"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

in 1936. It was introduced that year in the

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars du ...

musical film ''

Born to Dance ''Born to Dance'' is an American musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart, directed by Roy Del Ruth and released in 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter. Plot summary While on leave, sailor Ted ...

'' in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

that year but lost out to

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film '' Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, ...

. Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra (vocal by Al Bowlly) and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra (vocal by Skinnay Ennis). The song has subsequently been recorded by hundreds of artists. It became a

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, and, in 1966, became a top 10 hit for the Four Seasons.

Charts

Weekly charts

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

and

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), profession ...

The Four Seasons

Year-end charts

The Four Seasons

Versions by Frank Sinatra

Sinatra first sang the song in 1946 on his weekly radio show, as the second part of a medley with "Easy to Love". He recorded a studio version of the song with

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Recor ...

orchestral arrangement, accompanied by Irv Cottler on drums and slide trombone solo by

Milt Bernhart Milt Bernhart (May 25, 1926 – January 22, 2004) was a West Coast jazz trombonist who worked with Stan Kenton, Frank Sinatra, and others. He supplied the solo in the middle of Sinatra's 1956 recording of '' I've Got You Under My Skin'' conducted ...

at Capitol's Melrose Avenue studios for his 1956 album '' Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' Riddle was a fan of

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

and said that this arrangement was inspired by the ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. At least one observer has called it Ravel's most famous composition. It was also one of his last completed works before illness forced him into retirement. Co ...

''. Sinatra aficionados usually rank this as one of his finest collaborations with Riddle's orchestra. Sinatra re-recorded "I've Got You Under My Skin" for the album '' Sinatra's Sinatra'' (1963), an album of re-recordings of his favourites. This time the trombone solo was by Dick Nash because Bernhart was unavailable. A live version of the song appears on the 1966 album ''

Sinatra at the Sands ''Sinatra at the Sands'' is a live album by Frank Sinatra accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra, and conducted and arranged by Quincy Jones, recorded live in the Copa Room of the former Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1966. It ...

'' with Count Basie and his orchestra. Another version of the song is an electronically assembled duet featuring Sinatra and U2 lead singer

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

on Sinatra's 1993 ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...

'' album. The track was released on a "

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

" with U2's " Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". The single peaked at number four on the UK charts. Sinatra usually included "I've Got You Under My Skin" in his concerts—a tradition carried on by his son, Frank Sinatra Jr.

Certifications and sales

Neneh Cherry version

Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

's interpretation of "I've Got You Under My Skin" was released the lead single for the '' Red Hot + Blue'' charity album in September 1990 and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Cherry replaced most of the lyrics with a rap on

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

victims and how society reacts to them. Of the original Cole Porter lyrics, she kept only the first four lines and "Use your mentality, wake up to reality".

Critical reception

William Ruhlmann from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described the song as one of the most "radical reinterpretations" on '' Red Hot + Blue''. David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' wrote that "the words have special urgency" in Cherry's "stark, bass-line-propelled take" on "I’ve Got You Under My Skin", because the song begins with a rap about

. Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' called it an "utterly brooding version of the old

song, in a splendid production for the Jungle Brothers' Baby Afrika Bambaataa." Nick Robinson from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' stated that "this sparse bass-led

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

cut has Cherry rapping a serious message about the disease. With its dark atmosphere and subject matter, it's grim but effective." In his review of the album, Marc Andrews from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' said the track "is the closest any of the artists here get to really putting the message across".

Charts

References

External links

Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" Piano Solo
{{authority control 1936 songs 1966 singles Capitol Records singles Frank Sinatra songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Neneh Cherry songs Philips Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Crewe Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Songs written by Cole Porter Songs written for films The Four Seasons (band) songs Song recordings produced by Cameron McVey Song recordings produced by Jonny Dollar Screamin' Jay Hawkins songs Music videos directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino