Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

It Had to Be You (song)

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Published
  
1924

Genre
  
Pop

Writer(s)
  
Gus Kahn

Released
  
1924 (1924)

Label
  
Warner Bros.

Composer(s)
  
Isham Jones

"It Had to Be You" is a popular song written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first published in 1924.

Contents

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, and 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). It was danced to by Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald in the 1947 film Living in a Big Way (while sung by a mixed group), and 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 by Diane Keaton in the 1977 film Annie Hall. It was also performed 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 PathĂ© 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
  • 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

    • Ruth Etting 1936 (in Melody In May), Priscilla Lane 1939 (in The Roaring Twenties), Dooley Wilson 1942 (in Casablanca) George Murphy 1944 (in Show Business), Dick Haymes 1944 #4, 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), Billie Holiday 1955, Ray Charles 1959, Ella Fitzgerald 1961 (live Twelve Nights In Hollywood, Dean Martin 1962 (Live From Lake Tahoe), Tony Bennett 1964,Andy Williams 1965, Barbra Streisand 1966, Artie Shaw 1968, Diane Keaton 1977 (in Annie Hall), Margaret Whiting 1978 )live on the Mike Douglas Show, Frank Sinatra 1979, Harry Connick, Jr. 1989, Pete Fountain 1991, Rod Stewart 2002, Kenny G 2006, Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood 2012, Elvis Costello with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks 2013, Michael BublĂ© and Barbra Streisand 2014.

    References

    It Had to Be You (song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA