"Lazy" is a popular song written by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

in 1924. Recordings of the song in 1924 were by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

Blossom Seeley Blossom Seeley (July 16, 1886 Blossom Seeley biography
ragpiano.com. Accessed July 14, 2022.

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz 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 193 ...

and the

Brox Sisters The Brox Sisters were an American trio of singing sisters, enjoying their greatest popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s. Early life The sisters were Lorayne (born Eunice, November 11, 1901 – June 14, 1993), Dagmar (later Bobbe) (born ...

. The best known version may be that performed by

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...

, and

Mitzi Gaynor Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (September 4, 1931 – October 17, 2024), known professionally as Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films included ''We're Not Married!'' (1952), ''There's No Business ...

in the motion picture ''

There's No Business Like Show Business "There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show ...

''.

Other notable recordings

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 ...

with

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

and His Orchestra - recorded May 25, 1942. Crosby also sang the song in the film ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

'' (1942) in a scene where he is seen being overwhelmed by a plethora of back-breaking tasks at his newly purchased farm while he is heard singing the song offscreen. *

Val Doonican Michael Valentine 'Val' Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening and novelty songs, noted for his warm and relaxed vocal style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in t ...

- included in his album ''

Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently ''Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently'' was the only number one in the UK Albums Chart for the Irish singer, Val Doonican. It spent three weeks at the top of that chart between 31 December 1967 and 20 January 1968, displacing The Beatles album ''Sgt. ...

'' (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 ...

- ''

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book'' is a 1958 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, focusing on the songs of Irving Berlin. It was part of the po ...

'' (1958) *

Judy Holliday Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian, and singer.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', June 9, 1965, p. 71. She began her career as part of a nightclub act before working in Bro ...

- ''

Holliday with Mulligan ''Holliday with Mulligan'' is an album by American singer Judy Holliday with jazz saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1961 which were first released on the DRG label in 1980.Dugelay, G & Hallqvist, KGerry ...

'' (1980) *

Michael Holliday Norman Alexander Milne (26 November 1924 – 29 October 1963), known professionally as Michael Holliday, was an English singer, who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had a number of chart hits in the UK, including two number o ...

- included in his album ''Happy Holliday'' (1961) *

Joan Morris Joan Morris (born February 10, 1943) is an American mezzo-sopranoProfile
, bolcomandmorris ...

and

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

- ''Blue Skies: Songs by Irving Berlin'' (1990) *

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

- He sang part of the song in the episode of

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

titled "Lucy and George Burns." *

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

- recorded for

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

’s 2024 Public Song Project, a project encouraging artists to cover public domain songs.

References

1924 songs Songs written by Irving Berlin Marilyn Monroe songs {{Pop-standard-stub