"Nobody's Sweetheart", also known as "Nobody's Sweetheart Now" and "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", is a popular song, written in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

, with music by Billy Meyers and

Elmer Schoebel Elmer Schoebel (September 8, 1896 – December 14, 1970) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, United States. Career Schoebel played along to silent films in Champaign, Illinoi ...

, and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. The song is a jazz and

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

Background

The song was introduced by Ted Lewis in the Broadway revue

The Passing Show ''The Passing Show'' was a musical revue in three acts, billed as a "topical extravaganza", with a book and lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld and music by Ludwig Engländer and various other composers. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of t ...

of 1923. The song was duly published in 1924 by Mills Music in New York by Jack Mills. It was first recorded on February 22, 1924 by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

and his Orchestra and released on Brunswick Records as a 78 single.

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

assessed the early popular recordings of the song as being by Isham Jones (1924); Red Nichols (1928);

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

(1930);

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

(1931); and by

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

(1931). The song was used as the theme for the ''Joan Davis Time'' program on

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

Other recordings

The song is a jazz and pop standard recorded by the following musicians: *Louisiana Rhythm Kings (1928) * Red Nichols & His Five Pennies (1928) * Fred Elizalde & His Music (1929) *

& His Orchestra - recorded October 9, 1929. *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

- a single release (1930). *

& His Orchestra (1931) * Eubie Blake & His Orchestra (1931) *

(1931) * Tampa Red (1931) * Billy Cotton and His Band (1932) *

Roy Fox Roy Fox (October 25, 1901 – March 20, 1982) was an American-born British dance bandleader who was popular in Britain during the British dance band era. Early life and career Roy Fox was born in Denver, Colorado, United States. He and his ...

and His Band (vocal: Al Bowlly) - recorded December 7, 1931. ( Al Bowlly Discography) * Clyde McCoy and His Drake Hotel Orchestra (1933) * Nat Gonella and His Trumpet (1933) *

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

Trio (1936) * Oscar Alemán (1938) * Connee Boswell - recorded August 22, 1940 for Decca Records (catalog 3425A). *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

- a single release for Capitol Records (catalog 1194) (1950). *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

- included in the album '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (1951). *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

- issued as a single release. Originally recorded for a

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

in 1952 and mastered for commercial release on February 14, 1952. * Chet Atkins - for his album '' Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar'' (1953). *

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

- a single release on the Columbia Records label (1954). *

John Serry Sr. John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voic ...

and his accordion ensemble for

RCA Thesaurus thumb RCA Thesaurus, a brand owned by RCA Victor, was a supplier of electrical transcriptions. Efforts were made as early as 1936 to consolidate The RCA Victor Transcription service with NBC's independent transcription service within the NBC radio n ...

(1954) *

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

- included in her album ''

Della Reese at Basin Street East ''Della Reese At Basin Street East'' is a live album by Della Reese that was recorded and released in 1964. The album was conducted by John Cotter, and it was issued on compact disc alongside the 1962 album ''Della on Stage'', in 2004 by BMG. Tr ...

'' (1964) * Leon Redbone - for his album ''

Double Time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

'' (1977). * Captain Sensible - for the album ''Women and Captains First'' (1982). * Acker Bilk - included in the album ''Acker Bilk in Holland'' (1983).

Film appearances

*1929

The Vagabond Lover ''The Vagabond Lover'' is a 1929 American pre-Code black-and-white musical comedy-drama film about a small-town boy who finds fame and romance when he joins a dance band. The film was directed by Marshall Neilan and is based on the novel of the ...

- performed by

Rudy Vallée and the Connecticut Yankees Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

*1932

Red-Headed Woman ''Red-Headed Woman'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Katharine Brush, and a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway and stars Jean ...

*1932 Betty Boop M.D - sung by Red Pepper Sam *1940

I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now ''I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now'' is a 1940 American romantic comedy directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore and Helen Parrish. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot Football player Tod Lowell is ...

- sung by

Constance Moore Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...

*1943 Stormy Weather - danced by an unidentified male dancer immediately after the "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" number and played when Gabe brings candy to the chorus girls *1943

Hit Parade of 1943 ''Hit Parade of 1943'' also known as ''Change of Heart'' is a 1943 American musical film made by Republic Pictures.Hurtst p.243 It was directed by Albert S. Rogell and produced by Albert J. Cohen from a screenplay by Frank Gill Jr. and Frances ...

*1944

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

- sung by Belle Baker *1944

Two Thousand Women ''Two Thousand Women'' is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a German internment camp in Occupied France which holds British women who have been resident in the country. Three RAF aircrewmen, whose bomber has been shot down, enter the c ...

*1945 It's a Pleasure - first solo skating number. *1945 Waterloo Road *1951 I'll See You in My Dreams - sung by Doris Day. *1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - sung as the parody line "I'm nobody's houseboy now . . ." *1984 Cotton Club

References

External reference

Song lyric with chords
{{authority control Songs written by Elmer Schoebel 1924 songs Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn Cab Calloway songs Al Bowlly songs