "As Times Goes By" single.

The song was featured in the 1994 feature film The Shawshank Redemption^[5]

References