My Baby Just Cares for Me
"My Baby Just Cares for Me" is a jazz standard written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn. Written for the film version of the musical comedy Whoopee! (1930), the song became a signature tune for Eddie Cantor who sang it in the movie.[1][2] A stylized version of the song by Nina Simone,[2] recorded in 1958, was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom after it was used in a 1987 perfume commercial and resulted in a renaissance for Simone.[3]
Nina Simone recording
| "My Baby Just Cares for Me" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Nina Simone's 1987 single release | |
| Single by Nina Simone | |
| from the album Little Girl Blue | |
| Released | 1958 |
| Recorded | 1958 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 3:20 |
| Writer(s) | Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn |
Simone recorded the song in 1958 for her debut album, Little Girl Blue. 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,[4] entering the UK Singles Chart on October 31, 1987 and becoming, at Number 5,[5] one of Simone's biggest hits almost 19 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.[6]
Music video
In 1987 a claymation music video was produced by Aardman Animations[7] and directed by Peter Lord. The video shows a cat entering a music club and watches Simone (who is portrayed as a cat). The cat is then thrown out of the club by a bouncer but it is able to get back into the club by climbing and falling through the roof and lands into Simone's arms.
Chart performance
| Chart (1958) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[8] | 82 |
| Chart (1987/1988) | Peak position |
| Austrian Singles Chart[9] | 8 |
| Dutch Top 40[6] | 1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart[10] | 9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[11] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart[5] | 5 |
| Preceded by "Faith" by George Michael[12] |
Dutch Top 40 number-one single [6] December 26, 1987 – January 8, 1988 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "China in Your Hand" by T'Pau[13] |
Other notable recordings
- The song was recorded by Ted Weems & His Orchestra in 1930 featuring vocals by Art Jarrett.
- In 1986 Australian recording artist Kate Ceberano recorded a version for her album Kate Ceberano and her Septet.
- George Michael 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, Alex Chilton, and Al Hirt.[14] 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.
- Imelda May sings this song on her album Jump Jack Jump when singing with the jazz band Blue Harlem.
- 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.
References
- ↑ Jasen, David A. (2003). Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 0415938775.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Friedwald, Will (2010). A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Pantheon. p. 414. ISBN 9780375421495.
- ↑ Taleveski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 594. ISBN 9781846090912.
- ↑ Nina Simone catalogue at Charly Records
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Chart Stats - Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me {1987}". Retrieved November 12, 2009. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "De Nederlandse Top 40 - week 52, 1987" (in Dutch). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "Episode 8: Music Videos", aardman.com. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ "Chart Stats - Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me". Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me - austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "lescharts.com - Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me" (in French). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me - hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40 - week 51, 1987" (in Dutch). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40 - week 2, 1988" (in Dutch). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ↑ Al Hirt, Beauty and the Beard Retrieved April 10, 2013.
External links
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