Why Was I Born?

"Why Was I Born?" is a 1929 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.

It was written for the show Sweet Adeline (1929) and introduced by Helen Morgan.[1] Popular recordings in 1930 were by Helen Morgan and by Libby Holman.[2]

Notable recordings

Horne singing "Why Was I Born?" in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

• Billie Holiday - recorded the song for Brunswick Records (catalog No. 7859) on January 25, 1937 with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra.[3]
• Lena Horne in the film Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
• Frank Sinatra recorded the song for Columbia Records on December 28, 1947.[4]
• Vic Damone reached No. 20 in the Billboard charts in 1949 with the song.[5]
• Dorothy Lamour - The Road to Romance...For Bing, Bob and You! (1957).[6]
• Margaret Whiting - Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook (1960)
• Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane - Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane (1963)
• Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook (1963)
• Dinah Washington - for her album Dinah '63 (1963).[7]
• Georgia Brown - Georgia Brown (The Sensational New Singing Star of Oliver!) (1963).[8]
• Cher - Bittersweet White Light (1973)
• Sonny Rollins - Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert (2005)
• Bob Dylan - Triplicate (2017)

References

1. "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb,com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
2. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 612. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
3. "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
4. "Frank Sinatra Discography". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
5. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 120. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
6. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
7. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
8. "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.