"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

written by the songwriting team of

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

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, esp ...

(lyrics) and

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

(music) for the 1927 musical '' Good News''. It enjoyed a revival during the period from 1947 to 1950, when it was covered by many artists. On January 1, 2023, the composition entered the

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

in the US.

Lyrics

:There are so many kinds of riches, ::And only one of them is gold. :Though wealth you miss, :Remember this : ::Worthwhile things cannot be bought or sold. :''Refrain'' :The moon belongs to everyone— ::The best things in life are free :The stars belong to everyone ::They gleam there for you and me :The flowers in spring :the robins that sing :The sunbeams that shine :They're yours!—They're mine! :And love can come to everyone— ::The best things in life are free

Recordings

The song first enjoyed chart success in 1927 with the recordings by

George Olsen George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an American bandleader. Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen played the drums and attended the University of Michigan, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen an ...

and Frank Black.

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 ...

recorded the song on November 7, 1947, bringing the song to a new genre. She enjoyed chart success with the song reaching the No. 21 spot in 1948.

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

also covered the song in 1948; her single reached peaked at No. 18 on the charts.

Other recordings

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ac ...

covered the song in 1947; their version reached #10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' U.S. R&B chart. *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

recorded the song in 1947 and it was included in the album ''The Uncollected Kay Starr in the 1940s - 1947''. *

Les Paul and Mary Ford Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife musical duo who performed and recorded during 1945–1963. They both sang and played guitars. Ford and Paul were music superstars during the first half of the 1950s, putting out 28 hi ...

(1954) * Michael Holliday for his album ''Happy Holliday'' (1961) *

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals '' Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

(1956) *

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of h ...

(1957) in his album ''

Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers ''Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers'' is an album by the saxophonist Sonny Stitt, recorded in 1957 and originally released on the Roost label. Reception The Allmusic site awarded the album 3 stars. Track listing ''All compositions by Sonny S ...

'' *Saxophonist

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to de ...

played the song on the 1961 album '' Workout''. *

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

sang the song on the 1964 live album ''

Sam Cooke at the Copa ''Sam Cooke at the Copa'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The album was released in 1964 in the United States by RCA Victor. It was Cooke's only live album to be released during his lifetime; '' Live at the Harlem Squar ...

''. *Saxophonist

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...

played the song on the 1970 live album ''

Fried Buzzard ''Fried Buzzard'' is a live album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded at the Bon Ton Club in Buffalo, NY for the Cadet label in 1965 but not released until 1970. Reception The album was awarded 3 stars in an Allmusic review.Allmusic Rev ...

''. *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

included the song on his 1975 album '' That's What Life Is All About''. *

Victoria Jackson Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series '' Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. Early life Jackson was born in Miami, Flori ...

on her children's album, Ukulele Lady * Michael Feinstein included the song in the album ''

Romance on Film, Romance on Broadway ''Romance on Film, Romance on Broadway'' is a 2000 album by American vocalist Michael Feinstein arranged by Alan Broadbent and John Oddo. It was Feinstein's third album for the Concord label. Reception The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow award ...

'' (2000)

In film and television

The song was included in both film adaptations of '' Good News'', in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

and

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

; the 1947 film featured the song several times, sung by

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sig ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for " The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an ...

, and

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

. The film ''

The Best Things in Life Are Free "The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film '' Mo' Money'', starring Damon Wayans. The song was ...

'' (

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

), about DeSylva, Brown and Henderson, was named after the song and featured it with a version sung by

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley ...

(dubbed by

Eileen Wilson Eileen Wilson (born Eileen Eshelman; January 15, 1923 – September 9, 2018) was an American big band singer, and one of the original stars of the 1950s television show ''Your Hit Parade'' on NBC.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Televi ...

). In an episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

'', a group of kleptomaniac

prairie dogs Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. Within the genus are five species: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico ...

sang the song as they looted the set. The song was sung by

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Love of Life'' and made her film debut in '' The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appea ...

in the 1969

Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film '' Out ...

film '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?''

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...

performed the song in the ''Mad Men'' (season 7) episode "Waterloo" ( May 25, 2014), in a dream sequence. Also featured in the film '' Nanny McPhee Returns'' during the piglet feeding in the beginning of the movie. Sung by

. Sam Cooke's version of the song is used in the closing of the Season 2 finale (episode 7) of ''

The White Lotus ''The White Lotus'' is an American black comedy-drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO. It follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, whose stay is affected by their various psychosoc ...

''.

References

1927 songs Songs from musicals Songs with music by Ray Henderson Songs with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva Songs with lyrics by Lew Brown {{Pop-standard-stub