"Takes Two to Tango" is a popular song, written by

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

and Dick Manning and published in 1952. Two versions of the song, by

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

and by

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 ...

, charted in that year. The recording by Pearl Bailey was released by Coral Records as catalog number 60817. It first reached 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 ...

'' Best Seller chart on September 19, 1952, and lasted 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 7.Whitburn, Joel. (1973). ''Top Pop Records 1940-1955,'' p. __. The recording by Louis Armstrong was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

as catalog number 28394. It reached the ''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on October 17, 1952, at No. 28; this was its only week on the chart.

Other versions

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 ...

and

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

recorded the song for Crosby's

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 ...

on December 11, 1952 and it was subsequently released on the CD ''Bing & Rosie - The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions'' (2010). * Lester Young's version was released by Verve Records. It was featured as a bonus track on the album '' Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio'' (1954). *

Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer *Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971) *Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...

- included in his album ''Shall We Dance?'' (1961). * Ray Charles and

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

- for their album ''

Ray Charles and Betty Carter ''Ray Charles and Betty Carter'' is a 1961 album by Betty Carter and Ray Charles. The pair's recording of " Baby, It's Cold Outside" on the album topped the R&B charts. A 1988 CD/LP re-issue included three bonus tracks and the 1998 Rhino Recor ...

'' (1961) * Ike & Tina Turner recorded a version that was released on Philles Records as a non-album single in 1966.

Notes

References

* Whitburn, Joel. (1973)
''Top Pop Records 1940-1955.''
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. 1952 songs Songs written by Al Hoffman Songs written by Dick Manning Louis Armstrong songs {{pop-standard-stub

Other versions

See also

Notes

References