"The Best Things in Life Are Free" 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 ...

written by the songwriting team of

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...

and

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

(lyrics) and

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

(music) for the 1927 musical '' Good News''. It enjoyed a revival during the period from 1947 to 1950, when it was covered by many artists. On January 1, 2023, the composition entered the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

in the US.

Lyrics

:There are so many kinds of riches, ::And only one of them is gold. :Though wealth you miss, :Remember this : ::Worthwhile things cannot be bought or sold. :''Refrain'' :The moon belongs to everyone— ::The best things in life are free :The stars belong to everyone ::They gleam there for you and me :The flowers in spring :the robins that sing :The sunbeams that shine :They're yours!—They're mine! :And love can come to everyone— ::The best things in life are free

Recordings

The song first enjoyed chart success in 1927 with the recordings by

George Olsen George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an American bandleader. Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen played the drums and attended the University of Michigan, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen an ...

and Frank Black.

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

recorded the song on November 7, 1947, bringing the song to a new genre. She enjoyed chart success with the song reaching the No. 21 spot in 1948.

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

also covered the song in 1948; her single reached peaked at No. 18 on the charts.

Other recordings

*The Ink Spots covered the song in 1947; their version reached #10 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' U.S. R&B chart. *Kay Starr recorded the song in 1947 and it was included in the album ''The Uncollected Kay Starr in the 1940s - 1947''. *Les Paul and Mary Ford (1954) *Michael Holliday for his album ''Happy Holliday'' (1961) *Gordon MacRae (1956) *Sonny Stitt (1957) in his album ''Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers'' *Saxophonist Hank Mobley played the song on the 1961 album ''Workout (album), Workout''. *Sam Cooke sang the song on the 1964 live album ''Sam Cooke at the Copa''. *Saxophonist Lou Donaldson played the song on the 1970 live album ''Fried Buzzard''. *Bing Crosby included the song on his 1975 album ''That's What Life Is All About (album), That's What Life Is All About''. *Victoria Jackson on her children's album, Ukulele Lady *Michael Feinstein included the song in the album ''Romance on Film, Romance on Broadway'' (2000)

In film and television

The song was included in both film adaptations of '' Good News'', in Good News (1930 film), 1930 and Good News (1947 film), 1947; the 1947 film featured the song several times, sung by June Allyson, Mel Tormé, and Peter Lawford. The film ''The Best Things in Life Are Free (film), The Best Things in Life Are Free'' (1956 in film, 1956), about DeSylva, Brown and Henderson, was named after the song and featured it with a version sung by Sheree North (dubbed by Eileen Wilson). In an episode of ''The Muppet Show'', a group of kleptomaniac prairie dogs sang the song as they looted the set. The song was sung by Bonnie Bedelia in the 1969 Sydney Pollack film ''They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film), They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' Robert Morse performed the song in the Mad Men (season 7), ''Mad Men'' (season 7) episode "Waterloo" (2014 in television, May 25, 2014), in a dream sequence. Also featured in the film ''Nanny McPhee Returns'' during the piglet feeding in the beginning of the movie. Sung by Bing Crosby. Sam Cooke's version of the song is used in the closing of the Season 2 finale (episode 7) of ''The White Lotus''.

References

1927 songs Songs from musicals Songs with music by Ray Henderson Songs with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva Songs with lyrics by Lew Brown {{Pop-standard-stub