"You're the Cream in My Coffee" 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 ...

published in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. Hit recordings were by

Annette Hanshaw Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer. She was one of the most popular radio stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s, with many of her most notable performances taking place on NBC's Maxwel ...

Ben Selvin Benjamin Bernard Selvin (March 5, 1898 – July 15, 1980) was an American musician, bandleader, and record producer. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. According to ''The Guinness Book of World Records,'' Selvin recorded more musical si ...

(vocal by Jack Palmer),

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), known professionally as Ted Weems, was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcai ...

(vocal by Parker Gibbs) and

Ruth Etting Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress during the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tu ...

. The music was written by

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was one-third of ...

, with lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

and appears in their Broadway musical '' Hold Everything!'', where it was introduced by

Ona Munson Ona Munson (born Owena Elizabeth Wolcott; June 16, 1903 – February 11, 1955) was an American film and stage actress. She starred in nine Broadway productions and 20 feature films in her career, which spanned over 30 years. Born and raised in ...

and

Jack Whiting Jack Whiting may refer to: * Jack Whiting (actor) (1901–1961), American actor, singer and dancer * Jack Whiting (cricketer) (1894–1975), English cricketer {{hndis, Whiting, Jack ...

. It is also featured in the

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

’ early two-color film version of the musical in 1930, starring Joe E. Brown when it was sung by

Georges Carpentier Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. A precocious pugilist, Carpentier fought in numerous categories. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasti ...

and chorus. As with most DeSylva, Brown and Henderson hit songs the tune is melodically infectious with unexpected lyric couplets that are still easy to recall. It is also notable for a simple but ingenious

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

(middle eight bars) of continually ascending steps with closely

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

lyrics. The song was also recorded by Gay Ellis and Her Novelty Orchestra (aka

) in 1928. It was later covered by Les Brown, The King Cole Trio,

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Sh ...

(with the Jerry Wald Orchestra), the

Ray Conniff Singers Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

, and many others.

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

sang the song in her screen test for ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' () is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredite ...

'', her breakthrough role. She later recorded the song on her album "Dietrich in Rio" in 1959. The song provided a backdrop for the 1980

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

''Cream in My Coffee'' by English dramatist

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978) and '' The Singing Detective'' ...

. This song was used as the theme song for '' The Mrs Bradley Mysteries'' in 2000 and it was recorded by BBC Records and sung by

Graham Dalby Graham James Dalby (born 2 December 1957 in Chatham, Medway, UK) is a British composer, conductor, band leader, vocalist, specializing in Jazz music from 1911 to 1965. He was a member of the Hong Kong police force until 1979. In 1985 Dalby found ...

and The Grahamophones in a re-creation of

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz ...

's 1928 version.

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 ...

actress

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

recorded the song for her 1994 album ''Jazz Baby''. The song was also recorded by

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

on his debut album, ''

Music Is Better Than Words ''Music Is Better Than Words'' is the debut studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane. The album contains songs from the Great American Songbook, and features standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, among other ...

''. In addition, it is interpolated with other D-B-H hits in the revised 1993 version of the songwriters’ most popular musical '' Good News'' when Coach Bill Johnson awkwardly reveals his romantic interest in a colleague (“I’m not a poet - how well I know it”, 1st line of song's 1993 intro). The original lyrics and music of the song entered the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

in the United States in 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:You're The Cream In My Coffee 1928 songs 1920s jazz standards Songs from musicals Songs with music by Ray Henderson Songs with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva Songs with lyrics by Lew Brown