But Not for Me (song)
"But Not for Me" is a popular song, composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
It was written for their musical Girl Crazy (1930) and introduced in the original production by Ginger Rogers. It is also in the 1992 musical based on Girl Crazy, Crazy for You. Judy Garland sang it in the 1943 film version of Girl Crazy.
Singer Ketty Lester, most famous for "Love Letters", remade "But Not For Me" in a similar arrangement and narrowly missed the Billboard Top 40 in 1962.
It is also featured in the 1979 Woody Allen movie Manhattan, the 1989 Rob Reiner movie When Harry Met Sally... (performed by Harry Connick, Jr.), the 1994 Mike Newell film Four Weddings and a Funeral, and in the opening scene of the 1998 Bennett Miller documentary The Cruise.
Notable recordings
- Billie Holiday
- Chet Baker
- Helen Forrest
- Joshua Bell, in concert in London, London Symphony Orchestra, John Williams conducting (March 2, 2009 at the Barbican Center, London, England)
- Polly Bergen, on The Polly Bergen Show[1]
- Carol Burnett, performed on "The Muppet Show"
- Chris Connor, on the album Masters of Jazz Vol. 5 Female Vocal Classics Rhino Records
- Bobby Darin
- Miles Davis, on the album Bags' Groove (1954 - instrumental version)
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Doris Day, on the album Day By Day (1956)
- Ella Fitzgerald, on the albums Ella Sings Gershwin (1950), Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959) and Nice Work If You Can Get It (1983).
- Judy Garland
- Ahmad Jamal, on the album At the Pershing: But Not for Me (1958)
- John Coltrane, on the album My Favorite Things (1961)
- Georgia Brown, on the album Georgia Brown Sings Gershwin (1963)
- Rosemary Clooney, on the album Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin (1979)
- Linda Ronstadt, on the album For Sentimental Reasons (1986)
- Elvis Costello, on the album The Glory of Gershwin (1994)
- Elton John, on the Four Weddings and a Funeral soundtrack (1994)
- Natalie Merchant, on the album Red Hot + Rhapsody (1998)
- The Idea of North, on the album Here & Now (2003)
- Ronnie Milsap, on the album Just for a Thrill (2004)
- Chelsea Krombach, on the album Profile, her debut album (2004)
- Modern Jazz Quartet
- Paul Motian with Joe Lovano
- Frank Sinatra
- Rod Stewart, on the album Stardust: The Great American Songbook Volume III (2004)
- Sarah Vaughan, on The George Gershwin Songbook, Vol. 2
- Dinah Washington
- Diana Krall on the TV-series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... in 2009
- Lisa Ekdahl, on the album Heaven, Earth And Beyond (2002)
- Joni James, on the album, In the Still of the Night (1956)
See also
References