"There's No Business Like Show Business" is an

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, is sung in the musical by members of ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West'' Show in an attempt to persuade

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

to join the production. It is reprised three times in the musical. In 1953,

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...

sang the song before a live television audience of 60 million persons, broadcast live over the NBC and CBS networks, as part of ''

The Ford 50th Anniversary Show ''The Ford 50th Anniversary Show'', also known as ''The American Road'', was a two-hour television special that was broadcast live on June 15, 1953, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Ford Motor Company purchased two hours of prime time from ...

''.

Film

The song is also featured in the 1954 movie of the same name, where it is notably sung by

as the main musical number. The movie, in which she starred with

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

and was directed by

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business p ...

, is essentially a catalog of various Berlin's pieces, in the same way that ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

''—which starred

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...

as well—was a collection of

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals ...

songs. There was also a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

version of the song made during the 1970s, with Merman reprising her singing role in '' The Ethel Merman Disco Album'' in 1979. The song became one of Ethel Merman's standards and was often performed by her at concerts and on television.

Other recordings

Other singers to have recorded the song include

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo ...

(with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...

(from ''

Come by Me ''Come by Me'' is a big band album by American artist Harry Connick Jr., released in 1999, eight years after his previous big band recording, '' Blue Light, Red Light''. Connick and his Big Band went on a year-long world tour (the U.S., Europe, ...

'', 1999),

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 ...

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

, and

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...

. The Andrews Sisters version with Bing Crosby and Dick Haymes was recorded on 19 March 1947 and was the only version to reach the Billboard charts, albeit briefly at No. 25. In his liner notes for

's version of the song on her '' Ballad Essentials'' album

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

writes "usually performed as a corny razzle-dazzle romp, that piece was drastically slowed down by Susannah who performed all of its known lyrics, including stanzas that show Irving Berlin's lyrics were actually quite touching and meaningful". Tenor saxophonist

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

did a rendition of the tune on his 1956 Prestige album, ''

Work Time ''Work Time'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Prestige Records, Prestige label, featuring performances by Rollins with Ray Bryant, George Morrow (bassist), George Morrow, and Max Roach.Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Yiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered to Jewish vacationers, especially residents of New York City. The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of the Catski ...

entertainer Allan Sherman parodied the song as "There’s No Governor Like Our New Governor" to poke fun at California's election of Hollywood actor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. * The Canadian band

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

included part of the lyrics in their song "Say Hello Say Goodbye" from their album '' If Wishes Were Horses''. * The Ethel Merman recording is featured in the film '' All That Jazz'' (1979). * From 1976 to 2007 the rock band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

played the Ethel Merman recording at the end of gigs—it can be heard at the end of their 1977 live album '' Seconds Out''. * The song is featured during the epilogue of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

film '' The Late Shift''. * During the credits of ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 farce by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funni ...

'', Niki Haris sings a form of the song. * In the 2000 musical film version of ''

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as ...

'',

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

sings a version of the song. * Liza Minnelli performed a portion of the song on her 1992 album "Live From Radio City Music Hall." * In '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', contestants Latrice Royale and Tammie Brown performed a lip-sync to the Ethel Merman version for the episode "RuPaul's Gaff-In." * British comedian and impressionist Bobby Davro included a sketch "The Kidnapping of

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series '' Just William''. In the 1980s, she played companio ...

" on his 1980s ITV show, which concluded with Langford (played by Jessica Martin) loudly performing the song in order to nauseate her kidnappers into releasing her. * The song is sampled in

Taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

's cover of another Irving Berlin song, " Puttin' On the Ritz", released in 1982. * The song's opening line forms the basis for a dialog between R.K. Maroon and Eddie Valiant in the film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'' (1988). * An instrumental version of the song is used as part of the score in the Australian variety show ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' is a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

''. *

's version is used in season 2 of " The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". * This song has been performed twice in different episodes on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', each performed by

and

Phyllis George Phyllis Ann George (June 25, 1949 – May 14, 2020) was an American businesswoman, actress, and sportscaster. In 1975, George was hired as a reporter and co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show ''The NFL Today'', becoming one of the first women t ...

Notes and references

*''America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley'', Philip Furia, Michael L. Lasser. Routledge, 2006, , p. 206 {{Authority control 1946 quotations Songs about actors Songs about theatre Songs from Annie Get Your Gun Songs written by Irving Berlin Quotations from music