"Temptation" is a popular song published in 1933, with music written by

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American composer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the sc ...

and lyrics by

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals ...

Bing Crosby recording

The song was introduced by

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 the 1933 film '' Going Hollywood''. Crosby recorded the song with

Lennie Hayton Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle. Early life Hayton was born in New York C ...

's orchestra on October 22, 1933, and it reached the No. 3 spot in the charts of the day during a 12-week stay. He recorded it again 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 ...

's Orchestra on March 3, 1945 and also for his 1954 album '' Bing: A Musical Autobiography''.

Other notable recordings

*Other popular versions of the song have been recorded by

Ferde Grofé Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972), known as Ferde Grofé () was an American composer, arranger, pianist, and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement symphonic poem, ''Grand Canyon Suite'', and for ...

& His Orchestra with vocal refrain by Al Dary on November 21, 1933,

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

and his orchestra on September 7, 1940,

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

in 1945, and by

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

on 29 November 1951 at Radio Recorders and subsequently released by RCA in January 1952. A British cover version by

Steve Conway Steve, Steven or Stephen Conway may refer to: * Steve Conway (politician) (born 1944), State Senator from Washington State * Steve Conway (singer) Steve Conway (born Walter James Groom; 24 October 1920 – 19 April 1952) was a British singer ...

was released in 1946. *A parody version, entitled "Tim-tay-shun", was recorded in a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

style by

Red Ingle Ernest Jansen "Red" Ingle (November 7, 1906 – September 6, 1965) was an American musician, singer and songwriter, arranger, cartoonist and caricaturist. He is best known for his comedy records with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides f ...

with a vocal by "Cinderella G. Stump" (actually a pseudonym for

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

) in 1947 and this topped the US charts. *African-American crooner

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

recorded his version December 30, 1947. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Most-Played Juke Box Race Records chart. *

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

' version (b/w " Stick With Me Baby",

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

WB5220), released in May 1961, reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. This version also peaked at No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Other performances in popular culture

*The song was used in the film ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

'' (1952) and later in the 1983 musical based on the film. *The song is also prominently featured in

Valerio Zurlini Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian stage and film director and screenwriter. Biography During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlini bec ...

's ''

Violent Summer ''Violent Summer'' (, ) is a 1959 Italian–French drama film directed by Valerio Zurlini, his second feature film. Set in the Italian seaside resort of Riccione in July 1943, it depicts a love affair between a prominent Fascist's young draft-dod ...

'' (1959). *An interpretation was featured in the first episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', with

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...

, four chickens, four frogs, and two male pigs being led by

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host o ...

in the Muppet

Glee Club A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

, Miss Piggy sang a solo in the third verse until the end, her voice being performed by Richard Hunt instead of

Frank Oz Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through ''The Muppets'', ''Sesame Street'', and '' ...

, her then-regular performer. The song would be performed again in the 98th episode, this time by an

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

ensemble. *An arrangement is regularly played by

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

athletic bands during events. The song is featured regularly by the marching band during home football games when it is routinely performed following a defensive play that forces an opponent to face 4th down. The

Michigan Marching Band The Michigan Marching Band (also known as the University of Michigan Marching Band or the MMB) is the official marching band of the University of Michigan. The band performs at all Michigan Wolverines football home games, select away games, and ...

often performs the song as part of their postgame concert where it is paired with the "

Hawaiian War Chant "Hawaiian War Chant" is an American popular song whose original melody and lyrics were written in the 1860s by Prince Leleiohoku. The original title of the song was '' Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi'' or "We Two in the Spray." It was not written as a chant ...

" because, "You can't have one without the other".

Bibliography

* ''Who Wrote that Song''

Dick Jacobs Dick Jacobs (29 March 1918 – 20 May 1988) was an American musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, music director and an artists-and-repertoire director for several record labels (Coral, Decca, Brunswick and Springboard). He h ...

& Harriet Jacobs, published by Writer's Digest Books, 1993

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temptation (1933 Song) 1933 songs 1961 singles The Everly Brothers songs The Muppets songs Bing Crosby songs Boots Randolph songs Songs with music by Nacio Herb Brown Songs with lyrics by Arthur Freed UK singles chart number-one singles