I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself
Encyclopedia
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
.
in a session produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
, with Burt Bacharach arranging and conducting. Released as single Scepter
1236 (B-side
"And I Never Knew") in May 1962, "I Just Don't Know..." reached the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
chart in Billboard
with a #119 peak. The track served as the title track for Hunt's sole album release on Scepter released in April 1963. The success in the UK of the Dusty Springfield
version of "I Just Don't Know..." in the summer of 1964 led to Scepter's re-releasing the original at that time.
recorded "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" in a session at Olympic Studios
in Westminster
with production credited to Philips Records
owner Johnny Franz
- although Springfield later stated her solo Philips tracks were self-produced - and arranged by Ivor Raymonde
who conducted his orchestra; personnel on the session included Big Jim Sullivan
on guitar and Bobby Graham
on drums. Springfield, whose first solo recordings had included covers of the Bacharach/David compositions "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Wishin' and Hopin'
" - had brought back "I Just Don't Know..." from an overnight trip to New York City where she met up with Bacharach in February 1964.
The third UK single release of Springfield's solo career - following the "Brill Building" Sound-alikes "I Only Want to Be With You
" and "Stay Awhile" - "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was Springfield's first UK single release to display her signature vocal style; rising to #3 in the summer of 1964 the track remained Springfield's highest charting UK hit until she reached #1 in 1966 with "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
" which would remain Springfield's only UK solo hit to chart higher than "I Just Don't Know...".
A concurrent US release of Springfield's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was preempted by the presence of Springfield's "Wishin' and Hopin'" in the US Top Ten over the summer of 1964. Springfield's "I Just Don't Know..." received a belated US release in October 1965 featured on a single with Springfield's current UK hit "Some of Your Lovin'"; that month Springfield made a promotional junket to the US which included performances of both of the single's tracks on the TV shows Hullabaloo
and Shindig
but neither side reached the Billboard Hot 100
.
recorded "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" at Bell Sound Studios in August 1966 with Burt Bacharach producing; released that September the track was a moderate success reaching #26 on the Hot 100 (#20 R&B) with its strongest evident regional success in Detroit going Top Ten there. After "Message to Michael
" and "Trains and Boats and Planes" Warwick's "I Just Don't Know..." was her third consecutive single release comprising a previously recorded Bacharach/David song and Warwick's next Top 40 single "Alfie
" would also fit in this category; all four of these tracks were featured on Warwick's Here Where There Is Love
album release of 1967.
-produced version of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was released as the first solo single by Gary Puckett; primarily supported by Easy Listening
radio, the track reached #61 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine whose Easy Listening chart afforded Puckett's "I Just Don't Know..." a #14 peak.
Marcia Hines
reached #6 on the Australian Pop chart in 1976 with her recording of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" produced by Robie Porter
.
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" has also been recorded by Cissy Houston
(1968), Isaac Hayes
(1970), the Dells
(1972), Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978), Demis Roussos
(1978), The Photos
(featuring Wendy Wu) (1980), Linda Ronstadt
(1994), the Stylistics
(1991) and Steve Tyrell
(2003). Trijntje Oosterhuis
and Tina Arena
both released versions in 2007.
Although the recording year is unknown, a 2002 release of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Away We a Go-Go
includes their version of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself".
Also in 1997, the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding
included a version by Nicky Holland. In the film, Cameron Diaz
sings the song in a karaoke scene.
In 2003, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was released as a single
by the American alternative rock
band The White Stripes
. It was the second single from their album Elephant
. The video
for the White Stripes version is a black-and-white
video featuring Kate Moss
pole dancing and was directed by Sofia Coppola
.
In 2006, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was performed and included in the soundtrack for Shout! The Mod Musical.
In 2011, Ronan Keating
recorded the song for his album "When Ronan Met Burt
".
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
.
Original version
"I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" was first recorded by Tommy HuntTommy Hunt
Tommy Hunt is an American soul/northern soul singer, and a member of The Flamingos.- Early life :...
in a session produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
, with Burt Bacharach arranging and conducting. Released as single Scepter
Scepter Records
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. She had just sold Tiara Records with The Shirelles for $4000 to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a...
1236 (B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
"And I Never Knew") in May 1962, "I Just Don't Know..." reached the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
chart in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
with a #119 peak. The track served as the title track for Hunt's sole album release on Scepter released in April 1963. The success in the UK of the Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
version of "I Just Don't Know..." in the summer of 1964 led to Scepter's re-releasing the original at that time.
Dusty Springfield
Dusty SpringfieldDusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
recorded "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" in a session at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
with production credited to Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
owner Johnny Franz
Johnny Franz
Johnny Franz was a UK record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. Although his name is not recognized by many Americans, Franz was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s...
- although Springfield later stated her solo Philips tracks were self-produced - and arranged by Ivor Raymonde
Ivor Raymonde
Ivor Raymonde was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s.-Life and career:...
who conducted his orchestra; personnel on the session included Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
on guitar and Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham was an English session drummer, composer, arranger and record producer. Shel Talmy, who produced The Kinks, David Bowie and The Who, described Graham as "the greatest drummer the UK has ever produced."...
on drums. Springfield, whose first solo recordings had included covers of the Bacharach/David compositions "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Wishin' and Hopin'
Wishin' and Hopin'
"Wishin' and Hopin" is a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach which was a Top Ten hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964.The song was first recorded by Dionne Warwick and was the B-side of Warwick's single "This Empty Place" in the spring of 1963; the track was also featured on Warwick's debut...
" - had brought back "I Just Don't Know..." from an overnight trip to New York City where she met up with Bacharach in February 1964.
The third UK single release of Springfield's solo career - following the "Brill Building" Sound-alikes "I Only Want to Be With You
I Only Want to Be with You
"I Only Want to Be with You" is a rock-and-roll song by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. It was the first solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz...
" and "Stay Awhile" - "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was Springfield's first UK single release to display her signature vocal style; rising to #3 in the summer of 1964 the track remained Springfield's highest charting UK hit until she reached #1 in 1966 with "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is the title of a 1966 hit recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield which proved to be her career record reaching #1 UK and #4 US: the song subsequently charted in the UK via remakes by Elvis Presley , Guys 'n' Dolls and Denise Welch with Presley's version...
" which would remain Springfield's only UK solo hit to chart higher than "I Just Don't Know...".
A concurrent US release of Springfield's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was preempted by the presence of Springfield's "Wishin' and Hopin'" in the US Top Ten over the summer of 1964. Springfield's "I Just Don't Know..." received a belated US release in October 1965 featured on a single with Springfield's current UK hit "Some of Your Lovin'"; that month Springfield made a promotional junket to the US which included performances of both of the single's tracks on the TV shows Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo may refer to:*Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!, the beginning phrase of the Aggie War Hymn*Hullabaloo , a 1940 film*Hullabaloo , a 1960s NBC musical variety series...
and Shindig
Shindig
Shindig may refer to:*Shindig!, a '60s American music variety television show*"Shindig" , an episode of the television series Firefly*Shindig , an open-source software implementation of the OpenSocial standard...
but neither side reached the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Dionne Warwick
Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
recorded "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" at Bell Sound Studios in August 1966 with Burt Bacharach producing; released that September the track was a moderate success reaching #26 on the Hot 100 (#20 R&B) with its strongest evident regional success in Detroit going Top Ten there. After "Message to Michael
Message to Michael
"Message to Michael" is a 1966 Top Ten hit by Dionne Warwick, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The song's lyrics are addressed to a bluebird by a woman in Kentucky whose sweetheart is vainly pursuing musical stardom in New Orleans; the woman asks the bluebird to take a message to Michael,...
" and "Trains and Boats and Planes" Warwick's "I Just Don't Know..." was her third consecutive single release comprising a previously recorded Bacharach/David song and Warwick's next Top 40 single "Alfie
Alfie (song)
"Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1965 most successfully recorded by Cher, Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick.-Background:...
" would also fit in this category; all four of these tracks were featured on Warwick's Here Where There Is Love
Here Where There Is Love
Here Where There Is Love, Dionne Warwick's seventh studio album for Scepter Records, was released in 1966. The LP was catalog number 555 on the label. The album was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City and was produced in full by Burt Bacharach and Hal David...
album release of 1967.
Other versions
In October 1970 a Richard PerryRichard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
-produced version of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was released as the first solo single by Gary Puckett; primarily supported by Easy Listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
radio, the track reached #61 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine whose Easy Listening chart afforded Puckett's "I Just Don't Know..." a #14 peak.
Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
reached #6 on the Australian Pop chart in 1976 with her recording of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" produced by Robie Porter
Robie Porter
Robie Porter is an Australian country, pop/rock musician, producer and record label owner.Beginning in 1959 he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded lap steel guitar instrumentals or covers of country-style vocals. He provided four top ten hits including two #1 hits in Sydney with...
.
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" has also been recorded by Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
(1968), Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
(1970), the Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
(1972), Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978), Demis Roussos
Demis Roussos
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...
(1978), The Photos
The Photos
The Photos were a British new wave band fronted by Wendy Wu, who had a top 5 album in the UK in 1980.-History:The Photos were originally a punk band named Satan's Rats that formed in Evesham, Worcestershire in 1977, with the first stable line-up of Paul Rencher , Steve Eagles , Roy Wilkes , and...
(featuring Wendy Wu) (1980), Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
(1994), the Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...
(1991) and Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell is an American jazz musician.-Early career:Upon moving to New York City at the age of 18, he was made head of A&R and promotion at Scepter Records...
(2003). Trijntje Oosterhuis
Trijntje Oosterhuis
Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis is a Dutch pop and jazz singer.-Early life:Judith Katrijntje Oosterhuis was born on 5 February 1973, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
and Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
both released versions in 2007.
Although the recording year is unknown, a 2002 release of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Away We a Go-Go
Away We a Go-Go
Away We A Go-Go is a 1966 album by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The album features the singles " I'm The One You Need",a Billboard Top 20 Pop hit, written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland; and "Whole Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart ", written and produced by Frank Wilson...
includes their version of "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself".
Also in 1997, the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding
My Best Friend's Wedding
My Best Friend's Wedding is a 1997 romantic comedy film directed by P. J. Hogan. It stars Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett, and Philip Bosco.The film received mostly positive reviews from critics...
included a version by Nicky Holland. In the film, Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
sings the song in a karaoke scene.
In 2003, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by the American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
. It was the second single from their album Elephant
Elephant (album)
Elephant is the Grammy winning fourth album by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Released on April 1, 2003 on V2 Records, the album marks the band's major label debut...
. The video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the White Stripes version is a black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
video featuring Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
pole dancing and was directed by Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
.
In 2006, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was performed and included in the soundtrack for Shout! The Mod Musical.
In 2011, Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Keating debuted on the professional music scene alongside Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately, in 1994 as the lead singer of Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999, and...
recorded the song for his album "When Ronan Met Burt
When Ronan Met Burt
When Ronan Met Burt is the eighth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter and Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating. It was produced and composed by Burt Bacharach.-Background:...
".
Promo
- "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Evening Session) (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - "Who's to Say" (Dan MillerBlanche (band)Blanche is an American alternative country band from Detroit, Michigan. Their music is based in Americana, early country, and folk blues, with a touch of haunting Southern Gothic stylings and garage rock mentality. Blanche is known for wearing vintage fashion of the early to mid-20th century.The...
) - "Lafayette Blues" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)
- "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman "(Live on the John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
Show)
CD
- "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)
- "Who's to Say"
- "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman" (Live on the John Peel Show)
DVD
- "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (audio only)
- "Lafayette Blues" (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session) (audio only)
- "Black Math" (Masonic Temple Theatre, 16 April 2003)