"Be My Love" is a
popular song
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...
with lyrics by
Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as 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 premier ...
and music by
Nicholas Brodszky
Nicholas "Slug" Brodszky (russian: Николай Бродский; April 20, 1905December 24, 1958) was a composer of popular songs for the theatre and for films.
Brodszky was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, into a Jewish family, who moved to ...
. Published in 1950, it was written for
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
, who sang it with
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010.
From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...
in the
1950 movie ''
The Toast of New Orleans
''The Toast of New Orleans'' is a 1950 MGM musical film directed by Norman Taurog and choreographed by Eugene Loring. It stars Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, David Niven, J. Carrol Naish, James Mitchell and Rita Moreno. The film was made af ...
''.
[ The song was nominated for the ]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 (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
in 1950 but lost out to "Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
". He recorded it on June 27, 1950, with Ray Sinatra
Raymond Dominic Sinatra (November 1, 1904 – November 1980) was an Italian-born American conductor, best known as the music director of Mario Lanza.
Life
Ray Sinatra was born in Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, in 1904.
He was a second cousin of Fran ...
's orchestra.
Lanza's 1950 recording of the song (released by RCA Victor Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
as catalog number 10-1561) was his first million-seller,[ eventually selling over two million copies.][ It was on the '']Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' charts for 34 weeks, going all the way to number one.[ It was the theme song for Lanza's radio program, ''The Mario Lanza Show'' (1951–52). It eventually became so firmly linked to him that he wearied of it and resorted to spoofing it in private.][
]
Other versions
*Ray Anthony
Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Biography
Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...
's rendition of "Be My Love" (Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
F1352) also charted in 1951, peaking at No. 13.[
*]Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
recorded "Be My Love" in 1964 for her motion picture '' Looking For Love'' and for the subsequent soundtrack album.
*Mel Carter
Mel Carter (born April 22, 1939, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me".
Biography
At age 16 Carter studied singing with vocalist Little Jimmy Sc ...
released a version in 1967 which reached #23 in the Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
category.[
* Cheryl Bentyne recorded it for her 2006 album, ''The Book of Love.''
]
References
1950 songs
1951 singles
1959 singles
1967 singles
Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Songs with music by Nicholas Brodszky
Mario Lanza songs
Ed Townsend songs
Andy Williams songs
Number-one singles in the United States
Capitol Records singles
{{1950s-pop-song-stub