"You're Just in Love" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

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 ...

. It was published in 1950 and was first performed by

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 ...

and Russell Nype in ''

Call Me Madam ''Call Me Madam'' is a Broadway musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions ...

'', a musical comedy that made its debut at the Imperial Theatre 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 ...

on October 12 that year. The show ran for 644 performances. Ethel Merman also later starred in the 1953 film version, with

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 ...

Background

Musically, the song is one of

's three well-known songs that use true

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

—two equal and contrasting melodies running at the same time, both with independent lyrics - his two other best-known counterpoint songs being "

Play a Simple Melody "Play a Simple Melody" is a song from the 1914 musical, '' Watch Your Step'', with words and music by Irving Berlin. Background The show was the first stage musical that Berlin wrote. It ran for 175 performances at the New Amsterdam Theater in N ...

" and " An Old-Fashioned Wedding" (see the 1966 revival of

Annie Get Your Gun Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (Malayalam actress) (born 1975), Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films * ...

). Berlin also made use of counterpoint in "Pack Up Your Sins (And Go To The Devil)," a song composed for the Music Box Revue of 1922. Berlin's two-melody counterpoint songs (along with some non-Berlin counterpoint songs) are parodied in

Rick Besoyan Richard Besoyan (July 2, 1924 – March 13, 1970) was a singer, actor, playwright, composer and director especially of operetta and musicals. He is best remembered for writing the successful satirical musical '' Little Mary Sunshine''. Life a ...

's 1959 musical '' Little Mary Sunshine''. Besoyan has three harmonizing songs sung simultaneously: "Playing Croquet", "Swinging", and "How Do You Do". (The non-Berlin counterpoint songs include Meredith Willson's "Lida Rose" + "Will I Ever Tell You" from Willson's 1957 musical, ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

''.) Theatre lore has it that Berlin wrote the song one night after ''Call Me Madam'' was not doing well in tryouts. The second act of the show was lacking. "What I'd like to do is a song with the kid (Russell Nype)," Merman said. So, Berlin went to his room and later produced the

song. When Berlin played the song for Merman, she said, "We'll never get off the stage." Reportedly, Berlin played the song for Russell Nype first, but admonished him not to admit he did so because it would infuriate Merman.

1950-51 recordings

Several recorded versions made the charts in 1950-51:

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

and

The Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. B ...

with

Mitchell Ayres Mitchell Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical condu ...

' and His Orchestra,

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 (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

and

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. His best-kno ...

, and

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 ...

. *The

Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. B ...

version was recorded on September 26, 1950, and released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

as catalog number 20-3945 (in USA) and by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

on the

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 ...

label as catalog number B 10221. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' magazine charts on December 22, 1950, and lasted 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 5. *The

version was recorded on October 21, 1950, and released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalog number 39052. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' magazine charts on February 23, 1951, and lasted 2 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 29. *The

version was recorded on October 17, 1950, and released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

as catalog number 27317. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' magazine charts on March 30, 1951, and lasted 1 week on the chart, at number 30. Although the lowest charting of the three, it got a considerable amount of airplay in subsequent years. *

Semprini Alberto Fernando Riccardo Semprini (27 March 1908 – 19 January 1990), known as Alberto Semprini (), or by his stage name Semprini, was an English pianist, composer and conductor, known for his appearances on the BBC, mainly on radio. Ea ...

, on piano with rhythm accompaniment, recorded it in London on January 25, 1951, as the first song of the medley "Dancing to the Piano (No. 12) - Part 2. Hit Medley of Foxtrots from 'Call Me Madam'" along with "

The Best Thing for You "The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me)" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and published in 1950. It was featured in the 1950 Broadway musical play, ''Call Me Madam'', in which it was introduced by Ethel Merman in a scene with Paul Lukas ...

" and "It's Lovely Day Today". The medley was released by

on the

label as catalog number B 10231.

Other recordings

This song was also covered by: *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

for their 1957 album '' Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine Sing the Best of Irving Berlin''. *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

for his '' Chet Atkins at Home'' album. (1958) *

Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song " Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number fo ...

for his ''Jimmy's Happy'' album. (1960) *

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

for her ''Movin' On Broadway!'' album (1960) *

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

, along with

Sam Butera Sam Butera (August 17, 1927 – June 3, 2009) was an American tenor saxophonist and singer best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ease in bo ...

and the Witnesses for his ''The Wildest Comes Home'' album. (1962) *

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 ...

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 ...

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

for her '' Center Stage'' album. (1998) *

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage pl ...

also covered the song in a 2007 released album of further Little Voice songs.

Popular culture

*In April 2016, businessperson

Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (; ; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005. Fiorina was the first woman to le ...

attracted media attention for singing her own lyrics to this tune, during a rally where Republican presidential candidate

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

announced her as his choice for running mate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:You're Just In Love Songs written by Irving Berlin Songs from musicals 1950 songs Ethel Merman songs Guy Mitchell songs Perry Como songs Rosemary Clooney songs Male–female vocal duets