"I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

from the

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' South Pacific.'' It was first introduced by

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

in the original Broadway production and sung by

Mitzi Gaynor Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (September 4, 1931 – October 17, 2024), known professionally as Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films included ''We're Not Married!'' (1952), ''There's No Business ...

in the 1958

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

. In the show, Nellie sings this song after being convinced that, despite the fact that Emile killed a man accidentally in a fight, there is good in him—and so she is elated to be in love with him. Rodgers and Hammerstein were as inspired by

's personality as they were by the character of Nellie Forbush to write this song. They introduced it to Martin one night at

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing ...

's house fine-tuning the script. Hammerstein wrote this song to express the exuberance of Nellie's character at this point in the show, which carried over to Martin's performance. Martin was so thrilled that when she sang it on stage, she performed cartwheels on the stage at every turn of "I'm in love."

Other recordings

*Hit recordings in 1949 were by

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American singer of popular music who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard'', January 12, ...

(No. 12 in the Billboard charts), Fran Warren (#17) and by

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

(#22). *On September 22, 1952, Diana Miller with Varietéorkestern Cond.: Åke Jelving, recorded the song in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. It was released on the 78 rpm record

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

X 7829. *In 1960,

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

recorded the song in her album '' Show Time''. *

Keely Smith Dorothy Jacqueline Keely (March 9, 1928The reference work ''The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet'' gives Smith's date of birth as March 9, 1932. – December 16, 2017), professio ...

performed the song for the Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre version of "South Pacific" in 1963. *In 1967, Blossom Dearie recorded the song for her album ''Soon It's Gonna Rain''. * In 2009, by

Nellie McKay Eleanora Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is an English–American singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera#United States 2, The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London ...

on her album '' Normal as Blueberry Pie – A Tribute to Doris Day''.

In popular culture

* In 1953, Mary Martin sang the song before a live television audience of 60 million (broadcast live over the NBC and CBS networks) as part of '' The Ford 50th Anniversary Show''. * In 1979's "Trust Me", the second episode of television series '' Benson'', the song is partially performed by

Caroline McWilliams Caroline Margaret McWilliams (April 4, 1945 – February 11, 2010) was an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Marcy Hill in the television series '' Benson''. McWilliams had also appeared in nine episodes of its parent-series ''S ...

(as Marcy Hill) while dancing balletically around the kitchen. * The song is featured in the 2008 video game '' Fallout 3'' and reprised in the 2015 video game ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

''. According to the game's credits, the recording was recorded by Tex Beneke's orchestra in 1949. Tex Beneke's album, ''Here's To the Ladies (Who Sang With the Band)'', adds the featured vocalist as Claire Chatwin. * The chorus of the song is performed a cappella by Megan Mullally's character Karen Walker on the sitcom ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...

'' season 6, episode 23 ("I Do, Oh, No, You Di-in't"). *The first scene in the 2015 television series '' Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' is

Rachel Bloom Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (2015– ...

's character, Rebecca, performing in the chorus of her camp production of ''South Pacific'' during this song. Ten years later, once she sees Josh Chan, the chorus of "I'm in love" repeats in her head when she sees him.

References

{{authority control 1949 songs Songs from South Pacific (musical) Songs with music by Richard Rodgers Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II