 | My Funny ValentineHal McIntyre & His Orchestra with Ruth Gaylor on vocals |
Writer(s): Richard Rodgers (music), Lorenz Hart (words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 24, 1945 Peak: 16 PM, 8 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions):
-- radio, 113.44 video *, 181.69 streaming *
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Awards (all versions):Click on award for more details. 
Awards (McIntyre):
Awards (Chet Baker):
Awards (Frank Sinatra):
Awards (Tony Bennett):
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About the Song:Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were one of Broadway’s most successful teams writing “some 650 songs for musicals, many of which have become standards.” TC Rodgers “was disciplined, methodical, termperamental, inventive, and almost scholarly.” TC Hart was “forever troubled about his amost dwarf stature, his homosexuality, drinking, and gambling.” TC They wrote “My Funny Valentine” for the 1937 coming of age musical Babes in Arms. The show opened on Broadway on April 14, 1937 and ran for 289 performances. WK Mitzi Green played the character of Billie Smith and sings “My Funny Valentine” to Ray Heaterton’s character Valentine “Val” LaMar, “the show’s charming but ‘slightly dopey’ protagonist.” RH Billie describes Val in “unflattering and derogatory terms…but ultimately affirms that he makes her smile and that she does not want him to change.” WK “For a number that’s long been accepted as one of the great American love songs, ‘My Funny Valentine’ is a savagely dark piece of lyric writing.” SS “The description of Valentine was consistent with Lorenz Hart's own insecurities and belief that he was too short and ugly to be loved.” WK Journalist Max Welk said, “He wrote about himself all the time.” TC The lyrics are accompanied by Rodgers’ “languid, rich melody [which] is the very essence of melancholy.” TC The song’s “gender-neutral lyrics…made it universal, appealing to a wide variety of popular singers.” RH Hal McIntyre was the first to chart with the song in 1945. It has become a popular jazz standard, recorded by more than 600 artists including Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Rickie Lee Jones, Julie London, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra, Sting, and Barbra Streisand. WK Baker’s recording with Gerry Mulligan became his signature song. Resources:
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First posted 5/12/2025. |
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