You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"
Featured in the 1938 film Hard to Get
Song by Dick Powell
Published	1938
Composer(s)	Harry Warren
Lyricist(s)	Johnny Mercer

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, published in 1938. It was featured in the Warner Brothers movie Hard to Get, released November 1938, in which it was sung by Dick Powell.^[1]

Originally, the song was recorded by Bing Crosby for the biggest-selling hit version,^[1][2] while other contemporaneous hit versions included recordings by Tommy Dorsey (with vocal by Edythe Wright) and Russ Morgan.^[1] It was also revived by Bobby Darin in 1961, reaching the charts again that year.^[1] The song has been recorded by many other artists (see below for a partial list) and is considered a popular standard. It was used frequently in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, also produced by Warner Brothers, under the musical direction of Carl W. Stalling.^[3]

Recorded versions

• Blue Barron and his orchestra (recorded October 1, 1938, released by Bluebird Records as catalog number 7886^[4] and by Montgomery Ward Records as catalog number 7537,^[5] both with the flip side "It's Time to Say Aloha"^[4][5])
• Chick Bullock (recorded October 20, 1938, released by Conqueror Records as catalog number 9149, with the flip side "I Won't Tell a Soul"^[6])
• Dorothy Carless and Sam Costa ("two voices and a piano") in February 1939, released by Regal Zonophone (MR 2984).
• The Dave Clark Five (released in 1967 as a U.S. single on Epic Records, catalog number 10179, with the flip side "Man in the Pin-Stripe Suit"). Their version peaked at number thirty-five and was their seventeenth and final Top 40 hit ^[7]
• Robert Clary (released by Capitol Records as catalog number 891, with the flip side "Alouette"^[8])
• Perry Como (recorded March 21, 1946, released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1916, with the flip side "A Garden in the Rain"^[9])
• Bing Crosby (recorded October 14, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 2147A,^[1] with the flip side "Summertime"^[10])
• Bobby Darin (recorded on June 19, 1961 released as Atco 6206, with the flip side "Sorrow Tomorrow";^[11] the biggest hit version, reaching U.S. #5 and UK #10)
• Tommy Dorsey and his Clambake 7 with vocal by Edythe Wright (recorded September 29, 1938, released by Victor Records as catalog number 26066,^[1] with the flip side "Sailing at Midnight"^[12])
• Joe Loss & his Band with vocal by Chick Henderson (recorded January 21, 1939 released on Regal Zonophone MR-2992)
• Johnny Mercer (recorded January, 1974, released on the album My Huckleberry Friend.)
• Russ Morgan and his orchestra (recorded August 26, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 2125A,^[1] with the flip side "This Is Madness"^[10])
• Red Norvo and his orchestra (vocal: Mildred Bailey; released by Brunswick Records as catalog number 8240, with the flip side "Just You, Just Me"^[13])
• Bob Smith and the Herman Chittison Trio (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2266, with the flip side "Where's Sam?"^[14])

References