It Could Happen to You (song)

"It Could Happen to You" is a popular standard with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was written in 1944 and was introduced by Dorothy Lamour in the Paramount musical comedy film, And the Angels Sing.^[1]

A recording by Jo Stafford was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 158. It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on September 21, 1944 at #10, its only week on the chart.^[2] Bing Crosby's recording for Decca Records had two weeks in the Billboard charts in September 1944 with a peak position of #18.^[3]

The Dexter Gordon composition, "Fried Bananas," is based on the changes of "It Could Happen to You."

Other notable recordings

The song has also been recorded by Dorothy Lamour, Anita O'Day, Eydie Gormé, Frankie Vaughan, Julie London, Lena Horne, Lita Roza, Peggy Lee, Perry Como, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Vera Lynn, Shirley Bassey, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Red Garland, Erroll Garner, Bud Powell, Ahmad Jamal, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, June Christy, Larry Coryell, Four Freshmen, Robert Palmer, Keith Jarrett, Diana Krall, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Susannah McCorkle, Dinah Washington, Barbra Streisand, Kiri Te Kanawa, Dave Brubeck, Bob Dorough, Andy Williams, Maynard Ferguson, Roseanna Vitro and Monica Zetterlund.

In popular culture

• The recording by Dinah Washington was featured in the film "The Hurricane" (1999).
• The Jo Stafford recording was featured in a 2006 episode of Cold Case entitled "The Hen House" and in an episode of The Walking Dead.

References