Personality (Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke song)
"Personality" is a popular song with lyrics by Johnny Burke and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It was written for the 1946 film Road to Utopia, and Dorothy Lamour performed it in the movie.[1] The lyrics are humorous (and slightly suggestive for the 1940s), employing the word "personality" as an obvious euphemism for a woman's voluptuous figure.[citation needed] Van Heusen said that he wrote the song with a limited vocal range to accommodate Lamour.[1]
In a slightly longer version, the song became a number one Billboard hit for Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers with Capitol Records in 1946.[1] Dinah Shore also recorded it around that time. Lamour was between record contracts at the time of the film's release, so she did not record the song herself until years later.
Cover versions
- Bing Crosby recorded the song with Eddie Condon and His Orchestra in January 1946[2] and it reached the No. 9 spot in the Billboard charts in April 1946.[3]
- Al Hirt released a version on his 1964 album, Beauty and the Beard.[4]
Song in popular culture
- Rewritten versions of the song have been used as commercial jingles. The most notable was "Wessonality," an advertisement for Wesson cooking oil sung by Florence Henderson.
- The song also made an appearance in the 2015 game Fallout 4 on the in-game radio station Diamond City Radio.
References
- ^ a b c Gilliland, John (1994). Pop Chronicles the 40s: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s (audiobook). ISBN 978-1-55935-147-8. OCLC 31611854. Tape 3, side A.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". A Bing Crosby Discography. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research Inc. p. 110. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ Al Hirt, Beauty and the Beard Retrieved April 10, 2013.
