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My Baby Just Cares for Me

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"My Baby Just Cares for Me" is a jazz standard written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn. Written for the film version of the musical comedy Whoopee! (1930), the song became a signature tune for Eddie Cantor who sang it in the movie.[1][2] A stylized version of the song by Nina Simone,[2] recorded in 1958, was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom after it was used in a 1987 perfume commercial and resulted in a renaissance for Simone.[3]

Recordings

Nina Simone recording

"My Baby Just Cares for Me"
Song

Simone recorded the song in 1958 for her debut album, Little Girl Blue. The track remained relatively obscure (lasting 4 weeks in the UK Top 100 in 1985) until 1987, when it was used in a UK television commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume. To follow up this exposure, the track was released as a single by Charly Records,[7] entering the UK Singles Chart on October 31, 1987 (1987-10-31) and becoming, after a peak at number 5,[8] one of Simone's biggest hits almost 29 years after her previous chart entry. This single also made the top 10 in several European single charts and peaked at number one in the Dutch Top 40.[9]

The Simone version of the song was featured on the soundtrack for the 1992 film Peter's Friends and the 1994 film Shallow Grave.[10]

Music video

In 1987 a claymation music video was produced by Aardman Animations[11] and directed by Peter Lord. The video prominently features live action footage showing details of a piano, brushes on a snare drum, and a double bass as they play the song. The two focal characters are represented by a singing cat in a club and the cat who is in love with her.

Chart performance

Chart (1987/1988) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[12] 8
Dutch Top 40[9] 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[13] 9
Swiss Singles Chart[14] 5
UK Singles Chart[8] 5

References

  1. ^ Jasen, David A. (2003). Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 0415938775.
  2. ^ a b Friedwald, Will (2010). A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers. Pantheon. p. 414. ISBN 9780375421495.
  3. ^ Taleveski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 594. ISBN 9781846090912.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 211. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  5. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Nina Simone catalogue at Charly Records Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b "Chart Stats - Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me (1987)". Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "De Nederlandse Top 40 - week 52, 1987" (in Dutch). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  10. ^ "Shallow Grave". AllMusic.
  11. ^ "Episode 8: Music Videos Archived 2013-10-19 at archive.today", aardman.com. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  12. ^ "Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me - austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  13. ^ "lescharts.com - Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me" (in French). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  14. ^ "Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me - hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
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