"Let's Misbehave" is a song written by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

in 1927, originally intended for the female lead of his first major

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

production, ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

''. It was discarded before the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

opening in favor of "

Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway theater, Broadway success, the musical ''Paris (1928 musical), Paris'' (1928) by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni, for ...

". However, the star of the Broadway production, Irene Bordoni, performed it for a phonograph recording which was labelled as being from the production of ''Paris''. The song with partial lyrics was a notable 1928 hit for

Irving Aaronson and his Commanders Irving A. Aaronson (February 7, 1895 – March 10, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and big band leader. Aaronson's orchestra was one of the most popular in America during the Roaring Twenties. His most popular song, " The Loveliest Night o ...

. The song was recorded earlier with partial lyrics for the Brunswick label by Scrappy Lambert and Billy Hillpot with Ben Bernie's orchestra in December 1927, and by

Tom Stacks Thomas De Armen Stacks, known professionally as Tom Stacks (November 9, 1899 – February 19, 1936) was an American musician who was the lead singer, drummer, and sound effects man for many of Harry Reser's late-1920s jazz and novelty bands that ...

with Harry Reser's band "The Bluebirds" in January 1928. Banjo Buddy's (a.k.a. Harold Sandelman) recording in April 1928 contained full lyrics and verse. It was included perhaps most infamously in the 1962 revival of ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

'' and was also added into the 1991 version of Porter's ''You Never Know''.

Subsequent appearances

* The song is covered by actor

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

on his 1961 album ''Let's Misbehave.'' * The Irving Aaronson version is used in two films by

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

: at the opening and close of '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972) and at the close of '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (1994). * The song is featured in a prominent dance sequence by

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

in the

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

musical '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1981). * A version of "Let's Misbehave" sung by

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama '' The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jef ...

appears in the 1975 film '' At Long Last Love'', and in the 2008 film '' Easy Virtue'', and one of the latter film's taglines. * The song is substituted for "The Gypsy in Me" in the high school drama club/amateur community theater version of ''Anything Goes'', which is also the 1962 off-Broadway version. * It is used in the closing credits of the 1984 film ''

Johnny Dangerously ''Johnny Dangerously'' is a 1984 American crime comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling; two of its four screenwriters, Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff, had previously created the hit series ''Diff'rent Strokes''. The film, a parody of 1930s c ...

''. * It appears in the 1994 film ''

Timecop ''Timecop'' is a 1994 American science fiction action film directed by Peter Hyams and co-written by Mike Richardson (publisher), Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. Richardson also served as executive producer. The film is based on ''Timecop ( ...

'', in an early scene set in 1929, to which Lyle Atwood has travelled through time from 1994. * It is sung by

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 ...

in the 2004 movie ''

De-Lovely ''De-Lovely'' is a 2004 American musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with his wife, Linda Le ...

''. *

's original version is featured in " Co-Dependents' Day" a 2004 episode of the animated TV series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

''. * "Dead Air", the 2013 season 2 finale of the Australian TV show ''

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' is an Australian detective television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Ea ...

'' ended with a performance of their take of the song. * The Irving Aaronson version is featured in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

' 2011

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary miniseries ''

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

''. * It appeared in the 2013 film ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

''. * American swing revivalists the

Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing music, swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry (Oregon musician), Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous ...

recorded a version of the song for their 2016 covers album ''

The Boop-A-Doo ''The Boop-A-Doo'' is the eighth studio album and tenth album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on January 22, 2016 by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. The second in a planned trilogy of cover albums intende ...

''. *In season 15 episode 10 of ''Supernatural'', "The Heroes' Journey" this song is used in a tap dance sequence featuring

DJ Qualls Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Citizen Z on the Syfy horror series ''Z Nation'' (2014–2018) and Ed McCarthy on the Amazon Prime Video series ''The Man in the High Ca ...

and

Jensen Ackles Jensen Ross Ackles (born March 1, 1978) is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Dean Winchester in The WB/The CW, CW dark fantasy drama series ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural'' (2005–2020 ...

. * Bobby Short sang all the lyrics on his 2011 album ''Saloon Singer''. * An instrumental version is used in the score for the pilot episode of the animated series ''

Hazbin Hotel ''Hazbin Hotel'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Musical theatre, musical comedy television series created by Vivienne Medrano, Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, crown princess, princes ...

'' to introduce Alastor, The Radio Demon.

References

Songs from High Society (1956 film) Songs written by Cole Porter Songs from Anything Goes 1927 songs {{Pop-standard-stub