"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is a song written by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

for the 1956 film ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'', where it was introduced 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 ...

and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to th ...

. Whilst looking at expensive wedding presents, the singers decide that they in fact have little desire to be fabulously wealthy. The song also appeared in the 1973 Christmas special of ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

'' television series, '' The Goodies and the Beanstalk''. It later inspired the title, and title music, of the popular game show ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

Notable recordings

Susannah McCorkle Susannah McCorkle (January 1, 1946 – May 19, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Life and career A native of Berkeley, California, McCorkle studied Italian literature at the University of California at Berkeley before dropping out to move to E ...

- ''Easy to Love—The Songs of Cole Porter'' (1996) *

and

- ''

'' (1956) *

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British Pop music, pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string ...

for the AIDS benefit release

Red Hot + Blue Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

. (1990) *Todd Gordon and

Clare Teal Clare Teal (born 14 May 1973) is an English singer and broadcaster who has become famous not only for her singing, but also for having signed the biggest recording contract by a British jazz singer. Biography Teal was brought up in the Kildwic ...

with the Royal Air Force Squadronaires big band for the 2012 album, Helping the Heroes.

References

Songs from High Society (1956 film) Songs written by Cole Porter Frank Sinatra songs 1956 songs {{Pop-standard-stub