My Baby Just Cares for Me
Encyclopedia
"My Baby Just Cares for Me" is a jazz standard
written by Walter Donaldson
with lyrics by Gus Kahn
. It was written for the 1930
film version
of the 1928 Ziegfeld musical comedy Whoopee!
, starring Eddie Cantor
. It is known as the signature tune of singer and pianist Nina Simone
.
. The track remained relatively obscure until 1987
, when it was used in a UK television commercial for Chanel No. 5
perfume. To follow up this exposure, the track was released as a single by Charly Records
, entering the UK Singles Chart
on and becoming, at Number 5, one of Simone's biggest hits almost 29 years after her previous chart entry. This single also made the top 10 in several European single charts and peaked at number one in the Dutch Top 40
. A claymation music video was produced by Aardman Animations
and directed by Peter Lord
.
arranged and recorded a version of “My Baby Just Cares for Me” for his 1999
album Songs from the Last Century
. Cyndi Lauper
made her own arrangement of the classic tune and released it on her 2003
album "At Last". It has also been recorded by Nat King Cole
, Amanda Lear
, Mel Tormé
, Mary Wells
and Alex Chilton
. Frank Sinatra recorded an up-tempo version of this song for his 1965 Reprise album, Strangers in the Night
.
Dick Van Dyke
in the 60s re-recorded the song for his album Songs I Like.
In the Woody Allen
movie "Everyone Says I Love You
" there is an extended musical dance scene of the song performed by Edward Norton
and Natasha Lyonne
in Harry Winston, the jewelry store. Holden (Edward Norton) brings his soon-to-be sister-in-law Djuna a.k.a. D.J. (Natasha Lyonne) to pick out an engagement ring for his fiancee, Skylar (Drew Barrymore
), and the song breaks out.
Alex Chilton recorded his version on his album "Cliches" released in 1994 by Ardent Records.
Indigo Swing had great success with their 1998 rendition on their "My Baby Just Cares for Me" album; it became a standard in U.S. dance halls during the Swing Dance revival. Other artists including Renee Olstead
and Rob Rio also then recorded swing dance renditions of the song. The Indigo Swing recording introduced many swing dancers to Nina Simone
.
Jools Holland
& his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and Florence Welch
(from Florence + the Machine) performed the song on the pre-recorded New Year's Eve celebration show Hootenanny in 2009.
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
written by Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
with lyrics by Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
. It was written for the 1930
1930 in music
-Events:*February 16 - al which opens to rave reviews. Of the film's song, "When The Little Red Roses Get The Blues For You", becomes a hit. Al Jolson records this song from the picture for Brunswick Records....
film version
Whoopee! (film)
Whoopee is a 1930 "All-Talking All-Color" musical comedy film photographed in two-color Technicolor. The plot of the film closely followed the stage show produced by Florenz Ziegfeld in 1928.-Production:...
of the 1928 Ziegfeld musical comedy Whoopee!
Whoopee!
Whoopee! is a musical comedy with the book, based on Owen Davis's play The Nervous Wreck, written by William Anthony McGuire, music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn...
, starring Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
. It is known as the signature tune of singer and pianist Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
.
Nina Simone recording
Simone recorded the song in 1958 for her debut album, Little Girl BlueLittle Girl Blue (Nina Simone album)
Little Girl Blue is the debut album by Jazz singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone for Bethlehem Records. It was also released as Jazz As Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club. Nina was in her mid-20s at the time of this album, and still aspiring to be a classical concert pianist...
. The track remained relatively obscure until 1987
1987 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, when it was used in a UK television commercial for Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
perfume. To follow up this exposure, the track was released as a single by Charly Records
Charly Records
Charly Records is a British record label which specialises in reissued material.-History:Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. Charly Records was founded in France in 1974 by Jean-Luc Young, who had been a promoter of...
, entering the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on and becoming, at Number 5, one of Simone's biggest hits almost 29 years after her previous chart entry. This single also made the top 10 in several European single charts and peaked at number one in the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
. A claymation music video was produced by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
and directed by Peter Lord
Peter Lord
Peter Lord CBE is a British film producer, director and co-founder of the Academy award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring plasticine duo Wallace & Gromit.-Biography:In cooperation with David...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
82 |
| Chart (1987/1988) | Peak position |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
5 |
Other notable recordings
George MichaelGeorge Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
arranged and recorded a version of “My Baby Just Cares for Me” for his 1999
1999 in music
-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
album Songs from the Last Century
Songs from the Last Century
Songs from the Last Century is an album of cover versions by singer George Michael and acclaimed producer Phil Ramone, released in December 1999...
. Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
made her own arrangement of the classic tune and released it on her 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
album "At Last". It has also been recorded by Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
, Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
and Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
. Frank Sinatra recorded an up-tempo version of this song for his 1965 Reprise album, Strangers in the Night
Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album)
Strangers in the Night is a 1966 studio album by Frank Sinatra.The album marked Sinatra's return to #1 on the pop album charts in the mid-1960s, and it consolidated the comeback he started in 1966. Combining pop hits with show tunes and standards, the album creates a balance between big band and...
.
Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
in the 60s re-recorded the song for his album Songs I Like.
In the Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
movie "Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You
Everyone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical film that was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman.Set in New York, Venice, and Paris, the...
" there is an extended musical dance scene of the song performed by Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
and Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Lyonne
-Early life:Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household...
in Harry Winston, the jewelry store. Holden (Edward Norton) brings his soon-to-be sister-in-law Djuna a.k.a. D.J. (Natasha Lyonne) to pick out an engagement ring for his fiancee, Skylar (Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
), and the song breaks out.
Alex Chilton recorded his version on his album "Cliches" released in 1994 by Ardent Records.
Indigo Swing had great success with their 1998 rendition on their "My Baby Just Cares for Me" album; it became a standard in U.S. dance halls during the Swing Dance revival. Other artists including Renee Olstead
Renee Olstead
Rebecca Renee Olstead is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles in the TV sitcoms Still Standing as Lauren Miller and The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein...
and Rob Rio also then recorded swing dance renditions of the song. The Indigo Swing recording introduced many swing dancers to Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
.
Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
& his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and Florence Welch
Florence Welch
Florence Leontine Mary Welch is an English singer-songwriter, best known worldwide as the lead singer of Florence and the Machine...
(from Florence + the Machine) performed the song on the pre-recorded New Year's Eve celebration show Hootenanny in 2009.