What Is This Thing Called Love?

Album: Wake Up and Dream (1928)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A Cole Porter composition, this popular jazz standard debuted in the 1928 musical Wake Up and Dream and was first performed by English singer Elsie Carlisle. Its legacy has endured through covers by Billie Holiday, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.
  • Gwyneth Paltrow performed this song as Kitty Dean (originally written as Peggy Lee) in the Truman Capote biopic Infamous (2006).
  • English singer Lemar performed this in the 2004 Cole Porter biopic, De-Lovely (named for "It's De-Lovely"), while actress/big band singer Ginny Simms sang it in the 1946 biographical film, Night And Day, also named for its title song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.