"I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken. The song is credited to Sadie Vimmerstedt and Johnny Mercer.

Origins

Vimmerstedt was a grandmother and housewife and a beautician in

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, who sent Mercer an idea for the song in 1957, as well as giving Mercer the opening line ("I want to be around to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks your heart"). She was inspired by Frank Sinatra divorcing his first wife in order to marry

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, only to then see Gardner leave Sinatra. Not knowing exactly where to send her letter to, Vimmerstedt simply addressed it to 'Johnny Mercer...Songwriter...New York, NY'. The post office forwarded it to ASCAP, who in turn passed it along to Mercer, who was a member of the organization. Mercer wrote the song and agreed to share 1/3 of the royalties and credits with Vimmerstedt. The song was published in

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Notable cover versions

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's 1963 recording was the first version of the song to reach the charts (number 14 pop during a 14-week stay in 1963, number 5

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in 1963). This was included on his 1963 album of that name and has appeared in several films, including '' The Freshman'' (1990). Bennett later recorded a new version of the song in a duet with Bono which was included on his album '' Duets: An American Classic'' (2006). Many other singers have covered the song including: * Aretha Franklin - for her album '' Laughing on the Outside'' (1963) *

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- for their unfinished ''

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'' album (1966), and later on ''

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'' *

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- included on his album '' Venice Blue'' (1965) *

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- '' ..."Let Me Sing"'' (1963) *

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- for the album ''Dinah '63'' (1963) *

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- ''Don't Go to Strangers'' (1966) * Frank Sinatra - ''

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'' (1964) * Julie London - '' The End of the World'' (1963) *

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- '' Nobody but Me'' (2016) * Patti Page - '' Say Wonderful Things'' (1963) * Perry Como - '' The Songs I Love'' (1963) *

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for her 1981 album ''I'm a Lady'' from which it was released as a single to reach number 38 C&W. *

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- "Passing Strangers" (2006) * Térez Montcalm - “ Voodoo” (2007)

References

{{authority control Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer Songs written by Johnny Mercer Tony Bennett songs 1959 songs Patti Page songs 1963 singles The Beach Boys songs Aretha Franklin songs Peggy Lee songs Frank Sinatra songs Terri Gibbs songs Pop ballads