It's De-Lovely

Album: Red, Hot And Blue! (1936)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Cole Porter wrote "It's De-Lovely" for Born To Dance, but it ended up in the 1936 musical Red, Hot And Blue!, performed by Ethel Merman and Bob Hope. It was also featured in the 1956 remake of Anything Goes, where it was sung by Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor.
  • In the George Eells biography of Porter, The Life That He Led, the genesis of the song is attributed to a remark made by his friend Monty Woolley on board a ship in or just off Rio Harbor. Porter was watching the dawn break and said to his wife "It's delightful"; she replied "It's delicious," and Woolley chipped in "It's de-lovely."

    Later, Porter told the same story substituting mangosteen melon for the dawn. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2
  • The 2004 movie De-Lovely takes its title from this song. Starring Kevin Kline, the film tells the story of Porter's life. It wasn't the first film to do so. Cary Grant played the composer in a mostly fictionalized 1946 biopic, also named after a Porter song: "Night And Day."
  • Robbie Williams performed this song in the film De-Lovely.
  • Ethel Merman sang this during her appearance on The Muppet Show. In the season 1 episode, she performs a medley of show tunes, with Scooter and Gonzo joining her on "It's De-Lovely."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.