It Had to Be You (song)
"It Had to Be You" | |
---|---|
Song by Isham Jones | |
Language | English |
Published | 1924 |
Released | 1924[1] |
Genre | Pop |
Label | Warner Bros.[1] |
Songwriter(s) | Gus Kahn |
Composer(s) | Isham Jones |
"It Had to Be You" is a popular song written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn.[2] It was first published in 1924.
Appearance in film
The song was performed by Ruth Etting in the 1936 short film Melody in May, by Priscilla Lane in the 1939 film The Roaring Twenties, by Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde in the 1947 film It Had to Be You, in the 1944 film Mr. Skeffington, by Danny Thomas in the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams (based loosely upon the lives of Gus Kahn and his wife Grace LeBoy Kahn), and Joanne Dru sang a portion of it in 1955's Hell On Frisco Bay. Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald danced to it in the 1947 film Living in a Big Way (while it was being sung by a mixed group), and it was also performed by Dooley Wilson in the 1942 film Casablanca, George Murphy in Show Business (1944), Betty Hutton in the 1945 film Incendiary Blonde, and Diane Keaton in the 1977 film Annie Hall. It also appeared in the 1992 film A League of Their Own by Megan Cavanagh.
As the "theme" of When Harry Met Sally (1989), it finished as #60 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Notable recordings
- Sam Lanin and his Orchestra on Okeh 40084, recorded March 20, 1924
- Ambassadors on Vocalion 14792 (matrix 12951), recorded March 24, 1924
- Marion Harris on Brunswick 2610 (matrix 12760-62), recorded March 28, 1924
- Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra on Victor 19339 (matrix 29779), recorded April 8, 1924
- Cliff Edwards on Pathé Actuelle 032047 (matrix 105278), recorded on April 15, 1924
- The California Ramblers on Columbia 127-D (matrix 81700-2), recorded on April 18, 1924
- Isham Jones and his Orchestra on Brunswick 2614, recorded on April 24, 1924
- Aileen Stanley and Billy Murray with Prince's Orchestra on Victor 19373 (matrix 30247-3), recorded on June 5, 1924
- Chappie d'Amato with Jack Hylton and his Orchestra on HMV B-1887 (matrix Bb 4978-2), recorded on August 19, 1924
- Ruth Etting 1936 (in short film Melody in May)[3]
- Priscilla Lane 1939 (in The Roaring Twenties)
- Dooley Wilson 1942 (in Casablanca)
- Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest with Victor Young and his Orchestra on Decca 23349 (matrix L-3446), recorded on June 28, 1944. This version first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on September 14, 1944, and lasted five weeks on the chart, peaking at number 4. This recording was paired on a single with "Together," a number 3 hit, producing a two-sided hit
- George Murphy 1944 (in Show Business)
- Dinah Shore 1944
- Betty Hutton 1945 (in Incendiary Blonde)
- Ginger Rogers and Cornell Wilde 1947 (in It Had To Be You)
- Frank Sinatra 1949
- Danny Thomas 1951 (in I'll See You In My Dreams)
- Doris Day, on album I'll See You in My Dreams (1951)[4]
- Bing Crosby - recorded in February 1952 for Crosby's radio show and mastered by Decca Records for commercial release on February 14, 1952.[5]
- Billie Holiday 1955
- Ray Charles - included in his album The Genius of Ray Charles 1959
- Ella Fitzgerald 1961 (live Twelve Nights in Hollywood)
- Dean Martin 1962 (Live From Lake Tahoe)
- Tony Bennett - for his album When Lights Are Low 1964
- Andy Williams - for his album Andy Williams' Dear Heart 1965
- Barbra Streisand, 1966 television special Color Me Barbra
- Artie Shaw 1968
- Harry Nilsson - for his album A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night 1973
- Diane Keaton 1977 (in Annie Hall)
- Margaret Whiting 1978 (live on the Mike Douglas Show
- Frank Sinatra 1979 (Trilogy: Past, Present & Future)
- Harry Connick, Jr. - included in the album When Harry Met Sally... (soundtrack) 1989
- Pete Fountain 1991
- Rod Stewart - for the album It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook 2002
- Kenny G 2006
- Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood - for the album Duets II 2011
- Elvis Costello with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks 2013
- Michael Bublé with Barbra Streisand for her duets album Partners 2014
- reprised the same year for Michael Bublé's Christmas in New York with specially adapted lyrics by Jay Landers[6]
References
- 1 2 Givan, Benjamin Marx (2010). The Music of Django Reinhardt (illustrated ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: University of Michigan Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780472034086. OCLC 437054201. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ↑ ASCAP ACE Database Archived 2003-07-17 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Melody in May (1936), short film on YouTube
- ↑ Doris Day album I'll See You in My Dreams (1951) at allmusic.com
- ↑ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ↑ Michael Bublé's Christmas in New York, broadcast December 17, 2014 (NBC)
Bibliography
- Who Wrote that Song? Dick Jacobs and Harriet Jacobs, published by Writer's Digest Books, 1993