Call Me Irresponsible
Encyclopedia
"Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...

.

According to the 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...

 book The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol, Van Heusen originally wrote the song for Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

 to sing at a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 dinner. At that time, Garland had just signed to do The Judy Garland Show
The Judy Garland Show
The Judy Garland Show is an American musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963-1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found success with several television specials featuring the star...

on CBS, and the intent of the song was to parody her well-known problems. Garland later sang the song on the seventh episode of the show.

Hollywood, 1983: duet Billy Eckstine-Gloria Lynne. http://www.wat.tv/video/gloria-lynne-billy-eckstine-15sm6_2fgqp_.html
However, in 1988, Sammy Cahn said during an interview with freelance writer Harlan Conti, in San Francisco, that the song was originally written for Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

 to sing in the film Papa's Delicate Condition
Papa's Delicate Condition
Papa's Delicate Condition is a 1963 comedy film starring Jackie Gleason and Glynis Johns. It was an adaptation of the Corinne Griffith memoir of the same name, about her father and growing up in Texarkana, Texas. Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Call Me...

in which Astaire was to star. Cahn personally auditioned the song for Astaire's approval which was given. However, Astaire's contractual obligations prevented him from making the film and the role went to Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...

, who introduced the song. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 at the 36th Academy Awards
36th Academy Awards
The 36th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963, were held on April 13, 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Jack Lemmon....

 held in 1964.

Frank Sinatra's recording is perhaps the most celebrated from his 1963 album Sinatra's Sinatra
Sinatra's Sinatra
Sinatra's Sinatra is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1963.The album contained re-recorded versions of 12 songs Sinatra had previously released....

. However, the single by Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...

(Kapp 0062) was a radio hit.

Cahn is said to have had a particular satisfaction in the number of five-syllable words in the lyrics of "Call Me Irresponsible".

External links

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