"I Get Ideas" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

which has been recorded by various musicians and used in a number of films and television episodes.

Origin

The music is a 1927 ''tango-canción'' (

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

with lyrics) called " Adios, Muchachos", composed by

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

Julio César Sanders (often credited in the U.S. as "Lenny Sanders"

The English lyric (which has nothing to do with the original Spanish language, Spanish lyric by Cesar Felipe Vedani) is by

Dorcas Cochran Dorcas Cochran (c. 1903 – July 6, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. She is also referenced by her married name, Dorcas Cochran Jewell. Biography As a lyricist, her best-known song was "Again," which had multiple recorded vers ...

, and was published in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Notable recordings

The best-known version of the song was the recording by Tony Martin. It was recorded on April 16, 1951 and 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 20-4141. It first reached the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

charts on May 25, 1951 and lasted 30 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3. The recording 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 ...

was recorded on July 24, 1951 and 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 27720. It first reached the

charts on August 24, 1951 and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at #13. It was the flip side of "

A Kiss to Build a Dream On "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" is a song composed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II. In 1935, Kalmar and Ruby wrote a song called "Moonlight on the Meadow" for the Marx Brothers film '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) but the song ...

." The song was also recorded by

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

on May 16, 1951. It was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as catalog number 1573.

Jane Morgan Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold records. She was a frequen ...

included the song on her album ''Jane in Spain'' (1959)

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 a duet of this song on 2 December 1964 with the Billy May Orchestra for their 1965 album ''

That Travelin' Two-Beat ''That Travelin' Two-Beat'' is a duet album by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded in 1964 and released on Capitol Records in 1965. With its world tour theme, it was a revisitation of the concept explored in the duo's acclaimed RCA V ...

''.

Television and film appearances

"I Get Ideas" is sung by

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

playing Ricky Ricardo on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'' in episode 31 "The Publicity Agent" first aired on May 12, 1952 and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

sings the song as Lucy Ricardo in episode 130 of ''I Love Lucy'', "Lucy and the Dummy" which was broadcast on October 17, 1955. In

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

episode 1.02 aired on 12th of September 1976,

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

and a stereotypically "French looking" human-sized Muppet perform an

Apache Dance Apache, or La Danse Apache, Bowery Waltz, Apache Turn, Apache Dance and Tough Dance is a highly dramatic dance associated in popular culture with Parisian street culture at the beginning of the 20th century. In fin de siècle Paris young members ...

to the tune of ''I get Ideas'' (or rather ''Adios, Muchachos''). As "Adios, Muchachos", the song is featured on the soundtracks of the 1992 movie '' Scent of a Woman'' and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's 2006 movie, ''

Scoop Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to: Objects * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualty ...

''. The melody is used extensively in the 1944 movie '' Together Again'' starring

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

and

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. The song is also used in the 1937 movie '' History is Made at Night'' starring Charles Boyer and

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

. The couple dances to it and refers to it as "our tango". In the 1992 episode of ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'' entitled ''Smoke Your Nose'', the vicar plays an arrangement for church organ, prompting Lovejoy and Lady Jane to dance a tango spontaneously in the church aisle. In 1997, it was used on the soundtrack of ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...

''. "I Get Ideas" also appears on the soundtrack to the 1998 film ''

The Impostors ''The Impostors'' is a 1998 American farce film, motion picture directed, written and produced by Stanley Tucci, starring Oliver Platt, Tucci, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, and Billy Connolly. The film, in which Oliver Platt and S ...

''. The recording is credited to

Elizabeth Bracco Elizabeth Bracco is an American actress best known for her role as Marie Spatafore, the wife of Vito Spatafore, on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. Early life Bracco is the daughter of Eileen (née Molyneux) and Salvatore Bracco, Sr. She ...

Lewis J. Stadlen Lewis J. Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American stage and screen character actor. He is best known for playing Ira Fried in '' The Sopranos''. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with S ...

with Gary DeMichele & Band. It was used in part to reference its use in 1939's ''

Another Thin Man ''Another Thin Man'' is a 1939 American detective film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the third of six in the ''Thin Man'' series. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and is based on Dashiell Hammett's Continental O ...

'' during a protracted comic set piece.

M. Ward Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...

recorded an upbeat version of "I Get Ideas" for his 2012 album,

A Wasteland Companion ''A Wasteland Companion'' is the seventh studio album from M. Ward, released in Australia and New Zealand on April 6, 2012; in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2012; and in the United States on April 10, 2012. ''A Wasteland Companion'' is the follo ...

. Ward had been playing the song live for a couple of years prior to the release. This version was used in the second season episode of ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...

'', also titled "I Get Ideas" The song is featured in the 2021 film '' Cruella''.

References

{{authority control 1927 songs Songs with lyrics by Dorcas Cochran Tangos Tango in the United States Louis Armstrong songs