"I'm a Fool to Want You" is a 1951 song composed by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron. Frank Sinatra co-wrote the lyrics and released the song as a

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

single. The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

is considered a pop and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

standard.

Background

Frank Sinatra first recorded the song with the

Ray Charles Singers Ray Charles (born Charles Raymond Offenberg; September 13, 1918April 6, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and conductor who was best known as organizer and leader of the Ray Charles Singers who were featured o ...

on March 27, 1951, in an arrangement by

Axel Stordahl Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophisticat ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was the second song recorded at the sessions that began with "

I Whistle a Happy Tune "I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, ''The King and I.'' It is sung by the Governess Anna Leonowens (originally played on Broadway by Gertrude Lawrence) to her son Louis after the curtain rises on ...

" and ended with "Love Me". It is commonly thought by many listeners that Sinatra was navigating his stormy marriage to

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

at the time, but Sinatra and Gardner didn't marry until November 7, 1951, nearly 8 months after the song was recorded. It is more likely that he was melancholy about his wife, Nancy's, refusal to grant him a divorce so he could marry Gardner and his guilt for the impact his very public affair with Gardner was having on his family, especially his three children. To complicate matters, his career was in a freefall and he and Nancy were both Catholics and the Church forbade divorce. His emotional rendering of the song is haunting and it instantly became one of the classic "saloon songs" in his repertoire along with "One For My Baby", "Angel Eyes", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" among many others. It would not have escaped Sinatra that his unbridled and uncontrollable passion for Gardner and the consequential collateral damage it caused his family, reputation, and career made him a fool, not only in his own eyes, but to the world. So, he felt the song was perfect for his current situation and, for him personally, somewhat cathartic. As

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with T ...

wrote in his 1966 article for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', " Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," "A friend who was in the studio when Sinatra recorded it recalled: 'Frank was really worked up that night. He did the song in one take, then turned around and walked out of the studio and that was that....'" Writer

Mark Steyn Mark Steyn (; born December 8, 1959) is a Canadian author and a radio and television presenter. He has written several books, including ''The New York Times'' bestsellers '' America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It'', ''After America: G ...

quotes longtime Sinatra arranger

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

as saying, "It was Ava who taught him how to sing a torch song. That's how he learned. She was the greatest love of his life and he lost her." Sinatra recorded a second version at the

Capitol Records Tower The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, is a 13-story tower building in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Designed by Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket Associates, it is one of the city's landmarks. Construction began soon after ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

on May 1, 1957, arranged and conducted by

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

, which was released in 1957 on the album '' Where Are You?''. This album was Sinatra’s first

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

recording. Capitol also released the song as part of an EP, EAP-2-855, EBFI-855. The song was released as a

10" 78

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single in 1951 backed with "Mama Will Bark" (with Dagmar) as #39425, Matrix # CO-45185-1. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

reached #14 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 ...

'' pop singles chart in a seven-week chart run beginning in June and #27 on ''Cashbox'' the same month in a 5-week chart run. " Mama Will Bark" reached #21. The song was re-released in 1954 as an A side Columbia single with "If I Forget You" as the B side. Columbia also released the song as part of an EP, 2559, which also featured "

I Should Care "I Should Care" is a popular song with music by Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston and lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in 1944. Cahn said that the title came to him by the time they played the first 4 bars. It first appeared in the MGM film '' Thrill ...

", "

I Could Write a Book "I Could Write a Book" is a show tune from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Pal Joey'', where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst. It is considered a standard. Critical reception An uncredited critic reviewing "New Plays in Manh ...

", and "

If You Are But a Dream "If You Are But a Dream" is a popular song published in 1942 with words and music by Moe Jaffe, Jack Fulton and Nat Bonx. The melody is based on Anton Rubinstein's "Romance in E flat, Op. 44, No. 1," popularly known as "Rubinstein's Romance". The s ...

". The Columbia recording appeared on the 1966 album ''Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits: The Early Years, Volume Two''. The song also appeared on the 1986 4-disc collection '' The Voice: Frank Sinatra, the Columbia Years (1943–1952)'' and the 1993 box-set album '' The Columbia Years 1943-1952: The Complete Recordings''. The song also appeared on ''Frank Sinatra: The Best of the Columbia Years: 1943-1952'' in 1995 and ''Frank Sinatra Sings His Greatest Hits'' in 1997 both on Columbia. In 2003, the song was included on the Sony collection ''The Essential Sinatra: The Columbia Years''. The song was featured on the 1992 '' Sinatra: Soundtrack to the CBS Mini-Series'' released on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. The song has become a pop and jazz standard that has been recorded by more than 100 other performers.

References

Sources

*Granata, Charles L. (1999). ''Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording''. Chicago Review Press. *Phasey, Chris (1995). ''Francis Albert Sinatra: Tracked Down (Discography)''. Buckland Publications. *Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn (2005). ''Sinatra: The Life''. Doubleday.

External links

MPCA - I'm a fool to want you.Songbook: I'm a Fool to Want You.
{{authority control 1951 songs Frank Sinatra songs 1950s jazz standards Pop standards Songs written by Frank Sinatra Columbia Records singles 1954 singles Billie Holiday songs Ketty Lester songs 1950s ballads