It Had to Be You (song)
"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.
"It Had to Be You" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Language | English |
Published | 1924 by Jerome H. Remick & Co. |
Released | 1924[1] |
Genre | Pop |
Songwriter(s) | Gus Kahn |
Composer(s) | Isham Jones |
Appearance in film
The song was performed by Ruth Etting in the 1936 short film Melody in May, by Edward G. Robinson and Harry Seymour with Seymour on piano in the 1938 film A Slight Case of Murder 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. Peter Reigert and Amy Irving dance to the song in Crossing Delancey (1988). 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
- Doris Day, on album I'll See You in My Dreams (1951)[3]
- Frank Sinatra, sang the song in the 1940s with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, but was never recorded until album Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
- Jimmie Lunceford, recorded in the 1940s, Jukebox hits 1935–1947
- Bing Crosby – recorded in February 1952 for Crosby's radio show and mastered by Decca Records for commercial release on February 14, 1952.[4]
- Ray Charles - The Genius Of Ray Charles (1959)
- Harry Nilsson on the album A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
- Harry Connick, Jr. from the When Harry Met Sally... (soundtrack) recorded in June of 1989
- Barbra Streisand, with Michael Bublé, on the album Partners (2014)
- reprised the same year for Michael Bublé's Christmas in New York with specially adapted lyrics by Jay Landers[5]
References
- 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
- 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