"I've Gotta Be Me" is a popular song that appeared in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

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 ...

'' Golden Rainbow'', which starred

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935 – March 7, 2024) was an American singer, comedian, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop duo Steve and Eydie with his wife Eydie Gormé, and for his performance as Maury Slin ...

and

Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who achieved notable success in pop, Latin, and jazz genres. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on a ...

. It opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the Shubert Theatre on February 4, 1968, and closed just under a year later, on January 11, 1969. The music and lyrics for the musical were composed and written by Walter Marks in 1967; the production featured a book by

Ernest Kinoy Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. Early life Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt), were both high-school ...

. This song was listed in the musical as "I've Got to Be Me" and, at the end of the first act, it was sung by Lawrence's character, Larry Davis. Lawrence released it as a single in 1967, and hit #6 on 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 advertis ...

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

the following year, with little or no support from traditional

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

radio.

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

recorded the song in 1968 while the musical was still running on Broadway, altering the title slightly to "I've Gotta Be Me", and released it as a single late in the year. This version was a surprise hit for Davis, since "Golden Rainbow" was not among the more successful shows on Broadway that season. Produced by

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early life ...

, Davis's cover peaked at #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in early 1969 and remained in the Top 40 for 11 weeks. "I've Gotta Be Me" spent seven weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart. The song lent its title to Davis's 1968 album ''

I've Gotta Be Me "I've Gotta Be Me" is a popular song that appeared in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musical ''Golden Rainbow (musical), Golden Rainbow'', which starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. It opened in New York City at the Shubert T ...

''. The song has been featured in at least two

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

s. Welsh pop singer Duffy performed it while riding a bicycle in European

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s for

Diet Coke Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...

, beginning in February 2009. The 60 second commercial was first aired in the end break of the

2009 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first femal ...

on February 18. A version by

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

was used by

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s by the American pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper in t ...

in 2012."Dr. Pepper Celebrates Its Legacy Of Originality With The Launch Of The New 'Always One Of A Kind' Advertising Campaign," Dr Pepper Snapple Group press release, Monday, January 9, 2012.
The song was used in the 2001 film ''

Freddy Got Fingered ''Freddy Got Fingered'' is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Bickel and Derek Harvie. The film stars Green alongside Rip Torn, Marisa Coughlan, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Julie Ha ...

'', the 2020 film '' Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made'' and the 2021 film ''

Nobody Nobody most often refers to: * Nobody, an indefinite pronoun Nobody may also refer to: Fictional characters * Nobody (''Kingdom Hearts''), a race of beings in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series *Nobody, a character in the Jim Jarmusch fi ...

''. The song was also used in the 'Live Outlandish' commercial to promote the

Mitsubishi Outlander The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 2001. It was originally known as the when it was introduced in Japan. The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to tran ...

in 2021 in Australia.

References

External links

''Golden Rainbow'' production info at ibdb.comSingle release info at discogs.com
{{authority control 1967 singles 1968 singles Steve Lawrence songs Sammy Davis Jr. songs Songs from musicals 1968 songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen

See also

References

External links