"Make Believe" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

from the 1927

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' with music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

Background

In the show, it is first sung as a duet by the characters

Gaylord Ravenal Gaylord Ravenal is the leading male character in Edna Ferber's 1926 novel ''Show Boat'', in the famous Jerome Kern- Oscar Hammerstein II 1927 musical play of the same name based on the novel, and in the films made from it. He is a handsome, comp ...

, a handsome riverboat gambler, and the teenage Magnolia Hawks, an aspiring performer and daughter of the show boat captain, soon after their meeting in Act I. It reveals that they are smitten with each other almost immediately upon meeting and sets the tone for the contrasts between the ideal “make believe” world of the young lovers and the harsh realities of life that they will encounter throughout the story. In Act II, Ravenal sings it to his little daughter Kim, just before he deserts her and Magnolia because of his compulsive gambling. He tells Kim to sing it whenever she is lonely and to pretend he has never been away. The song was introduced by

Norma Terris Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

and

Howard Marsh Howard Warren Marsh (August 16, 1888 – August 7, 1969) was a leading Broadway tenor of the 1920s. Biography Howard Marsh was born in Bluffton, Indiana on August 16, 1888. He attended Purdue University, where he was a member of the fraternity ...

. It was not performed in the 1929 part-talkie film of ''Show Boat''. The first successful recording of the song was by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

and his Orchestra on January 27, 1928 (vocal by Bing Crosby). The song has since become a standard and been recorded by numerous musical artists.

Other recordings

* Allan Jones (1941) *

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

recorded the song for The Third Album (1964) *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

for the album ''My Gal Sal'' (1964) *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

recorded the song at his home in Bel Air (1960) *

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

for the album ''Close to My Heart'' (1990) *

Jan Clayton Jan Clayton (August 26, 1917 – August 28, 1983) was a film, musical theater, and television actress. She starred in the popular 1950s TV series ''Lassie''. Born near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the only child of two schoolteachers, Clayton start ...

Charles Fredericks Charles Fredericks (born Fred Cockerham; or Crockenham; September 5, 1918 – May 14, 1970) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. Early years Fredericks was born Fred Cockerham (or Crockenham) the son of a Presbyterian ministe ...

- from the 1946 cast recording of the Broadway revival. *

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

included in the album '' Autumn in New York (1950) * Peggy Lee (1964) *

Robert Merrill Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993. Early life Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...

Patrice Munsel Patrice Munsel (born Patrice Beverly Munsil; May 14, 1925 – August 4, 2016) was an American coloratura soprano. Nicknamed "Princess Pat", she was the youngest singer ever to star at the Metropolitan Opera. Early years An only child, Patrice ...

for the RCA album ''Show Boat'' (1956) *

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

for the album ''A Perfect Day: His Greatest Hits and More'' (1996) *

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and f ...

for the album ''The Steve Lawrence Sound'' (1960) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

for the album '' The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern'' (2015) * Tony Martin recorded on December 21, 1946 for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

Young Jessie Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie (December 28, 1936 – April 27, 2020) was an American R&B, rock and roll and jazz singer and songwriter. He recorded as Young Jessie in the 1950s and 1960s, and was known for his solo career, work with The Flai ...

recorded on June 18, 1957 in Los Angeles for

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

Film appearances

For film, it was sung by

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

and Allan Jones in the 1936 version of the musical, by Tony Martin and

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson trai ...

in the 1946 Kern biopic ''

Till the Clouds Roll By ''Till The Clouds Roll By'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker, Kern was originally involved with the production, but died before ...

'', and by

and Kathryn Grayson in the 1951 version of ''

''. In the 1951 film, instead of singing it to Kim just before he leaves, Ravenal sings it to her when he meets her for the first time after being away for several years - the exact reverse of the situation in the original show and the 1936 film version. He has finally returned and now asks her to pretend that he has never been away.

References

{{authority control 1927 songs Songs from Show Boat Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs with music by Jerome Kern Frank Sinatra songs Barbra Streisand songs