"I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use " scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...

with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with

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

in 1931, which became his first solo hit.I Surrender Dear
at ''jazzstandards.com'' - retrieved on 27 April 2009 This is the song that caught the attention of William Paley, president of CBS, who signed him for $600 a week in the fall of 1931. In 1931, it was performed by Sam Lanin, as well as

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 ...

, under the pseudonym "Mickie Alpert". It has been covered by many artists, making it a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and pop standard. The first jazz vocalist to record the song was

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

in 1931. "I Surrender Dear" inspired two motion pictures bearing that title: a 1931 Bing Crosby musical short ''

I Surrender Dear "I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford (lyricist), Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim, Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing C ...

'' produced by

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

, and a 1948 feature film starring one of Crosby's co-stars, singer Gloria Jean. An instrumental 1930s-esque Jazz cover of this song was recorded for the 1996 movie

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

as part of the soundtrack. This song was also the comical introduction to the pre-code film, ''The Tip Off'' 1931, in which actor Eddie Quillan is a window singer at a radio repair shop. He mouths the song while it is being played over a new "Human Voice Amplifier".

Renditions

* Louis Armstrong recorded April 20, 1931 *Sam Lanin - Recorded May 21, 1931 *Ben Selvin, featuring Helen Rowland - Recorded February 6, 1931 *

– ''I Surrender Dear'': first recorded January 19, 1931 with

Gus Arnheim Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being " I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. ...

and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra; "

" (Sennett short soundtrack 1931); Recorded March 31, 1939 with

John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...

and His Orchestra; Recorded April 24, 1954 with Buddy Cole and His Trio for use in Bing: A Musical Autobiography. * Charlie Spivak - ''I Surrender Dear'' Okeh 6546 (1942) *

Tyree Glenn Tyree Glenn, born William Tyree Glenn (November 23, 1912, Corsicana, Texas, United States, – May 18, 1974, Englewood, New Jersey), was an American trombone and vibraphone player. Biography Tyree played trombone and vibraphone with local Texa ...

– ''I Surrender Dear/The House of parting'' edited by Blue Star French label (1947) *

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

– ''Django in Rome 1949/1950'' (1950) *

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

– '' Penthouse Serenade'' (1952) * Herman's Norwegian Jazz group Soloist: Rowland Greenberg - Recorded on December 3, 1954 and re-released on the

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

Odeon GEON 2 *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

– '' The Great Ray Charles'' (1957) *

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

– '' Brilliant Corners'' (1957), '' Solo Monk'' (1965) * Terry Snyder and the All Stars – '' Persuasive Percussion'' (1959) * Paul Gonsalves – '' Gettin' Together!'' (1960) *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

– '' The Electrifying Aretha Franklin'' (1962)- This recording peaked at #87 on the US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

- '' Lena...Lovely and Alive'' (1962) *

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

- ''In A Relaxed Mood'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

E-4274, 1965) *

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

– '' Basie Swingin' Voices Singin''' (1966) *

Julie London Julie London (born Julie Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch song, torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty album ...

– '' Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast'' (1967) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

– '' Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72'' (1972) *

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

– '' Roy Eldridge 4 - Montreux '77'' (1977) *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

– '' Guitar Monsters'' (1978) *

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

– ''

Autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

'' (1978) *

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and

Jennifer Grey Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film Reckless (1984 film), ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She earned wo ...

– '' Bloodhounds of Broadway'' soundtrack (1989) * Howard Fishman - ''I Like You A Lot'' (2001) *

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks Orchestra - ''Boardwalk Empire Soundtrack - Volume 3'' (2014) *

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his m ...

- ''

'' (2019)

Popular culture

*The song is referenced in the 1949 war film ''

Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

'', which depicts the hardships of American troops attempting to hold the town of

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

in late December 1944, during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. German radio is heard broadcasting the song to the entrenched American troops to demoralize them. This psychological warfare is shown to have the opposite effect on the GIs, who hum along (to the old chestnut), but prefer to hear real American radio.

Notes

{{authority control 1931 songs 1931 singles 1930s jazz standards Songs with music by Harry Barris Bing Crosby songs Aretha Franklin songs Madonna songs Louis Armstrong songs

Renditions

Popular culture

See also

Notes